Apple paid a record-breaking $25 million for the film after it cleaned up at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. From the announcement:
Written and directed by Siân Heder (“Tallulah,” “Little America”), “CODA” was presented in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and went on to be honored with an unprecedented four awards at the festival: the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast, the Directing Award, the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize.
“CODA” stars Emilia Jones (“Locke Key”), Eugenio Derbez (“The Casagrandes”), Troy Kotsur (“The Number 23”), Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (“Vikings”), Daniel Durant (“Switched at Birth”), Amy Forsyth (“Beautiful Boy”), Kevin Chapman (“City on a Hill”) and Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin
The film follows a 17-year old girl, Ruby, who is the sole hearing member of a deaf family (CODA, or child of deaf adults), she works as an interpreter for her parents and on their fishing boat every day before school, before discovering her passion for singing:
But when Ruby joins her high school’s choir club, she discovers a gift for singing and soon finds herself drawn to her duet partner Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). Encouraged by her enthusiastic, tough-love choirmaster (Eugenio Derbez) to apply to a prestigious music school, Ruby finds herself torn between the obligations she feels to her family and the pursuit of her own dreams.
The acclaimed movie will debut on AppleTV+ on August 13, which is available on the new Apple TV 4K (2021) and the best TVs for Apple TV 2021.