The Quebec animated film Katak, the brave beluga is making its way internationally. Barely a year after its release in Quebec, it has already achieved success in more than 120 countries, such as France, Spain and even South Korea! Aces spoke with the film’s producer, Nancy Florence Savard.
(Oh, and if you’re wondering, a producer is the person responsible for creating a film. This includes financing, hiring the crew, and scheduling.)
Katak is a small, still gray beluga. However, given his age, he should already have been white, like his friends, who never miss an opportunity to remind him. In order to prove his courage, and to please his sick grandmother, he goes looking for his grandfather on the Great Ice. Katak therefore leaves the calm waters of the St. Lawrence River and embarks on a great adventure!
In what Katak is it a typically Quebecois film?
It was the first time that we made an animated animal film that presented the fauna and flora of Quebec. To ensure that Quebec animals, plants and landscapes are well represented, we worked with scientists. We were inspired by the real situations that belugas experience: the fact of being fewer and fewer in number, of suffering from the noise of boats and of almost no longer seeing baby belugas born.
Are you surprised by the success of Katak ?
Obviously ! For little ones, but also for older ones! In Quebec, Katak was presented in cinemas for 16 weeks. Internationally, his career still continues. It has been sold to more than 120 countries and territories. For example, last week, it was released in South Korea and Spain, and the week before, it was in Vietnam and Poland! We can say that our little Tadoussac beluga travels a lot!
Charlotte Préfontaine, trainee journalist, The Aces of Info
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