MOSCOW (Russian Film Business Today) – In March, the Central Partnership group of companies signed an agreement with the Era Vodoleya Producers Center to produce a feature-length 3D animated film with the working title Peregrine (Sapsan). The story is about Mitya, a peregrine falcon nestling. Through a twist of fate, he ends up with a family of pigeons who adopt him as one of their own and instill in him a love of soccer. The soccer matches, which are integral to the plot, feature running commentary by Goose and Duck characters, who are voiced by Viktor Gusev and Vasily Utkin, two well-known sports TV journalists. Mitya and the pigeon Gala are voiced by Konstantin Khabensky and Renata Litvinova respectively. The film is written and directed by the brothers Maxim and Vadim Sveshnikov. Art direction duties went to Artur Mirzoyan. As of this writing, the film is currently in production. It is slated for a late 2008 – early 2009 release. The film’s budget is $2.5 million with Central Partnership contributing more than $1 million.

“This is a new market segment for us, and one that seems very promising to us,” said Central Partnership’s head of production Aram Movsesyan, “Viewer interest in animation in Russia is evident from the earnings of feature-length animated films in Russian release, which compare well to box office figures of live-action films and the phenomenal launch of the 2×2 TV channel last year.”

“We’ve gained a strong partner in Central Partnership,” said Dmitry Pisarevsky, one of Peregrine’s producers, “It’s a matter of not only the financial solvency of the company, but its ability to work with the film and its capability of getting the film to a maximum number of viewers. Many companies want to invest in cinema and animated movies in particular, but it was important for us to find professionals who could be entrusted with the fortunes of our animated film.”

The Era Vodoleya Producers Center was established in 2001. For four years, it specialized in producing documentaries. In 2005, the company started to make animated films and in 2006 – full-length live-action features. The company is currently working on various stages of three animated films, 10 documentaries and two feature films. Their cumulative budget is around $10 million.