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Federation and Echo Studio announce production of NADIA,
a new documentary by Anissa Bonnefont
which tells the incredible story of soccer legend Nadia Nadim
A CANAL+ Creation Originale documentary selected at Sunny Side as part of the Women in Doc Talent Hub 2021
Coming soon on CANAL+
Paris, June 23rd 2021/ Sunny Side of the Doc
For immediate release:
Federation Entertainment and Echo Studio today announced the production of NADIA (90’), a new documentary by Anissa Bonnefont which marks her second doc feature since the critically acclaimed Wonder Boy (Special Jury Mention at Tribeca Film Festival and Nominated for Best Documentary Film at the César Awards 2020).
This documentary tells the incredible story of Nadia Nadim, a former Afghan refugee who became a star player for the Paris Saint-Germain football club.
Filming began June 2020 in France and Denmark and finished on a high note with the climatic victory on June 4th this year of the PSG women’s team in the French championship. The documentary will be available fall 2021.
NADIA is part of Sunny Side of the Doc’s Women Talent Hub, a prestigious selection of six outstanding projects presented to broadcasters and key decision makers, in order to put the spotlight on women non-fiction filmmakers.
Christine Cauquelin, CANAL+ Group Director of Documentaries and Factual Channels said: « I am delighted to be teaming-up once again with director Anissa Bonnefont on her second documentary feature, especially as it follows on from the exceptional Wonder Boy which first premiered on CANAL+”.
Anissa Bonnefont, Director, commented: ‘’With Wonder Boy, I realized that you could make entertaining films that would have a positive impact on people whilst also drawing attention to important social issues. As soon as I met Nadia, I knew it was imperative I tell her story: that of an incredibly positive and joyful personality whose personal journey will bring hope to the youth of today, boys and girls alike. Above all, I wanted to make sure people understood that any of us could potentially become a refugee if things go wrong in our country.’’
Myriam Weil, Federation Entertainment’s Head of Documentaries said: « When writer Edith Chapin suggested this project, it seemed only natural to pair her up with Anissa Bonnefont who has a unique way of telling intimate stories about deep identity issues with grace and intensity. NADIA is a film that delicately weaves together a very serious subject matter, with a calling that millions dream of, and a beautiful and extraordinary person: Nadia Nadim.”
Jean-François Camilleri, President of Echo Studio added: “Nadia’s incredible story deserved a beautiful movie, and thanks to Anissa Bonnefont’s talent and sensitivity, we managed to do her story justice. NADIA will inspire audiences worldwide and pave the way for a better tomorrow. “
How do you even begin to rebuild your life when you have lost your father and your home forever at the age of 11? This is a question Nadia Nadim, a young Afghan woman has been asking herself ever since she was forced to flee her country with her mother and four sisters after her dad was executed by the Taliban in Kabul in 2000. The country, ravaged by decades of conflict and countless military invasions by the Russians and Americans, is still today under the grip of the Taliban.
Nadia’s passion for soccer saved her. She became a striker for the national team of her adoptive country Denmark, as well as for the PSG women’s team.
Now a soccer star, she wants to return to Afghanistan to retrace her father’s footsteps. But the country is still ravaged by terrorism, with the Taliban and Islamic State sowing more chaos each day… Hamida, Nadia’s mother, and Aryana, her aunt and a local celebrity, host of the country’s most famous talent show, try to dissuade her from making this trip, which could cost Nadia her life.
Will Nadia have to mourn a second time, in order to finally let go of her difficult past and flourish as the independent and strong-willed woman she has always been?
NADIA is a Federation Entertainment production, in co-production with Echo Studio and in collaboration with Canal+, with the support of Cinemage, SG Image and CNC. The documentary will be distributed by Federation Entertainment.
As a reminder, Federation and CANAL+ are also collaborating on WENGER, INVINCIBLE, in co-production with Yvette Production and Noah Media Group. This is the first ever documentary dedicated to Arsenal’s iconic coach, Arsène Wenger, directed by the French-British duo Christian Jeanpierre and Gabriel Clarke.
Press contact
Valérie Tailland
About Federation Entertainment:
Federation heralds a new breed of independent studios, focusing on the creation, production, financing and distribution of high-quality original content for the global marketplace.
Since its creation in 2013, the group which is spearheaded by Pascal Breton and Lionel Uzan is experiencing exponential growth. Federation now has multiple companies in Paris (Federation’s headquarters, production & distribution operations, Cottonwood Media, WeMake, Cheyenne Federation, Mercer Production), Los Angeles (Picture Perfect Federation, Federation Entertainment of America, Animal Federation), Rome (Fabula Pictures), Madrid (Spain Fedent España) and Berlin (Cottonwood Media GmbH).
Active in the drama, kids & family, documentary and light entertainment space, Federation works with all platforms and major broadcasters in the market. Its rich portfolio includes major award-winning and international successes such as the cult spy series The Bureau (50 X 52’), the financial thriller Bad Banks (12 x 52’), the Netflix original hit series Baby (now 3 seasons), Find Me in Paris (78 X 26′), the premium live action hit for tweens. Federation’s documentary line-up includes Les Bleus 2018, at the heart of the Russian epic, for TF1 and Amazon Prime-Video, Varane, Destin de Champion, available on Amazon Prime-Video as well, and A Life time apart (Canal+ Family & France Télévisions) just to name a few.
About Echo Studio:
Founded in Paris, Echo Studio produces and distributes feature films, fictions, documentaries, TV shows, series for platforms, TV films, digital content.
Founded by the producers of Academy Awards Winner The March of the Penguins (127M$ worldwide boxoffice), On My Way to School, Once Upon a Forest and the creator of the Disneynature label and producer of all its films (Earth, Oceans, Chimpanzee, African Cats…), a total of 125M$ domestic boxoffice), Echo Studio is a team of experienced movie executives, producers and distributors with international back ground.
ECHO IMPACT MARKETING: Our belief is that the need for content has never been as high, the public is ready to watch-and-learn, but most impact content suffer from low marketing and communication resources. We aim at developing strong social impact campaign for each of our film and our shows, in order to promote the causes and the subjects of our films in addition to the traditional release campaigns.
For that, we work with partners (foundations, corporations, family offices) to raise money and with institutions, NGOs, school systems to spread our messages.
Echo Studio has distributed Australian academy award entry Buoyancy and also coproduced and distributed the feature documentary Forward and several TV documentaries, including Watt the fish and One way ticket. Echo Studio is also coproducer and codistributor of Aissa Maiga ’s first feature documentary, Above Water (Official Selection Cannes 2021).
