Cineflix Rights

Ahead of next month’s virtual NATPE Budapest International, Cineflix Rights has inked deals with AMC Networks International Central and Northern Europe (AMCNI CNE), Czech TV and CBS Poland.

Brokered by Lucy Rawson, Cineflix Rights VP, sales, Africa, CEE, Middle East and Southern Mediterranean, the independent TV content distributor has sold AMCNI CNE five series starring builder brothers Jonathan and Drew Scott for its Spektrum Home channels across Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Titles under the pact include: season one and two of Property Brothers (39 x 60 minutes, Cineflix Productions for HGTV U.S. and Canada); season one to six of Brother vs. Brother (34 x 60 minutes, Scott Brothers Entertainment for HGTV U.S.); season two, four, five and six of Property Brothers: Buying + Selling (65 x 60 minutes, Cineflix Productions for HGTV U.S. and Canada); Property Brothers Double Down (8 x 60 minutes, Cineflix Productions for HGTV U.S. and Canada); and Property Brothers at Home: Drew’s Honeymoon House (5 x 60 minutes, Scott Brothers Entertainment for HGTV U.S.).

AMCNI CNE also picked up two cooking shows: Ainsley’s Mediterranean Cookbook (10 x 60 minutes, Rock Oyster Media for ITV U.K.) and Beautiful Baking with Juliet Sear (10 x 60 minutes, Rock Oyster Media for ITV U.K.) for its TV Paprika channels across Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova. As well, the company bought season three of Rise of the Machines (10 x 60 minutes, Windfall Films for A+E Networks/H2 U.S., Science Channel U.S., Discovery Canada, International, and Europe) and season four of Strip the Cosmos (6 x 60 minutes, Windfall Films for Science Channel U.S., Discovery Europe, N24 Germany) for its Spektrum channels.

The distributor also sold season three of Rise of the Machines as well as seasons 20 and 21 of Mayday: Air Disaster (20 x 60 minutes, Cineflix Productions for Smithsonian Channel U.S. and National Geographic Channels International) to Czech TV, and season three of Border Security: America’s Frontline (20 x 30 minutes, Entertainment One for Corus Canada) to CBS Poland for its CBS Action channel.

Arcana Studio

Vancouver-based comic publisher and animation company Arcana Studio has acquired two new animated titles: TV series Raven Tales and film Back to the Sea.

Written by Chris Keintz (Tales of the First People, Vol I: Spirit Tales) and directed by Caleb Hystad (The Wizard’s Christmas), targeted towards school-age children and their families, Raven Tales aims to introduce Indigenous folklore in a humorous and entertaining way. The series counts Evan Adams (Indian Horse) and Carmen Moore (Cardinal) among its cast. Producers on the show include Colin Curwen and Simon Daniel James.

Meanwhile, writer/director Thom Lu’s Back to the Sea features Yuri Lowenthal (The Last of Us: Part II), Kath Soucie (Zootopia), Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Christian Slater (Dirty John), to name a few. The film tracks the story of a little fish who must try to find his way back home after being swept up in a net.

In a statement, the studio told Playback Daily that the company is aggressively acquiring new animated content for its head of sales Jerina Hajno to sell – adding that both titles are exciting additions to its growing library and that they complement many existing Arcana projects.

Parallel Universe Pictures

Canadian distributor Parallel Universe Pictures (PUP) has picked up six short films and Bobby Del Rio’s feature film The Market.

The Toronto-based distributor founded by Rebeka Herron of Rusty Halo Productions and Heidi Tan of Third Culture Films has acquired writer/director/producer Rogan Christopher’s short CODA; writer/director/producer Diane Carol Harder’s Replica; co-director and writers Jonah Fortin and Alexander Briere’s Charlie; writer/director/producer/star Trish Rainone’s Milk; writer/director/producer/star Krista Jang’s Serious Lees; and writer/director Wojciech Zielinski’s One Night Stand.

Meanwhile, based on Rio’s play of the same name, The Market follows four 20-something bond traders who crash the stock market on purpose, in an effort to make a profit. The film features Julian Dezotti, Kyle McDonald, Edsson Morales and Bear Schaal. These new titles are slated for summer and fall digital releases in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., according to a press release.