Copperheart Entertainment Starts Financing for ‘Fifteen Dogs’ Adaptation at Berlin’s EFM Animation Days
Oscar-Winning Director Chris Landreth and Copperheart Entertainment to Launch Fifteen Dogs at EFM Animation Days
Oscar-winning director Chris Landreth and Steven Hoban, head of Copperheart Entertainment, will officially begin financing for Fifteen Dogs, an animated adaptation of André Alexis’ acclaimed novel, during the inaugural Animation Days at the European Film Market in February.
Taking place from February 12 to 14, this new animation strand within the Berlinale’s market will feature project showcases, pitching sessions, and a variety of talks, workshops, and networking events, highlighting the growing importance of animated features in the film industry.
Copperheart Entertainment has recently acquired the rights to Alexis’ award-winning novel, which tells the story of a group of dogs granted human intelligence and language as part of a wager between two Greek gods. The narrative opens with a conversation between Hermes and Apollo in a Toronto bar, debating whether animals would be happier if they possessed human cognitive abilities and speech.
As the dogs grapple with their newfound awareness of love, power, mortality, and time, they face challenges that fracture their once-unified pack into competing ideologies of domination, art, faith, manipulation, and love. Central to the story is Majnoun, a black poodle whose emotional journey underscores the central truth that life’s meaning derives not solely from intelligence, but from love, belonging, and the inevitability of death.
Hoban, who co-wrote the successful animated feature Night of the Zoopocalypse, is tasked with writing the screenplay, while Landreth is set to make his feature-length directorial debut. Known for his Oscar-winning short Ryan and the Oscar-nominated The End, Landreth plans to employ his signature approach to animation, dubbed “psychorealism,” to express the characters’ inner emotional and psychological states through computer-generated imagery.
Hoban expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “From the moment we read André Alexis’s masterpiece, we felt it demanded a cinematic treatment that was as bold, strange, and emotionally truthful as the book itself. As we begin the financing stage, we’re excited to introduce Fifteen Dogs to international partners who share our belief in ambitious, adult-oriented animation.”
This film marks a strategic shift for Copperheart Entertainment towards prestige, dramatic animation aimed at older audiences. The production will take place in collaboration with Montreal-based L’Atelier Animation, with the project currently in the design phase. Fifteen Dogs is developed with support from Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates.
Landreth noted the unique storytelling potential of animation: “Fifteen Dogs is ultimately a deeply human story, about mortality, love, curiosity, and the terror that comes with that curiosity. This is a project that challenges me creatively in the best possible way, and I believe it has the potential to resonate powerfully with audiences around the world.”
