Canada’s Sinking Ship Entertainment and Northern Ireland’s Paper Owl Films announced today their new partnership on the latter’s movie adaptation of the bestselling Sophie Kinsella novel, Finding Audrey.

The two award-winning companies are co-developing the project, with Paper Owl Films producing and Sinking Ship Entertainment distributing internationally.

The movie adaptation is being envisioned as a family film, and is in the advanced stage of development ahead of Kidscreen in February 2022.

Based on Sophie Kinsella’s bestselling novel of the same name, Finding Audrey is the heartfelt, meaningful, and sometimes hilarious story of a teenage girl suffering from social anxiety disorder. After a triggering bullying incident at school, Audrey is unable to venture out of her house and hides from the world with the help of dark sunglasses.

This new family film tells the story of Audrey’s journey to recovery, with the help of her chaotic but loving family and a boy named Linus. Finding Audrey mixes live-action, animation and special effects to create a quirky, comedic, and emotive viewing experience that will resonate with today’s families.

Sophie Kinsella says: “I’m thrilled to have worked with Paper Owl Films on this exciting and imaginative adaptation of Finding Audrey. I can’t wait for fans of my book to see the characters come to life on screen, and also for a wider audience to meet Audrey and her family. I hope viewers will really engage with the storyline and the issues surrounding teenage mental health.”

“Using Sophie’s novel as our springboard, we’ve deliberately included a mix of live action, animation and special effects in Finding Audrey to create a highly engaging and emotive viewing experience for our family targeted audience,” says Grainne McGuinness, Creative Director at Paper Owl Films “Together with the characters’ mix of perspectives and their evolution within the story, we hope this adaption will continue Sophie’s mission to blow the lid off existing social attitudes to mental health.”

Kate Sanagan, Head of Sales and Distribution from Sinking Ship Entertainment adds: “We’re excited to be partnering with Paper Owl Films on this important project. We were immediately drawn to Finding Audrey’s perceptive take on mental health and teenagers, and we are confident that the series’ creative and engaging format will resonate with both broadcasters and audiences worldwide.”