Breakthrough’s Anne of Green Gables Lands in Germany

MUNICH/TORONTO: Palatin Media has struck a deal that will see Breakthrough Entertainment’s film L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables air on German pubcaster ARD.

L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables launched in Canada on YTV and is inspired by Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic novel. The film tells the story of a precocious and innocent young orphan named Anne Shirley. Anne is placed in the care of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert by mistake and touches their lives with her irrepressible spirit.

The latest film adaptation is based on an original script by Susan Coyne and directed by John Kent Harrison. It is produced by Breakthrough Entertainment in association with Corus Entertainment’s YTV and the author’s granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler, who served as executive producer on the film. It stars Martin Sheen, Ella Ballentine, Sara Botsford, Julia Lalonde, Kate Hennig, Stefani Kimber, Drew Haytaoglu, Kyle Gatehouse and Linda Kash. First published in 1908, Anne of Green Gables is a Canadian literary classic that has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.

“We are happy and proud to have in Bayerischer Rundfunk/ARD the perfect partner for the outstanding production of Breakthrough Entertainment,” commented Bernd Schloetterer, CEO and founder of Palatin Media.

“We are thrilled, alongside our German distribution partner Palatin Media, to be able to bring the most famous fictional character in Canadian literature to Germany with ARD,” said Craig McGillivray, the VP of distribution at Breakthrough Entertainment. “It is extremely gratifying to see how Anne is continuing to expand to new audiences worldwide.”

Dr. Bernhard Möllmann, the press officer at ARD, added, “Anne Shirley and her adventures in Green Gables perfectly portrays the magic of childhood innocence and inspiration. With this recent revival of this globally recognized story and character from Palatin Media and Breakthrough Entertainment, we now have a great opportunity to bring that story to German audiences.”

Executive producers Joan Lambur and Peter Williamson remarked, “Part of the reason this story and character are so iconic both in Canada and abroad is that despite the story being written many years ago, there is still a profound amount of relevancy among today’s audiences that even spans generations. L.M. Montgomery has crafted a powerful tale that represents the resilience in adversity of the human spirit.”