Australia-based indie sales firm Odin’s Eye Entertainment has picked up international rights to adult-skewing animation film “The Weird Kidz.”
The film, which has a 1980s vibe and sense of humor, debuted last year in festivals and Odin’s Eye will be using Berlin’s European Film Market to launch an expanded version.
A weekend camping trip becomes a disarming and unexpected rite of passage for three adventurous boys and one big brother looking to score with his girlfriend. All hell breaks loose when the campers fall into a nest of conspiring townsfolk and a secret society practicing ritual sacrifice to a terrifying creature from the crypt.
The film is written, directed and animated by the multi-hyphenate Zach Passero, whose has editing credits on a trio of Lucky McKee films, including the acclaimed “The Woman.” Production is by Charles Horak (“First Date”) and McKee (“May,” “Old Man” “Poker Face”).
Passero single-handily animated the entire film while working with his wife Hannah, who painted the background art. The origins of “The Weird Kidz” are deeply rooted in Passero’s passion for animation and storytelling inspired by the likes of Mike Judge, Joe Dante and Richard linklater.
The finished film has played at events including Annecy and genre festival including Frightfest and Sitges.
“The extraordinary thing about ‘The Weird Kids’ is not just that it was made essentially by a sole artist, but that the man who spent so many years bringing it to life never lost the spark of initial inspiration, nor the heart that makes this special film beat,” said Horak.
“Imagine a blend of ‘Dazed & Confused’ with the strange things conjured by the Duplass Brothers and you’re in the realm of ‘The Weird Kidz’,” said Michael Favelle, CEO of Odin’s Eye Animation. “The characters are endearingly hilarious and I don’t think it will be long before we start working on either a sequel or a series. It’s a future classic.”
Odin’s Eye will also be using the EFM to launch nostalgic documentary feature “Mad Props,” directed by Juan Pablo Reinoso. A quest for the holy grail of cinematic props, “Mad Props” involves stars Robert Englund, Lance Hendriksen and Mikey Rourke as they source and search for classic props from iconic films ranging from “Alien,” “Star Wars,” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” accompanied by collector and film enthusiast Tom Biolchini.
Odin’s Eye is representing all rights excluding North America. Those are handled by Joe Amodei’s Virgil Films.
