Prestige Intl. Pictures has acquired worldwide rights, excluding Japan and China, to action sci-fi film “Heavens: The Boy and His Robot,” starring Jonathan See.

The Singapore-produced movie, which screened at Fantasia and Fantasporto, will be introduced to Cannes buyers this week.

Rich Ho wrote, directed and produced the film, which follows the journey of a struggling young pilot, Kai, and his fighter mecha, a giant humanoid robot named Little Dragon, set against a backdrop of epic galactic warfare. The movie explores Kai’s dream of joining the Mecha Corps to bring peace to a war-torn world and the friendship that develops between him and his mecha.

BC Tan, Takaki Nakadai, Sherman Ng, Penny Wall, Grant Bradley and Richard Stewart served as executive producers. The film was released theatrically in Japan by Henge.

“This film celebrates perseverance and unity in divisive times,” Ho said. “‘Heavens’ delivers a big-screen experience of pulse-pounding action, humor, and heart that global audiences of different ages can laugh and cry together.”

Prestige president Carlos Rincon said: “Rich Ho has delivered a masterful film, which was a labor of love, 12 years in the making. The film is filled with epic robot battles and groundbreaking VFX but more importantly it features an inspirational theme about not giving up on your dreams.”

The film is Singapore’s first live-action feature of the mecha genre, a genre of Japanese manga and anime that features or focuses on mechanical innovations such as robots and cyborgs.

Ho also served as the film’s music composer, art director, set designer, director of photography and co-visual effects supervisor.