Bringing together production and distribution partners for writer-director Sherren Lee’s rom-com Float was a mix of art and science.

The B.C.-shot feature from Toronto’s Collective Pictures and Wattpad Webtoon Studios, and Vancouver’s Brightlight Pictures, begins its theatrical run in Canada on Friday (Feb. 9) via Elevation Pictures, day and date with a digital launch.

Adapted from the popular Wattpad story of the same name, written by U.S. author Kate Marchant, the film follows a young woman, played by Kim’s Convenience’s Andrea Bang, who unexpectedly falls for the small-town lifeguard (Robbie Amell) who rescues her from a near-drowning incident.

Producers on the film include Collective Pictures’ Jeff Chan, Amell, Chris Paré, and Matthew Kariatsumari; Wattpad Webtoon Studios’ Aron Levitz and Lindsey Weems Ramey; and Brightlight Pictures’ Aaron Au and Shawn Williamson.

Levitz, president of Wattpad Webtoon Studios, tells Playback Daily that Float is a good example of how the studio works, using audience data to identify ideal projects from around the world to drive engaging film and television content.

Wattpad currently has more than 90 million users with its content focused primarily on teen and young adult genres.

Collective Pictures’ founder Chan, who’s a partner with Amell and producer Paré at the prodco, says Wattpad Webtoon brought them in on the project, with Collective optioning the rights to the story and retaining the licensing rights.

“We’re always finding [producing] partners who are interested in — in this case — a really beautiful romance. So, we really are trying to match up our story with what our producing partners are most interested in and working with some of the best talent in the world… that means when we have millions of stories across our platforms, the capability to understand and find the ones that have really important and unique voices,” says Levitz.

“For us [at Collective Pictures], while we’re big fans of those movies in terms of how they’ve made a mark on the industry, we wanted to do something a little bit more elevated,” says Chan.

For example, the actors in the film are a tad older than the characters in the book. Both are established in their careers and lifestyles, rather than the teens initially written by Marchant.

As with any rom-com, the film also needed the right co-leads to sell the story.

“We were super lucky to get Andrea [who plays Waverly],” says Chan, who had met Bang a few years earlier. After talking with Lee and the other producers, Bang’s name came up and Chan made the connection, and the deal was sealed once the actor and director met.

“Andrea is insanely talented,” adds Chan. “I think her performance is in the stillness. It’s just something that whenever I watch the movie, it gets me.”

Levitz says that Wattpad Webtoon Studios used its audience data to bring on global entertainment company Lionsgate, which Chan says was able to further elevate the production capacity on the film.

“You really see, in this moment, the power of this ecosystem of Wattpad and Webtoon being a continuum of storytelling,” says Levitz. “Not only do we have phenomenal support from our talent — both Andrea and from Robbie in helping promote the film — but we have our platforms for going back to the fandom and inciting them to go see this story that they’re already in love with.”

Float is running in select theatres in North America, including screenings in Toronto, Estevan, Sask., and Montreal.

Image courtesy of Elevation Pictures