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Press Releases
The Meerkats: 91Èȱ¬ Films and the 91Èȱ¬ Natural History Unit
collaborate on ambitious first feature film
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91Èȱ¬ Films will collaborate with the world-renowned 91Èȱ¬ Natural History Unit to produce their first ever feature film together, The Meerkats, a highly dramatic and emotional journey to the heart of Africa on the big screen.
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The film is set to start principal photography in November in the Kalahari Desert.
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The Weinstein Company are co-financing the project, and will distribute the film internationally.
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The Meerkats is directed by James Honeyborne, with Joe Oppenheimer and Trevor Ingman producing.
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Neil Nightingale (Head of the 91Èȱ¬ Natural History Unit) and David M Thompson (Head of 91Èȱ¬ Films) will serve as Executive Producers with Michael Cole, Co-President of Production, and Rhodri Thomas, Director of Development & Production, overseeing the project on behalf of The Weinstein Company.
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The 91Èȱ¬ Natural History Unit has been involved in feature films emanating from their own award-winning television series - Blue Planet and the forthcoming Planet Earth, for example.
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But this is the first time such an ambitious project has been produced as a feature film right from the outset.
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Shot using ground-breaking film-making techniques, The Meerkats is a revealing and entertaining look at one family's daily struggle for survival in the harshest environment on earth.
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But what makes these natives of the African plains even more remarkable is a family dynamic which bears an uncanny resemblance to our own.
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Whether they are going through the routines of daily life or locked in a very real battle to stay alive, The Meerkats is an inspiring look at how one family's connection to each other and their surroundings stands as a model of resilience and fortitude for us all.
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"This is a tremendously exciting collaboration," said David Thompson, Head of 91Èȱ¬ Films.
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"The Natural History Unit is the best in the world at what they do and we're really thrilled to be working with them at last.
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"The film has huge emotional appeal and will really travel internationally. It's a great story, with a fantastic team behind it, and we hope this will be the start of a great partnership for the future."
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Neil Nightingale, Head of the 91Èȱ¬ Natural History Unit, added: "I'm very excited about the potential of this film project, combining the talents of the 91Èȱ¬ Natural History Unit and 91Èȱ¬ Films.
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"With a strong and emotional story, featuring some of the most charismatic of wildlife characters, this film, The Meerkats, will appeal to a very broad cinema audience, in Britain and around the world."
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Co-chairman of The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein, said: "We are thrilled to be collaborating with 91Èȱ¬ Films and the Natural History Unit on what will be a spectacular exploration into a fascinating territory in Africa."
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Notes to Editors
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91Èȱ¬ Films is the feature film-making arm of the 91Èȱ¬, developing, producing and financing an average of eight feature films each year.
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Current 91Èȱ¬ Films co-productions include Nicholas Hytner's big screen version of Alan Bennett's The History Boys; Oscar-winning British film-maker Andrea Arnold's feature debut Red Road, winner of the Grand Jury prize at Cannes 2006; Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation; and Tom Vaughan's Starter For Ten.
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On the production front, 91Èȱ¬ Films' co-productions include Justin Chadwick's tale of Mary and Anne Boleyn, The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Scarlett Johannson, Natalie Portman and Eric Bana; David Cronenberg's Untitled project, a London-set thriller, starring Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortensen; Gillian Armstrong's Death Defying Acts, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Guy Pearce, about the dramatic last days of Harry Houdini's life; and Richard Laxton's comedy about real life, true love and plump vegetables on a city allotment in Liverpool - The Allotment, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, and starring Benedict Wong, Eddie Marsan and Omid Djalili. Ìý
PPR
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