Hugh Hudson Set to Direct MIDNIGHT SUN from Hyde Park-Image Nation

Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment and Image Nation Abu Dhabi will finance and co-produce the Arctic adventure MIDNIGHT SUN. Directed by Hugh Hudson (CHARIOTS OF FIRE, GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES), the film is from a script by Hudson and Bart Gavigan. Jake Eberts (DANCES WITH WOLVES, GANDHI) and Brando Quilici (Iceman Autopsy) will produce alongside Hyde Park Entertainment's Ashok Amritraj (GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE 3D).

Hyde Park International will introduce the project at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, and will represent worldwide rights. The project has already generated interest among buyers, including Medusa, which has purchased Italian rights, and Alliance Atlantis, which has purchased Canadian rights.

MIDNIGHT SUN is a four-quadrant family adventure film in the vein of FREE WILLY and DOLPHIN TALE, set amongst the ice fields of Northern Canada. The hero is a young boy, Luke, who defies the dangerous elements of nature to reunite an abandoned polar bear cub with its mother. Luke is aided by Muktuk, a half Inuit and half Canadian, who knows the terrain where polar bears live like the back of his hand. But they are soon separated on the floating ice of the high Arctic, and Luke and the cub are left to protect themselves from bear attacks, giant icebergs, and vicious windstorms.

BAFTA and Emmy award-winning cinematographer Doug Allan will lens the wildlife and natural elements of the picture, with production design by Andrew Sanders (CHARIOTS OF FIRE, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST).

The scheduled start date is November 2012, with locations in the Canadian Arctic and Manitoba.

About Hyde Park-Image Nation:
In 2009, Hyde Park Entertainment and Image Nation Abu Dhabi partnered on a $250 million financing deal to develop, produce and distribute feature films. The latest film under the partnership was GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE 3D with Sony, which opened worldwide in February 2012, grossing over $130 million. Hyde Park and Image Nation Abu Dhabi also extended their partnership to create a strategic alliance with Singapore's Media Development Authority (MDA). Under this deal, Hyde Park-Image Nation Singapore was launched in 2010 to fund multiple films worth an estimated production value of $75 million. In 2011, Ashok Amritraj took over as CEO of National Geographic Films, which joined forces in a new venture with Hyde Park-Image Nation. The venture will produce feature films, documentaries and television series designed to entertain and inspire family audiences around the world.

About Jake Eberts
Eberts has financed or executive produced over 50 films, including CHARIOTS OF FIRE, GANDHI, THE KILLING FIELDS, HOPE AND GLORY, DRIVING MISS DAISY, DANCES WITH WOLVES, BLACK ROBE, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, CHICKEN RUN, PRISONER OF PARADISE, JOURNEY TO MECCA, OCEANS and THE ILLUSIONIST. These films received 65 Oscar nominations, including 9 for Best Picture, winning 37 Oscars, including 4 for Best Picture.

Eberts is currently serving as executive producer of Louis Schwartzberg's Hidden Worlds, Jon Long's Extreme, and the 3D IMAX film Jerusalem. He is Trustee Emeritus of The Sundance Institute, and Media Advisor to Participant Media.

About Brando Quilici
An independent Italian filmmaker, Quilici's career spans over 20 years, during which he has worked on many programs for many American networks, including the Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel , PBS NOVA, and European networks such as France 5, France 2 , ZDF, Rai, UK Channel 4, and UK Channel 5. He has won many awards including prizes at the Jackson Hole and Jules Verne Film Festivals. His Production Company, HD Productions, is based in Rome.

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