Age Range: 7

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Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds

The meta-story begins when sisters Juliette and Carmen are sent to spend the weekend with Agnès, a talented story writer. But Agnès has a lot on her plate and, though she loves them dearly, decides to take a nap, leaving the girls to their own devices. So they seek adventure within the pages of their favorite story—literally. A curious figurine from the story springs to life and lures them into the fantastical Kingdom of the Winds. As they’re thrust into this fantasy world, they encounter a slew of its colorful inhabitants, including an operatic duck diva and the brooding King Sirocco, who controls the wind. With imagination and courage on their side, the girls must charm the sour king in order to make their way back home. Directed by three-time NYICFF alum Benoît Chieux (Mia and the Migoo, Aunt Hilda!, Tigers Tied Up in One Rope) and co-written by three-time NYICFF alum Alain Gagnol (A Cat in Paris, Phantom Boy, One Hell of a Plan).
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Rosa and the Stone Troll

Rosa is an adorably lovely flower fairy who plays by the rules in her brightly colored, Marimekko-inspired world. She happily gets by in her little rosebush, but she’s also eager to spread her wings. And while she dreams of having a friend, going farther afield can be a little scary. Traversing the Summerland? A very tall order. One day, she crosses paths with the adventurous butterfly, Silk. Despite their very different dispositions—Silk is as cheeky and curious as Rosa is timid and cautious—they hit it off immediately. Silk wants to go on adventures in the Summerland and Rosa just wants to stay in her safe bush. But when Silk is kidnapped by an evil Stone Troll, Rosa has to let go of her fears and set out on a dangerous journey to save her new best friend.
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Moominvalley

You may not have heard of the Moomins before (well, unless you’ve been to NYICFF in the past 6 years), but these adorable trolls and their whimsical yet harebrained adventures are absolutely huge overseas. They’re back once again with three all new stories to satisfy your every Moomindesire. In Homecoming, the moomins find the community at odds and under the spell of a charismatic leader denouncing all rules. The road to friendship is not always they straightest route when Moomintroll tries to help the valley’s latest resident, Snork (new character alert!), make friends in Inventing Snork. Finally, when Moomintroll learns of Moominmamma’s love of hot air ballooning, he’s determined to see her wildest dreams take flight in Moominmamma’s Flying Dream. Featuring the voices of Rosamund Pike, Matt Berry, Warwick Davis, Rhys Darby, and Bel Powley.
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Homecoming

The moomins find the community at odds and under the spell of a charismatic leader denouncing all rules.
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Moominmamma’s Flying Dream

When Moomintroll learns of Moominmamma’s love of hot air ballooning, he’s determined to see her wildest dreams take flight.
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Dounia – The Great White North

Audiences might recognize the little girl with the big hair who made her way from Syria to Canada in NYICFF 2023’s poignant Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo. Now settled, Dounia and her grandparents slowly get to know Canada, the new home that welcomed them: its intense seasons, its special foods, its languages (three and counting!). Dounia’s grandparents are sure to keep their Syrian traditions alive at home, while her new friends share traditions of their own, like Rosalie’s French-Canadian lifestyle or Miguizou’s vast indigenous folklore. So while she still misses her dad who stayed back in Aleppo, Dounia now has new ways to keep him with her. It’s when Kukum, Miguizo’s grandmother, teaches Dounia to call her father with all of her heart, that he just might find his way back to her.
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Chicken For Linda!

Our cheeky young protagonist, Linda, likes to push the limit. To be fair, she, like many kids, feels like she’s always getting blamed for things she didn’t do. When Linda’s mom finally see things from her perspective, she vows to make up for her misjudgement by preparing her favorite meal. Yet one simple request—her late father’s famous chicken—is no easy task with the entire town on strike and not a chicken in sight. And so begins a madcap dash with mother and daughter flying from henhouse to watermelon truck, eventually enlisting the whole neighborhood on their quest for the elusive ingredient. Painted in bold colors expressively animated, Chicken for Linda reminds us that with a little love and patience, even the most unexpected ingredients can make life more delicious.
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Migration

The Mallard family is in a bit of rut. While dad Mack is content to keep his family safe paddling around their New England pond forever, mom Pam is eager to shake things up and show their kids—teen son Dax and duckling daughter Gwen—the whole wide world. After a migrating duck family alights on their pond with thrilling tales of far-flung places, Pam persuades Mack to embark on a family trip, via New York City, to tropical Jamaica.  As the Mallards make their way South for the winter, their well-laid plans quickly go awry. The experience will inspire them to expand their horizons, open themselves up to new friends and accomplish more than they ever thought possible, while teaching them more about each other—and themselves—than they ever imagined. 
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Trolls Band Together Preview Screening

Get ready for an action-packed, all-star, rainbow-colored family reunion like no other! Now back from their world tour, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favorite boyband phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd, John Dory, Spruce, and Clay. BroZone and the family disbanded when Branch was still a baby, he hasn’t seen his brothers since. But when Branch’s bro Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains Velvet and Veneer, Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.
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Trolls Band Together

Get ready for an action-packed, all-star, rainbow-colored family reunion like no other! Now back from their world tour, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favorite boyband phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd, John Dory, Spruce, and Clay. BroZone and the family disbanded when Branch was still a baby, he hasn’t seen his brothers since. But when Branch’s bro Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains Velvet and Veneer, Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.
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Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

The long-awaited sequel is finally here—see it before it hits Netflix on December 15! Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream—a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk — this time, they’re breaking in!
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Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget Preview Screening

Followed by Q&A with director Sam Fell and Aardman co-founder Peter Lord The long-awaited sequel is finally here, and you can see it before it hits Netflix on December 15! Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream—a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk — this time, they’re breaking in!
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Kid Flicks One

Let your imagination take the wheel with Kid Flicks One. Whether dreaming up the fantastical, like a spider’s goal to capture the moon, or the practical, like a young animator’s future stardom, these shorts are sure to enchant and delight all audiences (but especially our youngest!)
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The Monkey King

The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a rebellious and charismatic Monkey and his magical fighting Stick on an epic quest for victory over 100 demons, an eccentric Dragon King, and Monkey’s greatest foe of all —his own ego! Along the way, a young village girl challenges his self-centered attitude and shows him that even the smallest pebble can have a big effect on the world. — Netflix
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Kirikou and the Sorceress

The first feature from Azur & Asmar creator Michel Ocelot is one of the most stunningly beautiful, poetic, and entertaining films ever created for children and ushered in a modern renaissance in French feature animation. The film is an exquisitely ani­mated African tale of a small boy, Kirikou, with extraordinary abilities. When he discovers that his village is cursed by Karaba, a terrifying sorceress, Kirikou sets off on an adventure to rid the village of Karaba’s curse by understanding what has made her so angry. With an original soundtrack by Youssou N’Oour, Kirikou and the Sorceress is the winner of dozens of ani­mation awards, including the Grand Prix at Annecy, and has become an absolute classic of animated cinema. NYICFF first premiered Kirikou at the 2000 Festival, and Michel Ocelot is currently a member of the NYICFF jury.
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Oblivion Island

The creators of Ghost in the Shell mix exquisitely detailed 2D backgrounds with modern 3D character designs in a dazzling animated adventure that plays like Alice’s fall through the rabbit hole into a world of topsy-turvy, anime dream-logic. When Haruka misplaces a hand-mirror that was a keepsake from her mother, she stumbles upon a portal to the subter­ranean world of Oblivion Island, a place where strange masked creatures gather up all the childhood trinkets humans aban­don as they grow older and attend Dream Theaters where they can watch and feel the memories locked in these forgotten objects. The land is ruled by an evil overlord, The Baron, who craves the power created by the memories locked in Haruka’s cherished mirror—a power that will allow him to rise beyond his world of discards and take over the world of humans. Aided by Teo, a lowly junk collector, and Cotton, her old stuffed animal brought back to life, Haruka struggles to recapture the mirror from The Baron, and to rediscover the fleeting moments of childhood love and friendship that are among life’s most precious treasures.
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The Secret of Kells

Don’t miss this award-winning animated masterpiece from the producers of Kirikou and the Sorceress and Triplets of Belleville! The Secret of Kells has taken top prizes at festivals worldwide and has been nominated tor an Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature. Magic, fantasy, and Celtic mythology come together in a riot of color and detail that dazzle the eyes in a sweeping story about the power of imagination and faith to carry humanity through dark times. Young Brendan lives in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids. But a new life of adven­ture beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears and venture into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him fulfill his dangerous quest.
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Eleanor’s Secret

In this colorfully animated film perfect for our youngest audiences, characters from classic fairy tales and children’s books come alive to help a young boy learn to read. Nat has fond memories of his eccentric Aunt Eleanor reading to him from her enormous collection of storybooks, but is frustrated and embarrassed by his inability to read the books himself. So he is less than thrilled when his aunt leaves him the keys to her attic library—and he rejects the gift. But just as Nat’s parents arc selling the collection to a shady antiques dealer, Nat discovers that the library is magical—the books housed in the attic are all original first editions of history’s most popular fairy tales, and the characters come to life! Now with the help of Alice in Wonderland, the Ogre, Peter Pan and others, he must get back the books and learn to read an ancient spell to keep the characters alive for future generations of children. Eleanor’s Secret is a beautifully designed, rollicking adventure in which a boy’s ability to read not only sets his imagination free, but saves the day!
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Turtle: The Incredible Journey

This awe-inspiring nature film follows the personal story of a single loggerhead turtle, one of hundreds of adorable, vulnerable babies born in the sands of the Florida coast, as she grows into a strong-willed adult braving the six-thousand mile journey that has been the species’ perilous ritual for millions of years. Critically acclaimed for “visually resplendent” nature footage on par with Planet Earth or March of the Penguins, Turtle features sweeping aerial shots and vast, majestic underwater seascapes that underscore the epic scope of the journey with a survival adventure as tense as any Hollywood thriller.
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Member Screening: Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Sweet, awkward 16-year-old Ruby Gillman is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but she mostly just feels invisible. She’s math-tutoring her skater-boy crush, who only seems to admire her for her fractals, and she’s prevented from hanging out with the cool kids at the beach because her over-protective supermom has forbade Ruby from ever getting in the water. But when she breaks her mom’s #1 rule, Ruby will discover that she is a direct descendant of the warrior kraken queen and is destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas. Featuring the voices of Lana Condor, Jaboukie Young-White, Toni Collette, and Jane Fonda!

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Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Sweet, awkward 16-year-old Ruby Gillman is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but she mostly just feels invisible. She’s math-tutoring her skater-boy crush, who only seems to admire her for her fractals, and she’s prevented from hanging out with the cool kids at the beach because her over-protective supermom has forbade Ruby from ever getting in the water. But when she breaks her mom’s #1 rule, Ruby will discover that she is a direct descendant of the warrior kraken queen and is destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas. Featuring the voices of Lana Condor, Jaboukie Young-White, Toni Collette, and Jane Fonda!

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I Scream, You Scream

An ice cream man sets out to create a banger of a beat the world has ever seen in an attempt to rekindle a dream and reconnect with his son.
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A Whisper in the Island of the Heart

Love communicates across the Tibetan mountains, against a warm coat of fur, and through sound waves and vibrations, proving silence can speak volumes.
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Swing to the Moon

Deep in the forest, wide-eyed spider Temi dreams of catching the Moon. For that, she will do anything.
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Sleepy

Snoring, silly, and hilarious things can happen when sleep catches up with you.
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Paolo’s Happiness

Paolo is an unassuming man who loves to cry—good for him! One day, his tears make him a local celebrity.
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Gugu naGogo

When a lunar eclipse stops her late-night letter exchanges, 12-year-old astronomer Gugu must find a way to reconnect with her beloved Gogo (grandmother) who lives far away in Zimbabwe.
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Rachel

Animator Rachel Reid exudes joy as she talks about being an animator, encouraging others to follow in her footsteps.
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Joyce’s Neighborhood

Mr Roger’s Neighborhood’s got nothing on Joyce’s house, a castle to all the local kids that’s nothing but sweetness and light. 
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