Apple landed the first big deal of the Sundance festival over the weekend. It spent over $25 million on the worldwide rights to coming-of-age drama Coda, reported Deadline.
Apple Wins Rights to CODA at Sundance With $25 Million Bid
The film from writer-director Siân Heder premiered on the opening of the festival. She commented:
I have been so moved by the outpouring of response to the film and am so excited to have found a partner in Apple that loves and deeply gets this movie, the spirit in which it was created and is committed to having this film reach the widest audience possible in a thoughtful and meaningful way. The whole CODA team is also so grateful to Sundance for being a part of the film’s journey. I hope that this film and Apple’s powerful support will help kick down some doors standing in the way of inclusion and representation and pave a path for more stories that center characters from the Deaf and Disabled community. The world has waited too long for these stories to be told. Now is the time. No more excuses.”
The film is based on a French offering called La Famille belier. It focuses on a character called Ruby, played by Emilia Jones, who is the only hearing person in her deaf family. The family’s fishing business is jeopardized, and Ruby has to decide whether or not to stay and help or pursue her love for music. There was said to be wide interest in the movie, and Apple reportedly beat Amazon for the rights. Work on the deal Deal was led by Zack Van Amburg & Jamie Erlicht, Apple’s heads of Worldwide Video.
[Image via: Sundance]