The Studio Shares the Film’s First Official Trailer
GKIDS to Release in Theaters Early Next Year
New Europe Film Sales closes deals in Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland and More
DUBLIN, IE & NEW YORK, NY – November 12, 2026 – GKIDS, the Academy Award-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world, announced it has acquired all US rights to JULIÁN, the new feature directed by Academy Award®-nominee Louise Bagnall and executive produced by Academy Award®-winner Zoe Saldaña, with animation production from esteemed Animation Studios Cartoon Saloon, Melusine Studios, Aircraft Pictures and Sun Creature. GKIDS will release JULIÁN in theaters in the United States beginning March 26, 2027.
This announcement comes after a successful debut at Annecy Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and the Animation in Film Festival this year and is accompanied by the first official international trailer for JULIÁN. The film will be released day-and-date in Canada by Elevation Pictures, in the United Kingdom by Anime Ltd. and in Ireland by Wildcard Distribution. The deal with GKIDS was closed in partnership with CAA Media Finance.
JULIÁN centers around a 7-year-old boy (voiced by Knyght Darius Jack) who spends a transformative summer in Brooklyn with his Abuela (voiced by Milcania Diaz-Rojas). He discovers her colorful heritage, a vibrant community, and his own dream of becoming a mermaid. Brought to life through hand-drawn 2D animation at 12 frames per second, crafted by over 150 artists across Ireland, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Canada, JULIÁN is based on the award-winning best-selling book, Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. This story is a beautiful, animated feature about family, imagination, and the power of self-expression, unlike any other.
“I am really delighted to be working with GKIDS on JULIÁN’s American release,” said Director Louise Bagnall. “They are true champions of Cartoon Saloon’s work and understand how special and unique all of our films are, Julián included!”
“We are excited to continue our work with Cartoon Saloon, a friendship nearly as old GKIDS itself,” said GKIDS’ President David Jesteadt. “With JULIÁN, Louise and her incredible team of international collaborators have brought a bold and delightful take on Jessica Love’s book, at a time when its message of open-hearted acceptance is more important than ever.”
Ahead of the American Film Market, sales agent New Europe Film Sales is also pleased to announce a bevy of new international deals for the film, including Rita & Luca Films (Spain), Wanted Cinema (Italy), Eksystent Films (Germany), Films4You (Portugal), RTS (Switzerland) and MCF Films (Serbia/Croatia).
The film is directed by Louise Bagnall, Co-directed by Guillaume Lorin and Mark Mullery and written by juliany taveras, from producers Nora Twomey, Tomm Moore, Paul Young, Anthony Leo, Andrew Rosen, Stephan Roelants, Fabien Renelli, Charlotte de la Gournerie, and Lewis Taylor. The film is also executive produced by Zoe Saldaña, Mariel Saldaña, Cisley Saldaña, Gerry Shirren, Katja Schumann, David Yates, Yvonne Walcott-Yates, Hannah Goodier, John Gleeson, and Oisín O’Neill.
GKIDS has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the award-winning studio Cartoon Saloon, having distributed four of the animation studio’s feature films, each of which have earned Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature: Tomm Moore’s The Secret of Kells (2010) was one of the company’s first theatrical releases and GKIDS’ first-ever Oscar-nominated release, and Song of the Sea (2015), Nora Twomey’s The Breadwinner (2018), and Moore and Ross Stewart’s Wolfwalkers (2020) continued the partnership. In addition to handling distribution, GKIDS principals Eric Beckman and Dave Jesteadt are executive producers on both The Breadwinner and Wolfwalkers.
