Independent distributor GKids has picked up US distribution rights to the French animated feature Zarafa.

Directed by Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie, the 78-minute film is a beautifully hand-drawn work of animation about a 10-year-old named Maki and the orphaned giraffe, Zarafa, who go on an epic adventure from the Sudan, where Maki escapes from slave traders, to Alexandria, Marseille and Paris.

The family-friendly film is in French with English subtitles.

The film debuted at the Berlinale earlier this year, and has since screened at a number of film festivals. 

It's a film that's escaped us, so none of us has seen it yet. But that should change thanks to this acquisition news. No word on a release date. It's already been released in France.

By the way, GKids also acquired and released Chico & Rita, another animated feature (although this one more for adults) we've covered on S&A.

Here's a trailer for Zarafa (with English subtitles):