The BBCs license on the pic begins in November and lasts three years.
Signature Entertainment released the film in the UK and Ireland and brokered the deal with the BBC.
Facing mortality, Sid (George Somner) wants to create a legacy and be remembered forever.
George Somner and Mia McKenna-Bruce in Kindling.Lowkey FIlms.
Kindlingis the first feature from OHara and Gamaches London-based productionLowkey Films.
Independent will finance, co-produce and represent sales on three forthcoming Lowkey projects.
DEADLINE: The BBC has picked upKindling.
Jamie Gamache and Connor O’Hara.
How did the deal come about?
JAMIE GAMACHE:I reached out to Simon Chilcott, one of the BBCs buyers, directly.
This was before we had a UK distributor and before the film was even finished.
I was putting it on Simons radar, which isnt normally the way things are done.
Traditionally you get a distributor, and the distributor has a first window and then takes it to broadcasters.
We dont always do things conventionally at Lowkey, so we reached out to Simon and pitched the film.
He took a look and just said he loved it and would love to pick it up.
He said that traditionally he doesnt buy directly from producers.
So at that point, Signature came in and picked the film up.
And then they brokered the deal with the BBC.
CONNOR OHARA:We made this film for the everyday person.
We wanted it to sit between an arthouse and a commercial film that could be accessible to all audiences.
I think that aligned with the BBCs mentality.
Where did you find your cast?
OHARA:We had such a nice casting process.
We saw around 1000 tapes for the six younger roles.
DEADLINE:Had Mia already shot Molly Manning Walkers How To Have Sex?
But we pushed to get her in because we felt she was right for the role.
Its now nice to see how times have changed.
DEADLINE:How was the experience of taking the film to Shanghai?
GAMACHE:That was a crazy experience.
I think the film aligns a lot with the family mentality in China.
DEADLINE:How was the UK run theatrical run of the film?
As filmmakers that have fought for independence, we thought there might be more support from there.
But regardless of that, the thing that we tried to monopolize was just creating the energy ourselves.
We fueled the buzz by getting the actors behind the film and coming out with a big launch.
Thats what drew the BBC in and the major charity supporters.
Its been great to see audiences find the project.
you could sign up for free.
And thats how we believe you reach people.
DEADLINE:Can talk a little about the structure of Lowkey Films?
OHARA:Were a small company that chose to get smaller recently.
For us, its important to be able to say were sustainable and value lead.
DEADLINE:Can you explain the deal youve locked with Independent Entertainment?
GAMACHE:We are co-producing three features with Independent Entertainment.
One is called Tender Omens, a psychological horror directed by debut feature filmmaker Thomas James.
And then theres Beyond The Deep, a follow-up by the Weaver Brothers to their debut Comos.
What we fundamentally align on the most is taste.
We both share a very similar taste, particularly on this slate.
We are using genre to explore much deeper human questions.
We also share similar values.
So its not a first-look deal.
It is purely for these three projects that independent will finance and will produce.
