Age Range: 9

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Fahim, the Little Chess Prince

In this true-to-life story, Fahim journeys from Bangladesh to France with his father and seeks to train with a chess grandmaster. When coach Sylvain (Gerard Depardieu) accepts Fahim into a challenging chess class, he transforms his fate in more ways than one in a heartwarming testimony to a father’s determination, the kindness of strangers, and one boy’s courageous will to succeed.

Note: Some mature language; scenes of political persecution and refugee hardship, including some violence
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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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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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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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And yet we are not super-heroes

Pocked-sized philosophers share their thoughts as the map the path to growing up in this gorgeously animated reflection.
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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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The Last Day of Autumn

There’s a mad dash to wrap the season, and these creatures devise some clever way to race to the finish.
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The Kite

The sky’s the limit for one boy’s connection to his grandfather in the lofty, lovely spirit of The Kite.
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My Life in Versailles

Life in a castle sounds like a piece of cake, but not for Violette, who must move into one with her uncle, the caretaker of the Palace of Versailles.
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Trude’s Flatmate

Trude’s Flatmate is a monster. Literally. And chaos is in store when she tries to keep its sugar fix in check.
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Nuit Cherie

Follow the stories of an insomniac bear and monkey on a mission (did we mention the mini Yeti?) in this vividly animated and wonderfully wacky tale.
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The School Trip

A school trip sparks an exploration of identity and belonging when Megalie is faced with visa troubles because of her family’s Senegalese origins.
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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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The Snail and the Whale

The latest from NYICFF alum Magic Light Pictures (Zog) rolls out gigantic waves of big-screen beauty and charming voicing by Sally Hawkins. When a tiny snail longs to see the world, it hitches a ride onto a great big, grey-blue humpback whale. Together they go on an amazing, gloriously animated journey, past icebergs and volcanoes, sharks and penguins, and marvel at the vast wonders of the world, and size seems like strength to the snail. But when the whale is beached in a bay, it’s the tiny snail who just might save the day.
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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

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.
programs

Short Films One

On your mark, get set, jump into an Olympic-size dose of inventiveness in Short Films 1. A rather wild menagerie of animals competes for the gold in the series Athleticus. It’s a mad dash to wrap the season in The Last Day of Autumn, and the sky’s the limit for one boy’s journey through generations in the lofty and lovely The Kite.
programs

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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