A year-long production period has commenced for The Breadwinner, an animated co-production from Toronto’s Aircraft Pictures, Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon and Luxembourg’s Melusine Productions.

Based on Canadian author Deborah Ellis’s novel of the same name, the project is produced in association with Angelina Jolie Pitt‘s Jolie Pas Productions.

The Breadwinner, which marks Aircraft’s first animated feature, was initially announced in March 2014. In Canada, the film will be distributed by Elevation Pictures, while StudioCanal will handle distribution in the UK and Ireland.

Lending their voices to the film are Saara Chaudry (Max & Shred), Soma Bhatia (Degrassi: Next Class), Laara Sadiq (Remedy) and Ali Badshah (The Cat In The Hat). Set against the backdrop of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, The Breadwinner is the tale of a young girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to become her family’s primary income earner.

Other recent projects produced by Aircraft Pictures include Raising Expectations, which debuted on DHX Television’s Family Channel earlier this month.

From Playback.