{"id":652045,"date":"2026-05-19T08:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T08:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/652045\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T08:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T08:56:09","slug":"netflix-buys-animated-feature-in-waves-out-of-cannes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/652045\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix Buys Animated Feature ‘In Waves’ Out of Cannes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIn Netflix\u2019s first major deal out of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival<\/a>, the streamer has picked up global rights outside of France to breakout Critics Week opener \u201cIn Waves<\/a>,\u201d an adaptation of AJ Dungo\u2019s 2019 graphic memoir.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe animated romance directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen boasts a voice cast led by Oscar-nominated Stephanie Hsu and BAFTA winner Will Sharpe. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe movie, which opened Critics\u2019 Week to rave reviews, has quickly emerged as one of the breakout titles of Cannes\u2019 parallel sections. In its review, Variety described the film as \u201can elegantly animated adaptation,\u2019\u201d praising the emotional depth of Nguyen\u2019s coming-of-age love story.<\/p>\n

\n\tNetflix won the buzzy project in a highly competitive bidding war, after multiple worldwide offers. The deal, which is rumored to be in the mid-seven figure range, was negotiated by Anonymous Content, CAA Media Finance and Charades on behalf of the filmmakers.<\/p>\n

\n\tProduced by Silex Films, distributed in France by Diaphana and sold internationally by Charades, \u201cIn Waves\u201d is directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen and written by Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux, based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Dungo.<\/p>\n

\n\tSet in Los Angeles, the film follows AJ, a shy teenager who loves skateboarding and drawing, and Kristen, a passionate surfer. The pair fall deeply in love and envision a future together until Kristen is struck by a sudden illness. Together, they navigate adversity through the strength of their relationship, the support of their friends and a shared connection to surfing and the ocean.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film is produced by Priscilla Bertin and Judith Nora. Executive producers include David Levine, Yohann Comte, Carole Baraton, Pierre Mazars, Sharpe, Hsu, Nick Shumaker and David Levine on behalf of Anonymous Content.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFrom the very start, we were energized by Mai\u2019s unmistakable talent and the ability of AJ\u2019s story to deeply move audiences,\u201d said David Levine and Nick Shumaker of Anonymous Content. \u201cThis exciting partnership with Netflix will ensure that our romantic, coming-of-age story reaches people all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPriscilla Bertin of Silex Films said: \u201cI am very happy about this partnership with Netflix and their enthusiasm for \u2018In Waves,\u2019 which gives us the opportunity to reach the broadest possible audience and share this deeply moving true love story with the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u2014 Zack Sharf contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Netflix\u2019s first major deal out of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, the streamer has picked up global…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[32176,88,276500],"class_list":["post-652045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-cannes-film-festival","tag-entertainment","tag-in-waves"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}