Age Range: 18

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Hilda

She’s clever, kind, witty—and rocks a pair of red boots like nobody’s business. Hilda is back, rescuing elves, dodging trolls, and exploring Trolberg’s strange history and stranger personalities. The BAFTA award-winning Netflix Original series inspired by Luke Pearson’s hugely popular graphic novels returns to NYICFF with the world premiere of Season Two. Join us for sneak peeks of “Troll Circle” and “The Witch,” two truly enchanting adventures!
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The Prince’s Voyage

Celebrated filmmaker Jean-François Laguionie (The Painting, NYICFF 2012) returns to the Festival with yet another beautifully animated, mesmerizing film. When a monkey prince washes ashore, Tom and his scientist parents take him in. It turns out everyone has a lot to learn, and it’s not all scientific, in a tale of intrigue and understanding, with plenty of echoes of classic primate films.
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A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Go all-out for Aardman’s big screen excitement with a NYICFF exclusive presentation of Shaun the Sheep’s latest feature adventure, including new and classic Aardman shorts! In Farmageddon, an alien named LU-LA crash-lands near Mossy Bottom Farm. Her magical powers, irrepressible mischief and galactic sized burps soon have Shaun the Sheep and his flock enchanted.  But when Shaun takes his new extraterrestrial friend on the road to find her lost spaceship, little does he know that a sinister alien-hunting agency is on their trail. Now Shaun and the flock must avert Farmageddon before it’s too late.
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Disneynature’s Dolphin Reef

Narrated by Natalie Portman, Disneynature’s Dolphin Reef features Echo, a young Pacific bottlenose dolphin who’s more interested in exploring his coral reef home, and its intriguing inhabitants, than learning to survive in it. But lessons from family—and close encounters with some of the ocean’s greatest predators—may encourage Echo to master his vital role in the marine community after all. Catch the majesty of this ocean story exclusively on the big screen before its highly anticipated debut on Disney+.
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Disneynature’s Elephant

Disneynature’s Elephant follows African elephant Shani and her spirited son Jomo as their herd make an epic journey hundreds of miles across the vast Kalahari Desert. Led by their great matriarch, Gaia, the family faces brutal heat, dwindling resources and persistent predators, as they follow in their ancestors’ footsteps on a quest to reach a lush, green paradise. Be the first to see the story of these great and gentle creatures in the theater before their premiere on Disney+.
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Bento Harassment

Can food speak louder than words? With Futaba’s mother tired of her teen’s icy attitude, she’ll try an unusual tactic to get her to talk—by way of her bento lunch box. For an entire school term, Futaba opens box after box, each designed with its own cringe-worthy message. An offbeat story of growing up, Bento Harassment will leave audiences laughing…and hungry.
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Rocca Changes the World

A modern-day, punk rock Pippi Longstocking, Rocca comes from a family of astronauts—but she’s no space cadet. Smart, intrepid, and ready to save the world—from protecting the littlest squirrel to challenging the biggest bully—there’s virtually nothing she can’t handle. Well, except maybe missing her dad while he’s on a space mission. Somehow, we think she’ll even ace earthly matters.
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Magic Boy

Anime? Check. Disney-inspired cute critters? Check. Beautiful colors? Do you even have to ask?! Our Festival Flashback is a groundbreaker: the first-ever anime film released in the US (from renowned Toei Studios), and quite possibly the inspiration for the lovably goofy ninjas-in-training of Naruto. Step back in time and follow Sasuke’s adventures from the very beginning!
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SamSam

It’s never too early to find your superpower in SamSam’s fantastical world, and he can’t wait to discover his. Thanks to Mega, the mysterious new kid, SamSam finally uncovers an “anti-monster” power! Let’s hope it’s the real thing: SamSam is about to find himself in a whopper of a showdown, battling to keep the planet laughing—and happy.
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The Size of Things

Diego and his dad live a life of simple means in the forest, so when Diego comes across an unexpected find, its magnitude grows curiouser and curiouser.
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Moominvalley

Whether you’re already mad for Moomins or you’ve yet to meet these hilarious and cuddly creatures, you can catch their newest capers as NYICFF once again offers an exclusive look at the latest goings-on in Moominvalley. Tove Jansson’s beloved books come to glorious life with a new take and season of their fairy-world tales and some of the biggest British stars voicing our favorite Moominfamily.
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ShalaBonBon

Bop alongside kitties, flowers, dancing purple guys, and more with groovy lo-fi graphics and a pop-inspired Japanese beat.
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Ailín on the Moon

A mother and daughter’s love is orbited by joys and challenges.
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Quarantine

Badgers have had enough fear-mongering and plot their dark-of-night escape.
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Sheep, Wolf and a Cup of Tea…

Bedtime routines turn truly bizarre when a child opens a box hidden under his bed in this fantastically illustrated short.
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Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes)

Accompanied by a 10,000-year-old shapeshifter, Biidaaban is on a mission to reclaim the power of earth from an overdeveloped suburb in Ontario.
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Dreams into Drawing

This empathetic reflection on sentient beings is inspired by Ueda Akinari’s short story “A Carp That Appeared in My Dream,” and Japanese painter Kuwagata Keisai’s Ways to Sketch.
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Gon, the Little Fox

In this stunningly detailed stop-motion version of a classic Japanese fable, sly fox Gon tries to make amends for his mischief. But the flow of give and take is tricky to navigate for human and creature alike.
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Shy & Ketchup

Hunger or craving, a shy girl has to push beyond her comfort zone to fulfill her need in this hilarious film.
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I Want

From a whisper to a laugh to a scream, you can say what you want however and whenever it moves you.
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Accents

An ode to her mother’s Puerto Rican accent and a reclaiming of her voice, by poet Denice Frohman.
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The Coin

On Chinese New Year, finding the coin hidden in a dumpling brings good luck. One girl discovers new identities and long-standing connections tucked inside as well.
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Grab My Hand: A Letter to My Dad

This animated love letter from son to father to friend reminds us that there’s no good reason to let affection go unspoken.
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Maestro

Deep into a forest, a gathering of wild animals perform a nocturnal opera, led by a rather squirrely conductor.
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Too Far Away

Eleven-year-old Ben loves his hometown, especially his soccer club, where he practices for hours each day. When he and his neighbors are forced to move, he struggles to fit in at a new school. Another newcomer, Tariq, an ace soccer player from Syria, adds to Ben’s challenges, but the two competitors might discover there’s more to be gained together in this thoughtful reflection on friendship, teamwork, and belonging.
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Om Nom Nom…

After a hungry dinosaur discovers a wiggly egg in the forest and devours it, strange rumblings in his tummy quickly follow!
programs

Short Films Three

You’ve outgrown the kiddie pool, so take a dive into these often offbeat, at times hilarious, always thought-provoking shorts. Follow the stories of an insomniac bear and monkey on a mission (did we mention the mini Yeti?) in Nuit Cherie, and the Italian-born Senegalese teen questioning her identity in The School Trip.
programs

Girls’ POV

The voices of these protagonists are strong and loud—as they should be! Don’t underestimate the soft-spoken girl in the hilarious Shy & Ketchup, and take a cue from I Want, where even the colors are loud. Listen to a daughter reclaim her mother’s voice in Accents, and follow a girl as she forges her own path in The Coin. This program is supported by:
programs

Celebrate Aardman! A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Go all-out for Aardman’s big screen excitement with a NYICFF exclusive theatrical presentation of Shaun the Sheep’s latest feature adventure (premiering on Netflix February 14th), alongside new and classic Aardman shorts! In Farmageddon, an alien named LU-LA crash-lands near Mossy Bottom Farm. Her magical powers, irrepressible mischief and galactic sized burps soon have Shaun the Sheep and his flock enchanted.  But when Shaun takes his new extraterrestrial friend on the road to find her lost spaceship, little does he know that a sinister alien-hunting agency is on their trail. Now Shaun and the flock must avert Farmageddon before it’s too late.
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