Dark, Dark Woods
Royal life’s not always so magnificent and can be tiring for a little one—so Maria trades in a tiara for a wilder kind of fun.
Film Tag: Animation
Two Trams
Devoted Klick and Tram work valiantly together to stay on time and on track in this lovely stop-motion city symphony.
A Bit Lost
We all get turned around sometimes, but Little Owl will have to search the forest far and wide with a squirrelly friend to get back to Mama in this colorful tale.
Wolves in the Walls
Based on the children’s book by Neil Gaiman, this extraordinary VR fable allows you to join 8-year-old Lucy to test a multidimensional world to try and find the truth behind the Wolves in the Walls.
Son of Jaguar
In the most important match of his life, the once mighty masked luchador Son of Jaguar faces his legacy, his family, and what it means to be a part of something bigger than himself.
Animal Jubilee
We’re thrilled to share the World Premiere of a brand new shorts program, Animanimals, by Julia Ocker, perennial Festival favorite and Audience Award winner (NYICFF 2015-16). If you adored last year’s reptilian snack-lover in Crocodile, you’ll go over the moon and under the ice for the brand new short Penguin and feel snappy in stripes watching Zebra, which are featured alongside a host of other awesome, animal-centric animated shorts!
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales
From the director of Oscar®-nominated Ernest & Celestine (NYICFF 2013), The Big Bad Fox is a three-part tale that will have you howling! A pig takes over a stork’s duties, hopping planes, trains, and automobiles to make a delivery. A fox strives to be seen as big and bad instead of sweet and silly. And a bird is desperate to swap roles from Christmas Duck to Father Christmas in this hilarious trifecta of animated stories about farmyard animals with big dreams. Note: recommended ages 5+ for French speakers
Presented with support from
Big Fish & Begonia
An astonishing work of animation over a decade in the making, Big Fish & Begonia crosses worlds, unleashes the elements, and pushes our understanding of fate itself. Thoughtful Chun comes from an unseen world responsible for Earth’s wellbeing. When she crosses into our planet, she develops a bond with a human boy who sacrifices his life for hers. Big Fish & Begonia draws on fascinating Chinese mythology to show Chun’s epic journey to return the favor.
Presented with support from
Hilda
Join us for this exclusive world premiere of Hilda, adapted from UK author Luke Pearson’s captivating and best-selling series of graphic novels by Mercury Filmworks/Silvergate. Follow the adventures of bright and fearless blue-haired Hilda, her adorable deerfox Twig, and her artist mom as they travel from their home in a vast magical wilderness full of elves and giants to the bustling city of Trolberg. This vividly animated fantasy adventure is inspired by strange Scandinavian folklore and evokes the films of Studio Ghibli. The Hilda series will launch as a Netflix Original in Fall 2018.
Presented with support from
Horus, Prince of the Sun
NYICFF’s Festival Flashback celebrates the golden anniversary of a mythical tale from famed Studio Ghibli founders Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki—a film some say sparked the birth of anime. In this East-meets-West take on The Sword in the Stone, Japanese Ainu legend is transposed to a Norse setting filled with adventure. Enter our hero Horus, who ventures through snowy land and Ghibli-esque sea journeys to save a village from evil Grunwaald. He meets a new friend, the regal but mysterious Hilda, who may be more complicated than Horus could ever imagine…
Presented with support from
Liyana
Liyana is a thrilling, beautifully-illustrated fictional tale of a young girl on a perilous quest to reunite with her brothers. At the same time, it’s a compelling documentary following the lives of five amazing children from an orphanage in Swaziland. Together with their wonderful storytelling teacher, these bright and captivating youngsters transform their difficult experiences through narrative to collectively craft Liyana’s tale. An ode to the power of storytelling and the strength of the human spirit, Liyana is an uplifting, genre-defying film not to be missed.
Note: while sensitively handled, film deals with challenging family histories and lingering impact of HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Lu Over the Wall
Kai’s quiet life in a traditional Japanese seaside town finally starts to rock and roil when he secretly joins a band with his classmates. His true interest is where they practice—on the foreboding Merfolk Island—a place that turns out to be even wilder than the town lore suggests. Enter Lu: a mermaid girl with the soul and voice of a pop star, who steals the show in this shape-shifting, musical/anime hybrid.
February 23 screening followed by special reception for members (level 35mm+) and All-Access pass holders
Presented with support from
Next Door Spy
Girl detective—check! Skater boy—check! You think you’ve got the stock characters down, but snoop around with the witty and wise Next Door Spy and you’ll find that things aren’t quite what they seem. Ten-year-old Agathe-Christine (AC, if you ask her) loves a good mystery. When her family moves to a new town that’s seemingly full of them, AC will need to turn her crackerjack detective skills inward to go beyond first impressions and unlock the key to friendship.
presented with support from
White Fang
NYICFF alum and Oscar-winning short director Alexandre Espigares returns with his feature debut, a thrilling and thought-provoking adaptation of Jack London’s classic tale. White Fang and his fellow canines call the rugged beauty of the Yukon territory home, but with the Gold Rush of the 1890s they are thrust against the harsh life of profit-seeking prospectors. Will the tribal leader or a new peacekeeping couple offer White Fang another path?
February 24 screening followed by special reception for members (level 35mm+) and All-Access pass holders
presented with support from
Zombillenium
Sprung from the comic book pages and crypts alike, celebrated French graphic novelist Arthur de Pins’ characters come to life, or er, undeath, on the big screen with a wickedly wry story of monster liberation. Challenges abound when amusement park Zombillenium is threatened by a corporate buy-out. Fortunately, high-minded ghoul dad Hector, tenacious witchboarder Gretchen, and a collective cohort of zombies rise up and fight in true French form for worker rights—above and below ground—in this clever genre and monster mash up.
Note: film contains comic-book style depictions of adult revelry and gallows humor.
presented with support from
Zombillenium
Sprung from the comic book pages and crypts alike, celebrated French graphic novelist Arthur de Pins’ characters come to life, or er, undeath, on the big screen with a wickedly wry story of monster liberation. Challenges abound when amusement park Zombillenium is threatened by a corporate buy-out. Fortunately, high-minded ghoul dad Hector, tenacious witchboarder Gretchen, and a collective cohort of zombies rise up and fight in true French form for worker rights–above and below ground–in this clever genre and monster mash up.
Note: film contains comic-book style depictions of adult revelry and gallows humor.
presented with support from
White Fang
NYICFF alum and Oscar-winning short director Alexandre Espigares returns with his feature debut, a thrilling and thought-provoking adaptation of Jack London’s classic tale. White Fang and his fellow canines call the rugged beauty of the Yukon territory home, but with the Gold Rush of the 1890s they are thrust against the harsh life of profit-seeking prospectors. Will the tribal leader or a new peacekeeping couple offer White Fang another path?
February 24 screening followed by special reception for members (level 35mm+) and All-Access pass holders
presented with support from
Next Door Spy
Girl detective—check! Skater boy—check! You think you’ve got the stock characters down, but snoop around with the witty and wise Next Door Spy and you’ll find that things aren’t quite what they seem. Ten-year-old Agathe-Christine (AC, if you ask her) loves a good mystery. When her family moves to a new town that’s seemingly full of them, AC will need to turn her crackerjack detective skills inward to go beyond first impressions and unlock the key to friendship.
presented with support from
Lu Over the Wall
Kai’s quiet life in a traditional Japanese seaside town finally starts to rock and roil when he secretly joins a band with his classmates. His true interest is where they practice—on the foreboding Merfolk Island—a place that turns out to be even wilder than the town lore suggests. Enter Lu: a mermaid girl with the soul and voice of a pop star, who steals the show in this shape-shifting, musical/anime hybrid.
February 23 screening followed by special reception for members (level 35mm+) and All-Access pass holders
Presented with support from
Liyana
Liyana is a thrilling, beautifully-illustrated fictional tale of a young girl on a perilous quest to reunite with her brothers. At the same time, it’s a compelling documentary following the lives of five amazing children from an orphanage in Swaziland. Together with their wonderful storytelling teacher, these bright and captivating youngsters transform their difficult experiences through narrative to collectively craft Liyana’s tale. An ode to the power of storytelling and the strength of the human spirit, Liyana is an uplifting, genre-defying film not to be missed.
Note: while sensitively handled, film deals with challenging family histories and lingering impact of HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Co-presented with the Museum of Modern Art’s Documentary Fortnight
Horus, Prince of the Sun
NYICFF’s Festival Flashback celebrates the golden anniversary of a mythical tale from famed Studio Ghibli founders Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki—a film some say sparked the birth of anime. In this East-meets-West take on The Sword in the Stone, Japanese Ainu legend is transposed to a Norse setting filled with adventure. Enter our hero Horus, who ventures through snowy land and Ghibli-esque sea journeys to save a village from evil Grunwaald. He meets a new friend, the regal but mysterious Hilda, who may be more complicated than Horus could ever imagine…
Presented with support from
Hilda
Join us for this exclusive world premiere of Hilda, adapted from UK author Luke Pearson’s captivating and best-selling series of graphic novels by Mercury Filmworks/Silvergate. Follow the adventures of bright and fearless blue-haired Hilda, her adorable deerfox Twig, and her artist mom as they travel from their home in a vast magical wilderness full of elves and giants to the bustling city of Trolberg. This vividly animated fantasy adventure is inspired by strange Scandinavian folklore and evokes the films of Studio Ghibli. The Hilda series will launch as a Netflix Original in Fall 2018.
Big Fish & Begonia
An astonishing work of animation over a decade in the making, Big Fish & Begonia crosses worlds, unleashes the elements, and pushes our understanding of fate itself. Thoughtful Chun comes from an unseen world responsible for Earth’s wellbeing. When she crosses into our planet, she develops a bond with a human boy who sacrifices his life for hers. Big Fish & Begonia draws on fascinating Chinese mythology to show Chun’s epic journey to return the favor.
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales
From the director of Oscar®-nominated Ernest & Celestine (NYICFF 2013), The Big Bad Fox is a three-part tale that will have you howling! A pig takes over a stork’s duties, hopping planes, trains, and automobiles to make a delivery. A fox strives to be seen as big and bad instead of sweet and silly. And a bird is desperate to swap roles from Christmas Duck to Father Christmas in this hilarious trifecta of animated stories about farmyard animals with big dreams. Note: recommended ages 5+ for French speakers
Mungge, Not Again!
Sleepwalking can be very dangerous, especially in the mountains! In this delightful stop-motion movie, two marmots and a hedgehog attempt to rescue their somnambulant friend.