Indian and Canadian producers have signed a letter of intent for a treaty co-production on the life of Amir Hussain Lone, the armless cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir, it was unveiled at the Cannes Film Market. The film is titled “Unarmed Soldier.”
The project will be directed by Nishil Sheth and structured as an official co-production under the India-Canada audio-visual co-production treaty, targeting global theatrical, streaming, and television distribution.
Lone lost both arms in an accident at the age of eight and taught himself to play cricket using his legs, batting with the bat braced between his neck and chin and bowling with his feet. He went on to captain the Jammu and Kashmir para-cricket team.
The Canadian contingent includes Sgt. Major Keith L. Craig (Retd.), a decorated U.S. military veteran and former Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures executive who worked on the theatrical distribution on more than 50 major releases including “Avengers: Endgame,” “Black Panther,” “The Lion King,” and “Star Wars” titles. Craig currently serves as co-founder, chair, and co-CEO of Porter + Craig Film and Media Distribution, a Beverly Hills-based worldwide sales company. He is joined by Patricia Bebia of Diamond Plus Media, Marie Ange Barbancourt of Montreal-based ZMA Oddflix, and producer Vronsky Belizaire.
Craig, who authored the book “Serving to Lead,” said: “Amir is a true soldier to me as he has the courage to rise, the strength to serve and the ability to inspire hope in others. True greatness is born when adversity is transformed to purpose.”
“This is more than a sports film,” said Bebia. “It is a universal story about the resilience of the human spirit. Amir’s journey reminds us that limitations do not define destiny. Through this international collaboration, we hope to create a film that inspires audiences across cultures and continents.”
The Indian partners are Manjusha Paithankar and Sachin Paithankar of Aarambh Productions, alongside Sameer Dixit and Rishikesh Bhirangi of Pickle Entertainment, with Yogesh Karikurve as creative producer.
Karikurve said: “This universal story is the beginning of Pickle Entertainment’s foray in[to] international productions and meaningful cinema. ‘Unarmed Soldier’ is the perfect story in these difficult times to motivate people from across the world to go beyond the ordinary.”
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