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Like a Photon Creative, the Australian animation studio behind “The Pout-Pout Fish,” has lined up seven new animated features and handed full international distribution rights to Sola Media.
Production financing is provided by Elevate Production Finance and Alceon Entertainment Partners. Maslow Entertainment has chosen Australian and New Zealand distribution for this feature. The line-up could create up to 1,000 jobs in Australia and Ireland, according to the company. Photon Creative CEO Kristen Souvlis will be attending the upcoming American Film Market (AFM).
The first is “Familiar,” a homegrown original production that will be produced as a Treaty co-production with Irish company Elephant Goldfish. Production on the film is scheduled to begin in March 2027. Additional titles will be released at a later date.
The film is set at Ironclaw Academy, a school where wizards’ animal friends, known as familiars, undergo their demanding and often messy training. The central character is Josie, a feisty young cat.
“Families continue to come back to our films and we remain focused on creating credible projects with strong stories and broad appeal. ‘Familiar’ is the first of seven new features in our growing pipeline. Sola Media has a proven track record of our work, and together we see a real opportunity to bring Australian and European content to audiences around the world,” said Souvlis.
Along with each of the seven feature-length films, the studio will create direct-to-consumer short-form material based on footage that does not appear in the films themselves. The content will accompany the film and be distributed across various online and social platforms.
This slate follows Sola Media’s international coverage of “The Pout-Pout Fish.” The film, an adaptation of the popular children’s book series, opened at number nine at the US box office and is currently the fourth highest-grossing Australian film of 2026. It also ranked #1 on Amazon Prime Kids and #6 among all Prime viewers. Maslow was released in Australian cinemas on January 1, while Viva Kids handled the US release on March 20.
Sola Media will also oversee international distribution of the upcoming film, “The Neverending Pillow Fort,” Crayola Studios’ first feature film produced in conjunction with MIMO Studios. The film, directed by Allison Brownmoore, is scheduled for release in early 2027. Elizabeth Cullen and Sophia Rose voice best friends Maggie and Abby, while Guy Pearce, David Tennant, Teresa Palmer, and Marsai Martin also star.
Solveig Langeland, Managing Director of Sola Media, said a mix of humor and heart, supported by the skill of bringing characters to life through a strong voice cast, has always been at the heart of the studio’s storytelling. “We are proud of the success we have achieved together and excited to begin the next chapter of our partnership. Expanding into co-productions with Ireland marks another exciting step for Like a Photon. Their forward-thinking approach to building the brand and engaging audiences through direct-to-consumer content from the earliest stages of production adds a powerful new dimension to our upcoming slate, creating awareness and marketing momentum long before the films hit cinemas,” she said.
Separately, Like a Photon Creative has partnered with Screen Queensland on the Escalate: Feature Focus Writers Initiative. Under the plan, six Queensland-based screenwriters will each write a script for a possible 3D animated feature, working from concepts provided by the studio. The writers room will begin in February 2027.
Since 2017, the studio has sponsored and produced 10 3D animated features for global theatrical release, including ‘The Wishing Tree’, ‘Combat Wombats’ and its 2023 sequel ‘Daisy Quokka: The World’s Scariest Animal’, ‘Sloth Road’ and ‘The Lost Tiger’. He also created the Sanctuary City multiverse for Universal Content Group.
Langeland founded Sola Media in 2004. The company, which has offices in Stuttgart and Munich, was acquired by Embracer Group’s Plaion in 2020 but continues to operate independently under Langeland and fellow managing director Moritz Peters.