Blue Fox Launches Canadian Arm Ahead of Toronto Film Festival (Exclusive)

James Huntsman’s Blue Fox Entertainment, the indie film distribution and sales company, has hired Dave Hudakoc and Ian Goggins to open a Canadian office just in time for the Toronto Film Festival, which gets underway Sept. 5.

Former levelFILM co-founder Dave Hudakoc will lead Blue Fox Entertainment Canada as president and partner, while Ian Goggins, former executive vp of global home entertainment at Entertainment One, joins as executive vp, it was announced as the Venice Film Festival launches.

“For many years, expanding our footprint into Canada has been a strategic goal for Blue Fox Entertainment and we finally found the right partner in Dave Hudakoc,” Huntsman, head of Blue Fox Entertainment, said in a statement on Wednesday. Hudakoc and Goggins will work with the U.S.-based Blue Fox to bring indie films to Canadian and international audiences.

“With the continually increasing amount of high-quality films in the independent space, there is no better time to establish Blue Fox Entertainment Canada as part of the Blue Fox Entertainment family,” Hudakoc added in his own statement.

Blue Fox Entertainment Canada will focus on acquiring and distributing feature films, documentaries and TV series that draw on the resources and creativity of indie Canadian producers and international partners.

Blue Fox’s recent international sales titles include The Panic, starring Cary Elwes, Malcolm McDowell, Justin Chatwin, and Cristiana Dell’Anna; Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda; Space Oddity, directed by Kyra Sedgwick; and One Winter, starring Julian Dennison, Minnie Driver, and James Rolleston.

The company’s upcoming U.S. release slate includes the animated feature Kensuke’s Kingdom, starring Cillian Murphy, Sally Hawkins, Ken Watanabe and Aaron MacGregor; and the coming-of-age YA dramedy Empire Waist, starring Mia Kaplan, Rainn Wilson, Missi Pyle and Jemima Yevu.