D Films

Toronto-based D Films has acquired the Canadian rights to the upcoming doc Whitney. Directed by Kevin Macdonald (Marley), the doc follows singer Whitney Houston’s life and career through interviews, unreleased recordings and personal home videos. Whitney is produced by Simon Chinn (Man on Wire), Jonathan Chinn (Fantastic Lies) and Lisa Erspamer (Running From Crazy). The feature was also exec produced by Patricia Houston (The Houstons: On Our Own), Nicole David, Zanne Devine (I, Tonya), Rosanne Korenberg (Hard Candy),  Joe Patrick, Altitude Film Entertainment’s Will Clarke (Attack the Block), Andy Mayson (Let Me In) and Mike Runagall (47 Metres Down). Michael Robson negotiated the deal for D Films and Joe Patrick for Miramax. Whitney is set to open across Canada this summer in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver on July 20.

Incendo

Incendo’s latest MOW Mean Queen has been picked up for broadcast by France’s M6 and Spain’s Corbi Media. Both companies have acquired first-run rights to the drama. Mean Queen, produced in association with Bell Media, follows a teacher whose daughter becomes fast friends with the school’s resident mean girl, leading her to worry about her daughter’s safety and to question how far the mean girl will go to become prom queen. Incendo president Jean Bureau (Versailles) will produce alongside head of production Ian Whitehead (Kept Woman). The MOW is directed by Philippe Gagnon and written by Barbara Kymlicka, who worked together on the MOW Twisted. Designated Survivor‘s Zoe McLellan is set to star alongside Allie MacDonald (Cardinal) and Nia Roam (Polar).

Media Headquarters

U.S. net Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks has greenlit a new competition series produced by Toronto’s Media Headquarters. The Brigade (8 x 60 minutes) will have participants retrace a 2,600-mile fur trade route without fuel or GPS for the chance to win a prize of up to $1 million. The series producer is Louise Wood (Chopped Canada), with Robert Cohen (Canada’s Smartest Person) and Alan Bishop (Canada’s Smartest Person) signed on to co-exec produce. Production on the competition series will take place over the summer with the project set to make its debut in spring 2019 on Canada’s World Fishing Network and the Outdoor Channel in the U.S.

9 Story Distribution International

9 Story Distribution International has sold Magic Mall Entertainment’s Luo Bao Bei (52 x 11-minutes) to Channel 5′s Milkshake! Created by Magic Mall’s Grace Tian, written by Dave Ingham (Shaun the Sheep) and co-produced with Cloth Cat Animation, Luo Bao Bei follows the titular character on her quest to understand the world around her. The U.K. preschool TV series will begin airing on May 7. The U.K. version will also have the show’s father character voiced by British presenter Gok Wan (Gok’s Chinese Takeaway). 9 Story handles the toon’s global distribution and merchandising rights, excluding Greater China, and recently sold English-language and Mandarin versions of the series to ABC Australia and E Junior (UAE).

With files from Alexandra Whyte, Kidscreen