{"id":7334,"date":"2023-02-28T16:54:02","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T21:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/10ave.com\/2023\/02\/spectacular-cross-canada-release-more-than-145-screens-for-katak-the-brave-beluga\/"},"modified":"2023-03-03T11:27:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T16:27:19","slug":"spectacular-cross-canada-release-more-than-145-screens-for-katak-the-brave-beluga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/10ave.com\/en\/2023\/02\/spectacular-cross-canada-release-more-than-145-screens-for-katak-the-brave-beluga\/","title":{"rendered":"Spectacular Cross-Canada Release – More than 145 screens for Katak, the BRAVE BELUGA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As of Friday, February 24, 10th<\/sup> Ave Productions\u2019 fifth animated feature will be presented exclusively in movie theatres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Maison 4:3 helping out on cross-Canada distribution, based on an original idea and script by Andr\u00e9e Lambert, directed by Christine Dallaire-Dupont and co-directed by Nicola Lemay, with art direction by Philippe Arseneau Bussi\u00e8res, and produced by Nancy Florence Savard, Katak, the Brave Beluga<\/em><\/strong> will be presented on more than 83 screens in its original French-language version. Added to that will be the 62 screens on which the English-language version of Katak, the Brave Beluga<\/em><\/strong> will be shown during its Canada-wide release in weeks to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Screenwriter Andr\u00e9e Lambert<\/strong>, who lives on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, specializes in productions for young audiences. Katak, the Brave Beluga<\/em><\/strong> is her first feature-length project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wrote television series for 40 years because it was gratifying, because I felt like I was giving something to children. I had a sense that through television, it was possible to influence kids in a positive way and to help them grow.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>For several years now, I\u2019ve had a sailboat on which I travel along the river. My sailboat is called Katak. I didn\u2019t choose that name. It was the first owner, who lived in Natashquan. Katak is an Innu word which means \u2018far away,\u2019 and I thought that was a good name for a little grey Beluga who sets off on a great journey.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmong the themes that the film deals with, the most important are difference, self-acceptance, and tolerance toward those who are different. There\u2019s also the theme of parent-child relationships. The fact that Katak\u2019s mother overprotects him. I think a lot of parents and children find themselves in relationships where the children are overprotected and the parents are overprotective. The relationship between Jack-Lynn and her father, the teenager rebelling against her father \u2013 that, too, will resonate with many families.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>This film also addresses itself to those who are concerned about the decline of the Saint Lawrence Beluga. I didn\u2019t want it to be the main storyline, but I wanted to place Katak\u2019s story in that context, to raise people\u2019s awareness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director Christine Dallaire-Dupont, for whom this is a first directing credit after 15 years of working in Quebec\u2019s animation sector, is very familiar with the film\u2019s setting, and she had to overcome some challenges that were specific to this production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>The film opens at the entrance of the Saguenay Fjord, which is a very cherished place for me, for my family. I know it well, because I spent summers there, looking at the river, hoping to see the little white specks, the little belugas in the distance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reproducing this magnificent setting, along with animal species that aren\u2019t often seen in animated films, required great creativity at every level, whether it be portraying the environment in which the adventure unfolds, creating the characters, or animating those characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>We faced a lot of challenges on this film, simply because of the fact that our characters are marine animals. We wanted to stay close to the animals in our acting performances. But a marine mammal has its own limitations. They don\u2019t have hands, but small fins. They don\u2019t have shoulders, their faces are particular, and we didn\u2019t want to humanize them, either. For me, it was a challenge. And I think our animators succeeded spectacularly. <\/em>Our characters are expressive beyond my expectations.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After directing his first animated feature, Felix and the Treasure of Morg\u00e4a<\/em><\/strong>, which was set in the Magdalen Islands, director Nicola Lemay<\/strong> co-directed Katak\u2019s maritime adventure \u2013 a story set in the iconic Saint Lawrence River, which flows through the provinces of eastern Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had the immense pleasure of transposing and recreating, in stylized fashion, a part of the majestic river\u2019s plant and animal life in computer-generated images, seeking to capture the essence, the wealth and the beauty of several iconic sites, above and below the water\u2019s surface!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuebec and Canadian audiences can see themselves reflected in Katak\u2019s adventures, enjoying a rare local alternative to the many American films that take up our screens. I\u2019m proud, as well, to be presenting our culture and beautiful landscape to the whole world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Katak, the Brave Beluga<\/em><\/strong> production team is delighted to be unveiling today the terrific cast of actresses and actors who have lent their voices to the characters in this English-language version of the 100% Canadian-made animated feature film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cast