Age Range: 18

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Aurelie Laflamme’s Diary

Aurelie Laflamme suspects she is an alien. That would explain why she feels different from everyone else, why she can’t string two words together without making a fool of herself, and why boys really get on her nerves. Aurelie’s endearing clumsiness positions her as a pitch-perfect, French-Canadian version of a Judy Blume character as she navigates her way around the strange conventions of planet Earth. With her school days a complete waste of time and her cleaning-obsessed mother too uptight, Aurelie finds solace in the bright lights of the video arcade, playing Dance Dance Revolution and drinking slushies with her best friend, Kat. Whenever her situation becomes too unbearable, her imagination trails off into elaborate fantasy sequences that provide temporary escape — and much amusement for the viewer — but only seem to land her in more trouble. The whims of Aurelie’s imagined world grow more absurd as she is thrown deeper into the clutches of adolescence, facing teachers, tampons, fake tans, and first crushes. Aurelie Laflamme’s Diary juxtaposes these ridiculously silly situations with moments of genuine tenderness, reminding us that Aurelie’s calamitous journey to adulthood is anything but alien.
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I Am a Girl!

Joppe is just like any average 13-year-old girl: she wears make-up, gets crushes, and loves gossiping with her friends.
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Dry Fish

A gently paranoid musical animation about finding yourself in unfamiliar surroundings.
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Pixels

Pixelated old-school video game icons take over New York City (and the world) in this video for French techno-pop band Naïve New Beaters.
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Foosball

Oscar®-winner Juan José Campanella’s first animated film obliterated box office records in his home country of Argentina and puts Hollywood on notice that high-end CGI is not the exclusive purview of the major US studios. Amadeo spends his time ruling the foosball table in the back room of his parents’ café, where he has customized the tiny footballers with little uniforms and hairstyles, and individualized personalities to match. What he lacks in social skills, he more than makes up for in foosball chops — an early gameplay sequence where he humiliates local bully Grosso is a tour-de-force of animation art direction and a teaser for more to come. Flash forward several years, Amadeo is still languishing in his parents’ bar while Grosso has gone on to soccer super-stardom — and now returns with bulldozers and wrecking crews to exact his revenge by demolishing the little town that was the scene of his only defeat. With all seemingly lost and his beloved foosball table turned to rubble, Amadeo sheds a single teardrop — rendered in amazing detail — and brings to life the tiny captain, who then sets off to reunite the rest of the team. Voiced by Argentine comedians who improvised much of the dialogue, the players’ rapid fire banter provides non-stop amusement as they join together in a showdown match to save the town.
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Hey Krishna

Packed with iridescent hues, outrageous characters, epic cartoon battles, and endearingly loopy musical interludes, Hey Krishna is about as much fun as you can have in a movie theater. As it turns out, Hindu deities make awesome cartoon superheroes and villains. For this is the story of the child Krishna, the naughty prankster with the beautiful blue hue and long eyelashes — and a particular fondness for milk. A prophesy foretells that the brutal tyrant Kans will be killed by the eighth child of his sister Devaki — and so Kans has Devaki imprisoned, and each of her children is taken away at birth and destroyed (tastefully, mind you — this is a children’s movie!). But her eighth child, the infant Krishna, is spirited away to a nearby village to be raised by peasants. When Kans hears that Krishna has escaped his fate, he sends out demons and monsters to finish the job. And Oh what monsters! In one of the film’s more outré musical numbers, the bodacious she-demon Putana (Bollywood pop-star Sunidhi Chauhan) as- cends from the netherworld like a pole-dancer and attempts to kill Krishna by breastfeeding him with poisoned milk — only to have Krishna (somewhat alarmingly) defeat her by…well, we won’t spoil it for you, just go see the movie.
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Wolf Children

NYICFF is thrilled to present the brilliant third feature from Mamoru Hosoda, whose Summer Wars (NYICFF 2010) and The Girl Who Leapt Through (NYICFF 2007) have established him as one of the world’s top creative forces in animation. One day Hana spies a mysterious outcast sitting in on her college lecture and decides to follow him. A romance ensues, and when it turns out her new beau is part wolf, she is accepting (and maybe even a little attracted to the idea). Before long Hana gives birth to two children, Ame (Rain) and Yuki (Snow), rambunctious bundles of joy who transform into wolves when excited and whose little ears are as adorable as their fangs are sharp. When they are suddenly left without a father, Hana does her best to raise her changeling children on her own, but it’s no easy task. While normal children struggle with teething and tantrums, Ame and Yuki grow fur, howl, and destroy furniture — and it isn’t long before the neighbors begin to notice their wolf-like tendencies. In order to maintain the family secret, Hana escapes to the country, turning a dilapidated farmhouse into a loving home, where each child is free to pursue its wolfish and human sides. Wolf Children is Hosoda’s most emotionally resonant film to date, a stunningly animated and heart-felt fable about growing up, growing apart, and the choices faced along the way.
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Laika: Behind the Magic, Workshop and Film Screening of Coraline

Experience the magic of stop-motion through a rare behind-the- scenes presentation from Laika studios — creators of the Academy Award®-nominated Coraline and ParaNorman. Laika’s Mark Shapiro will give insights into the intricate stop-motion animation process, using footage of time-lapse production, exclusive clips of Laika animators at work, and a demonstration using the actual character models from the movies. Then put your newfound stop-motion knowledge to work during a complete screening of the film Coraline and a sneak peek at footage from the upcoming Laika feature The Boxtrolls. After the films there will be an audience Q&A. Directed by NYICFF jury member Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) and based on the best-selling novella by Neil Gaiman, Coraline is an enchantingly spooky tale about a young girl who discovers a secret passage to an alternate world where her normal family has been replaced with creepy button-eyed imposters.
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Welcome to the Space Show

NYICFF favorite Welcome to the Space Show returns in a brand new English-language version! With an intergalactic cast of thousands, Koji Masunari’s colorfully explosive debut feature sets a new high for visual spectacle and sheer inventiveness, in what has to be one of the most gleefully surreal depictions of alien life forms ever portrayed in cinema. It seems like just another lazy summer is in store for Amane and her older cousin Natsuki. Lolling about the Japanese countryside, the days are blithe and boundless. But boredom quickly vanishes when they find an injured dog in the woods and bring him back to the cabin — only to discover that he is not a dog at all, but Pochi, an alien botanist sent to Earth to track down a rare and powerful plant called Zughaan (better known to Earthlings as wasabi root). Before long, Pochi has whisked the kids away to a space colony on the dark side of the moon, an interstellar melting pot where we experience a non-stop parade of humorous alien creatures, jellyfish spaceships, dragon trains, and — if that weren’t enough — a theme song from UK pop anomaly Susan Boyle. (Really? Yes, really.) The plot twists come fast and furious, and with such a glorious barrage of color and invention washing across the screen, you just want to hit pause and gawk at the wonder of what you are seeing.
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Aunt Hilda!

Jacques-Rémy Girerd, creator of A Cat in Paris and Mia and the Migoo, returns to NYICFF with his latest hand-drawn gem, Aunt Hilda!, a glorious throwback to the flower power classics like Yellow Submarine and The Point. Hilda lives high above the city, happily at home with tens of thousands of rare and luscious plants in her palace of a greenhouse. But down below, a new, genetically modified super-grain threatens to disrupt the delicate natural harmony. Distributed by the diabolical, money-and-honey-hungry Dolores, head of the DOLO Corporation, the bio-engineered monstrosity is promoted as the solution to world hunger — but only Hilda can see the inevitable danger and destruction it will cause. There’s a controlled chaos to the loosely-drawn, watercolor-dripped animation style that mirrors the characters’ over-the-top personalities. The corpulent Dolores is depicted in all her fleshy glory teetering on high heels, or barely contained in her overflowing hot tub office — while Hilda swooshes across the screen, color trailing behind, Lucy In the Sky-like, as she tends to her flowerpots or does battle with the agents of power and greed. The film’s not-so-subtle eco-message (no nuanced arguments here!) builds to a suitably cataclysmic, technology-gone-haywire finale, as the destructive power of the Frankenplant is unleashed and Hilda must help the Earth save itself from a very colorful biological mayhem.
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Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants

Humorously bug-eyed animated insects battle it out within lush live action backgrounds in this enormously inventive comic adventure from award-winning animators Thomas Szabo and Hélène Giraud. The unique combination of real life landscapes — a micro-world shot in extreme and stunning close-up — and wonderfully animated creepy-crawlies engaging in playful antics, will leave the viewer both dazzled and amused. As the film opens, a montage of breathtaking forest landscapes zooms in on an abandoned picnic just as a gang of black ants is moving in to steal a coveted treasure: a tin box filled with sugar cubes. But before they can get away with the loot, a newly-born ladybug gets trapped inside the box, and is soon spirited away as the ants try to transport their prize across the woods toward their colony. When a rival clan of powerful red warrior ants appears on the scene, the resourceful ladybug comes to the aid of the black ants, and a furious chase ensues where everyday objects become creative tools in the battle. The audience is treated to Q-tips javelins, dollar bill paper airplanes, and a high-speed river race on an old soda can…along with humorous references to Star Wars, Close Encounters and even a shot-for-shot recreation of a scene from Hitchcock’s Psycho (not scary, we promise!). Based on the popular short animated series, Minuscule opened #1 at the French box office and is making its North American premiere at NYICFF.
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The Zigzag Kid

Making its first US appearance following rave reviews in Berlin and Toronto, The Zigzag Kid is a stylish, witty, action packed caper a la Pink Panther, featuring Isabella Rossellini as a nightclub chanteuse and a terrific performance by the young lead (newcomer Thomas Simon). Nono is the son of the world’s greatest police inspector and has been trained since birth in the finer arts of sleuthing. So when a train trip to stay with his terribly boring Uncle Shmuel morphs into a rollicking mystery-solving adventure, Nono couldn’t be more thrilled. And when he meets up with the notorious criminal Felix Glick, his father’s arch nemesis, he finally gets the chance to prove that he has what it takes to be a great detective. Wearing disguises and on the run from the police, Felix and Nono head to the French Riviera, where Felix introduces Nono to the seductive Lola Ciperola. Now with only twenty-four hours to go before his Bar Mitzvah, Nono has to complete his high-stakes mission — while also confronting the mystery of his own identity and the truth about the mother he has never known. Based on the coming-of-age novel by Israeli writer David Grossman, The Zigzag Kid is a whimsical, sharply written and wonderfully entertaining film — a sure-fire crowd pleaser that also touches on more serious themes of self-discovery, the strength of family, and acceptance.
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From Up on Poppy Hill

NYICFF is extremely proud to present the US premiere of the highly anticipated new film from Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s DeliveryService, and many other animated masterpieces. Written by legendary studio founder Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Goro Miyazaki, From Up on Poppy Hill marks the first feature film collaboration between father and son. The results are stunning — a pure, sincere, nuanced and heartfelt film that signals yet another triumph for the esteemed studio. The setting is Yokohama in 1963, and the filmmakers masterfully bring to life the bustling seaside town, with its salty air, sun-drenched gardens, and some of the most mouthwatering Japanese home-cooking set to film (plan on ramen and pork katsu after the movie). The story centers on an innocent romance beginning to bud between Umi and Shun, two high school kids caught up in the changing times. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics — and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. This sense of yearning and possibility is palpable, evoking both a wide-eyed hope for the future and a longing nostalgia for a past that can never be recovered. Star-filled cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Christina Hendricks, Ron Howard and Anton Yelchin, among many others.
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Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang

Fresh from premieres at Sundance and Toronto, Zip & Zap is one of the most talked about family films on the festival circuit — a classic mystery adventure in the vein of Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and The Goonies. As if school during summer vacation wasn’t punishment enough, brothers Zip and Zap find themselves under the watchful eye-patch of Headmaster Falconetti, a toy-loathing, no-nonsense disciplinarian intent on transforming his unruly students into productive members of society. Unwilling to waste their summer following rules, they recruit some fellow students to form the secretive Marble Gang, whose members are committed to making life miserable for their totalitarian headmaster and his staff. What starts out as a series of innocent pranks leads them to a dark discovery — and a cryptic map that promises abundant treasure. With Falconetti’s Doberman nipping at their heels, the Marble Gang dashes through secret passageways, dark caverns and trap doors as they solve riddles, uncover secrets and indulge in a few too many bonbons.
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The Day of the Crows

Deep in the woods, among towering trees and dense meadows, lives Pumpkin, a burly, ogre-like man, who towers like a giant over the tiny boy who is his only child. Raised like an animal since birth and knowing only the ways of the wild, the boy has been forbidden to venture beyond the edge of the forest to the place his father calls “The World Beyond.” So the nameless boy spends his days in isolation, honing his slingshot skills, eating small creatures, and confiding in his only friends: the half-human, half-animal spirits that occupy the strange forest that is his home. One day his father is injured, and the boy has no choice but to leave the woods in search of help. Entering a neighboring village, he befriends a young girl, Manon, and for the first time in his life begins to experience the wonders that human contact and civilization have to offer. Yet village life is not as harmonious as it first appears — and after discovering the truth about his family’s past, the boy gathers his courage and returns to the forest to confront his father. With tips of the hat to the enchanted forest worlds of Hayao Miyazaki and François Truffaut’s The Wild Child, this lushly animated film travels the blurred lines between animal and human, nature and civilization, and the realms of the living and of spirits. But underneath it all is a simple story of a father’s lost love and a boy’s brave struggle to recapture it.
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Patema Inverted

The new feature from Time of Eve director Yashuro Yoshiura is a perspective-twisting sci-fi adventure about two kids separated by opposite gravities. Patema lives in an underground world of tunnels, the long-abandoned ruins of a giant industrial complex. Though she is a princess, she is held back by the rules imposed by the elders of her clan. One day when she is exploring in a forbidden zone, she is startled by a strange bat-like creature and tumbles headlong into a void — and out into the wide open world above the surface, a place with reversed physics, where if she let go she would “fall up” into the sky and be lost forever. Age is a student on this surface world, a totalitarian society whose compliant population has been brainwashed against the “sinners who fell into the sky.” When he spies Patema hanging upside-down from a tree, he pulls her down to safety, struggling with all his might to keep her earthbound as she grips on to him for dear life. Together their weights cancel each other out, and once they master the art of navigating competing gravitational forces, they set out to evade the leaders of Age’s world and discover the secret that keeps their worlds apart.
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Rio 2

Fly to Brazil ahead of the flock, with this special pre-release screening of Rio 2, the latest from Oscar-winning Blue Sky Animation Studio. It’s a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel, and their three kids, after they’re hurtled from the magical city of Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel and meets the most fearsome adversary of all — his long-lost father-in-law, who has been hiding out with a group of other Macaws. The Rio characters are joined by Oscar® nominee Andy Garcia, Grammy® winner Bruno Mars, Tony® winner Kristin Chenoweth, and Oscar®/Emmy®/Tony® winner Rita Moreno — plus new Brazilian artists and original music by Janelle Monae and Wondaland.
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Giovanni’s Island

Screening for the first time outside of Japan, Giovanni’s Island is the latest grand opus from famed anime studio Production I.G (A Letter to Momo, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade). Spanning multiple generations and locations, the film delicately weaves the true story of two young brothers whose life on the small, remote island of Shikotan becomes forever changed in the aftermath of WWII. Giovanni and Campanella, nicknamed after characters in the beloved Japanese novel Night on the Galactic Railroad, live a free-spirited island life, chasing each other along beach-side cliffs and dreaming about adventures on the Galactic Railroad. But when the Red Army occupies their tiny island following Japan’s surrender, they are suddenly confronted with new foreigners — including a peculiar and enticing new neighbor, the golden-haired Tanya, daughter of the Soviet commander. Learning about each other’s exotic and strange cuisines, music and language creates a quick bond for the children — even while the occupation brings on heavier implications for their families. An elegance and beauty permeates the hand-drawn animation and symphonic score of the film, creating a timeless drama where moments of emotional impact are tempered by animated flights of whimsy and fantasy, as the brothers prove much larger in spirit and strength than their rosy-cheeked, small frames would suggest.
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We are the Best!

Lukas Moodysson’s fantastic new picture about trio of 13-year-old schoolgirl trying to form a punk band is overflowing with energy and youthful exuberance. Set in 1982 Stockholm, the film has a raw authenticity, perfectly capturing the spirited naiveté of the period. There is so much to love: the wonderful terrible music, the punking-out of the straight Christian girl (chopping off of her hair with paper scissors), the pubescent suburban punk boys with their baby fat cheeks and vinyl records, the out of touch adults, the way the girls can’t sing or play but it just doesn’t matter. Absorbing non-stop insults from schoolmates, they go about learning their instruments, thinking up suitably incendiary things to sing about, and preparing for their debut at a community center Christmas show. But plot is not what is important here — mostly it is about these girls growing and experiencing themselves in the world, trying on new attitudes to see if they work, fighting, making up, taking chances, realizing that they are the center of the universe.
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Zarafa

Inspired by the true story of the first giraffe to visit France, Zarafa is a sumptuously-animated and stirring adventure — a throwback to a bygone era of hand-drawn animation and epic storytelling set among sweeping vistas of parched desert, wind-swept mountains and open skies. Under the cover of night a small boy, Maki, loosens the shackles that bind him and escapes into the desert night. Pursued by slavers across the moon-lit savannah, Maki meets Zarafa, a baby giraffe — and an orphan, just like him — as well as the turbaned nomad Hassan, Prince of the Desert. Hassan takes them to Alexandria for an audience with the Pasha of Egypt, who orders him to deliver the exotic animal as a gift to King Charles of France. And so Maki, Zarafa and Hassan take off in a hot-air balloon to cross the Mediterranean — an unbelievably beautiful and adventure-filled ride through the pink-skied, honey-hued expanses of Northern Africa, the bustling port of Marseilles, and over the snow-capped peaks of the Alps, arriving at last in Paris. There the unimpressed French monarch (portrayed as a laughable, semi-grotesque, pasty-faced, inbred by the same character designer as The Triplets of Belleville) indifferently accepts the gift, but Maki is determined to return Zarafa back to his rightful home in Africa.
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Ernest & Celestine

Director Benjamin Renner is our guest for the theatrical premiere of the new English language version, featuring Forest Whitaker, Mackenzie Foy, Lauren Bacall, Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, and Jeffrey Wright. Deep below snowy, cobblestone streets, tucked away in networks of winding subterranean tunnels, lives a civilization of hardworking mice, terrified of the bears who live above ground. Unlike her fellow mice, Celestine is an artist and a dreamer—and when she nearly ends up as breakfast for ursine troubadour Ernest, the two form an unlikely bond. But it isn’t long before their friendship is put on trial by their respective bear-fearing and mice-eating communities. Ernest & Celestine joyfully leaps across genres and influences to capture the kinetic, limitless possibilities of animated storytelling. Like a gorgeous watercolor painting brought to life, a constantly shifting pastel color palette bursts and drips across the screen, while wonderful storytelling and brilliant comic timing draw up influences as varied as Buster Keaton, Bugs Bunny, and the outlaw romanticism of Bonnie and Clyde.
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Boy and the World

Brazilian artist Alê Abreu brings to screen a strikingly unique visual style to show the world through the eyes of a young boy. A child, Cuca, lives a life of quiet wonder, exploring all that the countryside has to offer. His cozy life is shattered when his father leaves for the city, prompting him to embark on a quest to reunite his family. The young boy’s journey unfolds like a tapestry, the animation taking on greater complexity and variety as his small world expands. Simple line drawings of the village give way to broad brushstrokes forming giant bushels of cotton lining country roads, and sweeps of pastel churned into roaring waves. Approaching civilization, industrial landscapes are inhabited by animal-machines and strange beings, with barrios of decoupage streets and shop windows, and flashing neon advertisements that illuminate the night like a giant Lite Brite. The story depicts a clash between village and city, indigenous and imperial, hand crafted and mechanized, rich and poor — and throughout the tumult, the heart and soul of the people beats on as a song, a simple plaintive refrain played on recorder. The film’s music is on equal footing with the stunning visuals, a soundscape of pan-flute, samba, and Brazilian hip-hop mixing with the whirling carnival colors and exploding fireworks.
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Anina

There is an oddly comforting charm about Anina, a quirky, warm, simply-but-beautifully animated picture with a look that seems hand crafted from materials gently worn and loved. The title character is endearing, with her bright ruddy red hair, striped leggings, and big head. Her name is a palindrome — mean- ing it reads the same both backwards and forwards — and it causes her grief from taunting classmates. She in turn takes it out on another girl, Yisel, and an ensuing tussle lands the two of them in the principal’s office. There, they are each handed a black wax-sealed envelope and told they must carry it around for a full week, seal unbroken, before returning to discover the punishment inside. The curiosity and temptation become too much for Anina, and she begins having “Heffalumps and Woozles” type nightmare fantasies about the unknown punishment, complete with flying headmistresses and cackling teachers. Itching for an answer, she follows Yisel in hopes of sneaking a look at her envelope — only to discover that they have more in common than an uncommon punishment.
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Kauwboy

The Netherlands’ official entry for this year’s Oscars® and winner of the Best First Feature award at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival, Kauwboy is a tender portrait of a boy struggling to come to terms with a family that’s not what it once was. With his country-singer mother absent, Jojo lives alone with his security guard father, a man of few words, who is quick to anger and has seemingly no affection for his 10-year-old son. Left to his own devices, Jojo discovers an abandoned baby crow in the woods near their house — and finds solace in caring for this small creature, who is even more alone and vulnerable than he is. Bringing the crow home, Jojo has to exert great efforts to hide the bird from his dad (under his bed, in the closet, in the fridge…) and the viewer is ever on edge against the inevitable outburst that would attend its discovery. But what really drives the drama is the questionable whereabouts of Jojo’s mother, who seems never to return from tour. Filmed in the rural Dutch countryside and featuring wonderfully natural performances, Kauwboy is a beautifully cinematic, bittersweet film that explores issues of loss and sorrow, while painting a joyfully upbeat picture of acceptance and love.
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Amazonia 3D

Get ready to meet the cutest animal in the entire known universe — a baby capuchin monkey with impossibly huge eyes and impossibly human expressions — on a stunningly photographed 3D adventure into the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Meticulously captured over two years of filming, Amazonia reveals the deep mystery and beauty of the Amazon and features more exotic animals per minute of running time than any film we can recall. This is not a documentary, it is an adventure story about a monkey named Sai, born in captivity, who finds himself stranded in the jungle and must fend for himself. As he explores his new world, so do we — and his every step (and tumble, and fall) exposes the immense beauty and danger of his new environment. Amazonia follows a long line of French nature films, from Jacques Cousteau to Winged Migrations to March of the Penguins, but never before has an animal conveyed such incredible human-like expressiveness and emotions on the big screen. It is impossible not to get caught up in the ride as we respond to his curiosity, fear, hope, and affection, his shrinking shyness, or his wide-eyed wonder.
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Mother, I Love You

Don’t let the sappy title scare you off. Winner of top prizes at the Berlin and Los Angeles Film Festivals, Janis Nords’ instantly engaging second feature combines coming-of-age drama with slow-burn thriller to tell the story of a boy who is unable to extricate himself from a growing web of lies. Raimonds lives with his single mother, Sylvia, an overextended doctor who struggles to split her time between patients and son. Left more or less on his own, the 12-year-old spends his time riding through town on his scooter and getting into mild mischief with his friend Peteris, whose mother works cleaning the houses of wealthy neighbors. The boys occasionally hang out in these luxurious digs while the owners are away, and though they know it is wrong, the thrill of trespassing has its attractions. Meanwhile, when an incident at school lands Raimonds in trouble, fear of his mother’s reaction leads him to hide the truth — setting in motion a cycle of increasingly bad choices, each one digging him deeper into a hole. The film’s portrait of preteen rebelliousness has been compared to Truffaut’s iconic The 400 Blows and the Dardennes’ The Kid with a Bike. But no degree in cinema studies is required to enjoy this captivating and emotionally profound film.
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House of Magic

3D maestro Ben Stassen (NYICFF 2011’s Sammy’s Adventures) returns with a rollercoaster-ride of a film filled with jack-in- the-box surprises, inventive robotic contraptions, and plenty of swooping and swooshing z-axis movement to keep you gripping your seat. Seeking shelter from the storm, abandoned orange tabby Thunder sneaks into a mysterious mansion owned by retired magician Lawrence, formerly known as “The Illustrious Lorenzo.” The eccentric Lawrence shares his fairy-tale world with his pets as well as a dazzling array of automatons and gizmos of his own invention. He welcomes Thunder into this odd-ball family, but Jack, the curmudgeonly old jack-rabbit, and his fiercely loyal sidekick mouse, Maggie, are determined to kick him out. Meanwhile, bigger trouble is brewing when Lawrence ends up in the hospital and his greedy nephew decides to follow through on plans to sell the house and get rid of the animals. Using their combined ingenuity — and Thunder as a secret weapon — they craft a strategy to ward off potential buyers by turning the house into a haunted mansion.
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Kirikou and the Men and the Women

The pint-sized — or more like peanut-sized — child hero Kirikou returns in the new feature from world-renowned animator/director/storyteller Michel Ocelot, who NYICFF audiences should be well familiar with from Kirikou and the Sorceress, Azur & Asmar, and Tales of the Night. This third film in the Kirikou trilogy weaves together a collection of short-form fables, mixing traditional storytelling and mythology with bits of humor and wit, backed by an upbeat musical score from Malian, Togolese and French artists. Ocelot’s vibrant use of color is everywhere on display — a black panther creeps into the village at night against impossibly deep blue skies, firelight sets off shadows against thatched huts, a Bedouin boy wrapped from head to toe in azure robes blazes like a sapphire against the tawny desert sand — while a village elder introducing each story lends an Arabian Nights quality to the film. Throughout, Kirikou is called upon to save his village from perils both supernatural and human, which he does with a combination of speed, cunning and humor — as well as a certain naiveté about the way the world really works. It is precisely such innocence that makes Kirikou such an endearing and enduring character.
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Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart

Jack is born on a day so cold that his heart freezes. In its place he is given a mechanical wind-up heart, which comes with some very peculiar rules — the gravest of which is that he is forbidden from falling in love. Yet when a chance encounter with an equally unusual girl sends him on a journey from his native Edinburgh to Adalusia, Jack decides to challenge the rules that govern his very existence. Nothing in Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart is executed on a small scale: sweeping expanses of Andalusian countryside are dotted with extravagant circus towns and snow-covered mountain top villages; trains get around corners with accordian folding centers; phantasmagoric characters with delicate alabaster skin look like porcelain dolls that would live atop Tup Burton’s desk; and every nook and cranny of the film is filled with ghoulish romantic delights. Produced by Luc Besson, who gave us the 2012 opening night A Monster in Paris, this breathtaking gothic musical is the passion project of writer/director/composer Mathias Malzieu, adapted from his best-selling novel and the 2007 concept album from his rock band Dionysos.
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Junior

Justine, a.k.a. Junior, is a 13-year-old tomboy with pimples and a quirky sense of humor. She talks trash like the boys and is a tad misogynous — especially when it comes to pretty girls like her sister. However, having been diagnosed with stomach flu, Junior’s body begins to undergo a bizarre and frightening metamorphosis.
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