Berlin sales agency Films Boutique has inked a deal to acquire Bretten Hannam’s feature Wildhood.

The company will handle sales for the Canadian title, which will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year in the Discovery programme.

Wildhood is written, directed and produced by Hannam, and was shot in Nova Scotia in late summer 2020. Gharrett Patrick Paon of Rebel Road Films and Julie Baldassi of Younger Daughter Films are producers, while Damon D’Oliveira is executive producer. Other production companies attached are Flimshow and Mazewalker Film.

The film stars Phillip Lewitski, Joshua Odjick, Avery Winters-Anthony and Michael Greyeyes, and tells the story of a teen who leaves home to find his mother and rediscover his Mi’kmaw heritage. It is inspired by Hannam’s experience growing up in Kespukwitk, Mi’kma’ki.

Hannam previously directed a short version of the film, titled Wildfire, which ran the festival circuit in 2019 to garner attention for a feature-length screenplay.

Other Canadian titles to world premiere in TIFF’s Discovery programme are Thyrone Tommy’s Learn to Swim, Haya Waseem’s Quickening, and the Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson co-directed Scarborough.

Image courtesy of TIFF