SMF Studio (Soyuzmultfilm) has signed several deals with international partners from France, Israel, Great Britain, and Canada for animated features and episodes from the studio’s Golden Collection.
SMF Studio is one of Russia’s largest and oldest companies, celebrating its 85 years of business this year. It is a pioneer in Russian animation and created over 1500 animated movies, among many of them were the classics of the animation industry. The Golden Collection of SMF is recognized for its well-established directors, production designers, and animators.
After the long and successful partnership for over 30 years with SMF Studio, France’s Gaumont has again renewed its theatrical and VOD rights for 441 films from the SMF library.
The world’s first video-on-demand platform dedicated exclusively to classic cinema from Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, Klassiki’s founder Justin Waddell said, “We are happy to be working in partnership with SMF Studio to bring several masterpieces of world animation to our English-language platform. The traditions of Russian animation are incredibly strong, and we are incredibly pleased to have the opportunity to present both the pioneers of animation, such as Ivan Ivanov-Vano, as well as more modern works of such great artists as Yuri Norstein. Our viewers will appreciate these gems of animation”.
Nine films from the SMF Golden Collection – Glass Harmonica, The Butterfly, The Heron and the Crane, Hedgehog in the Fog, Contact, Tale of Tales, The Golden Antelope, The Snow Queen, Battle of Kherzenets – are now available on this recently launched UK VOD platform.
The most popular French VOD service, LaCinetek, has licensed TVOD, IPTV, and OTT rights for Once Upon a Time There Lived a Dog, The Poodle, The Heron and the Crane, Grey Wolf, and Little Red Riding Hood in French and German languages. Israel’s DBS satellite services have also licensed the VOD rights of 100 SMF films for two years. The films of the Golden Collection have already been broadcast on the DBS VOD platform for more than five years.
The Canadian online platform, eTVnet, has acquired the rights to 960 films from the Golden Collection and also the short films, Mr.Theo, Cat and Dog, and the Claymotions series.
Today, the studio comprises a production company, licensing, and educational facilities, which includes an animation studio, animation technology park, educational and recreational centers for kids, as well as a licensing agency. SMF also continues to expand its international reach, broadcasting and streaming films in over 50 countries, including France, UK, Germany Israel, China, Indonesia, and many others.