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TIFF 2011 Buyer’s Club: #18. Ian FitzGibbon’s Death of a Superhero

We’re not sure what kind of a fanbase there is for the novel, but we think that audiences might be a sucker for not only the premise (teen boy fighting off cancer and a full blown adolescence crisis) but for everything else the film might offer (genuinely smart use of animation). We didn’t care for Perrier’s Bounty, but if the tone is just right: Ian FitzGibbon might have a winner.

#18. Death of a Superhero
The Gist: Donald is a different kind of superhero. In his real life he is sick and feels like a peeled potato. But the 15-year-old has an outstanding talent to animate with pen and ink a dark world in which an invincible superhero battles a deadly nemesis and his sexy sidekick. But while Donald´s cartoon hero is unbreakable and unable to love, he himself is utterly breakable and bound for love. In a rollercoaster ride he learns of life through his unorthodox psychologist Adrian King, discovers love with the rebellious Shelly and makes peace with his terrified parents while his time is running out.

Director: Ian FitzGibbon (Perrier’s Bounty)
Sales Agent: Bavaria Film International
Selling Point/Suited For: We’re not sure what kind of a fanbase there is for the novel, but we think that audiences might be a sucker for not only the premise (teen boy fighting off cancer and a full blown adolescence crisis) but for everything else the film might offer (genuinely smart use of animation). We didn’t care for Perrier’s Bounty, but if the tone is just right: Ian FitzGibbon might have a winner.

 

 

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Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).

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