NEW DELHI: Studio 100 Film has acquired the popular Australian-German film Maya the Bee for the North American market following a distribution agreement with Shout! Factory, a leading multi-platform entertainment company.
Studio 100 Film is an international feature films sales agency based in Munich/Germany. The announcement was made by Studio 100 Film CEO Patrick Elmendorff and Shout! Factory’s founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos.
In this agreement, Shout! Factory has secured exclusive US and Canadian distribution rights to Maya the Bee – Movie, including theatrical, home entertainment, digital distribution and broadcast for cross-platform releases.
Shout! Factory plans a strategic rollout of this film in selected theatres, video-on-demand (VOD), subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), electronic-sell-through (EST), television and in all packaged media through Shout! Factory Kids in 2015.
Elmendorff said: “Following the recent success of Maya the Bee – Movie in Germany, South Korea, Poland, etc., we are very proud to announce the distribution agreement for the North American market. I am delighted to partner with Shout! Factory. They have demonstrated great expertise in distributing feature films.”
Maya the Bee is a worldwide and well-known brand. The books of the little bee were first published over 100 years ago and since then worldwide audiences young and old have loved the brand. “The worldwide sales of the movie to more than 100 countries illustrate the continuous popularity of this well-known and much-loved brand and the rising demand for great family entertainment,” says Elmendorff.
“We are incredibly excited about this new relationship with Studio 100 Film. This highly entertaining family movie is the perfect addition to our library of exciting new films. We look forward to presenting Maya the Bee movie to North American audiences through a wide variety of entertainment distribution platforms and on family home entertainment shelves,” Shout! Factory’s founders said.
Studio 100 Film presents Maya the Bee – Movie as Australian-German co-production of Studio 100 Media and Buzz Studios in association with Flying Bark Productions. Directed by Alexs Stadermann, it is produced by Thorsten Wegener (Studio 100 Media) and Barbara Stephen (Buzz Studios) and executively produced by Patrick Elmendorff (Studio 100 Media) and Jim Ballantine (Buzz Studios). Studio 100 Film, the film division is a hundred percent subsidiary of the international children’s production and distribution company Studio 100 Media based in Munich.
The story is about a freshly hatched bee Maya who is a little whirlwind and will not follow the rules of the hive. One of these rules is not to trust the hornets that live beyond the meadow. When the Royal Jelly is stolen, the hornets are suspected and Maya is thought to be their accomplice. No one believes that she is the innocent victim and no one will stand by her except for her good-natured and best friend Willy. After a long and eventful journey to the hornets hive Maya and Willy soon discover the true culprit and the two friends finally bond with the other residents of the opulent meadow.
