Animation Is Film revealed Thursday that its 2023 edition next month will open with Gkids and Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron, the latest film from Hayao Miyazaki that just opened the Toronto Film Festival. It is getting its U.S. Imax premiere at Tcl’s Chinese 6.
The festival, set to run October 18-22 in Hollywood, will close with Netflix’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, to be followed by a Q&a with director Sam Fell and executive producer Peter Lord.
Aif’s annual lineup of theatrical presentations, special events, and shorts showcase includes two Annecy International Animation Film Festival prize winners, Neon’s film Robot Dreams and Gkids’ Chicken for Linda!, which will make their West Coast and U.S. debuts. Other titles include Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower (Japan), making its North American theatrical premiere.
DreamWorks Animation will host a special presentation of its latest film,...
The festival, set to run October 18-22 in Hollywood, will close with Netflix’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, to be followed by a Q&a with director Sam Fell and executive producer Peter Lord.
Aif’s annual lineup of theatrical presentations, special events, and shorts showcase includes two Annecy International Animation Film Festival prize winners, Neon’s film Robot Dreams and Gkids’ Chicken for Linda!, which will make their West Coast and U.S. debuts. Other titles include Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower (Japan), making its North American theatrical premiere.
DreamWorks Animation will host a special presentation of its latest film,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” will open Animation Is Film on Oct. 18 at the Tcl Chinese Theatre in the festival’s first IMAX premiere, the organization announced Thursday.
The Animation Is Film Festival, with Variety as one of the sponsors, will run from Oct. 18-22 in Hollywood. Sam Fell’s “Chicken Run” sequel “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” will close out the programming in a Q&a with Fell and executive producer Peter Lord, hosted by Netflix.
At this year’s festival, Aif is continuing to prioritize animation while recognizing its contribution to film around the world. “Robot Dreams” and “Chicken For Linda!” join the feature film lineup, with both making their West Coast and U.S. debuts, respectively.
“‘Animation Is Film’ is not just the name of our festival, it is its mission,” said Matt Kaszanek, executive director of Aif. “New films from Studio Ghibli...
The Animation Is Film Festival, with Variety as one of the sponsors, will run from Oct. 18-22 in Hollywood. Sam Fell’s “Chicken Run” sequel “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” will close out the programming in a Q&a with Fell and executive producer Peter Lord, hosted by Netflix.
At this year’s festival, Aif is continuing to prioritize animation while recognizing its contribution to film around the world. “Robot Dreams” and “Chicken For Linda!” join the feature film lineup, with both making their West Coast and U.S. debuts, respectively.
“‘Animation Is Film’ is not just the name of our festival, it is its mission,” said Matt Kaszanek, executive director of Aif. “New films from Studio Ghibli...
- 9/21/2023
- by McKinley Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
The Animation Is Film Festival, in its fifth in-person edition, once again champions the jewels of the hand-drawn, CGI and stop-motion world.
This year’s festival kicks off Oct. 21 at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood with the U.S. premiere of Henry Selick’s stop-motion “Wendell & Wild.” Selick will also be there to conduct a Q&a after the screening. The festival will close with Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” with a Q&a with del Toro after the screening.
“To repurpose a line from Tolstoy, every special festival is special in its own way. Most obviously, when a bona fide master of the craft comes out with his first film in over a decade — as is the case with Henry Selick’s ‘Wendell & Wild’ — that’s special. When an Oscar-winning ‘live-action’ director comes out with his first animated feature, a passion project many years in the...
This year’s festival kicks off Oct. 21 at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood with the U.S. premiere of Henry Selick’s stop-motion “Wendell & Wild.” Selick will also be there to conduct a Q&a after the screening. The festival will close with Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” with a Q&a with del Toro after the screening.
“To repurpose a line from Tolstoy, every special festival is special in its own way. Most obviously, when a bona fide master of the craft comes out with his first film in over a decade — as is the case with Henry Selick’s ‘Wendell & Wild’ — that’s special. When an Oscar-winning ‘live-action’ director comes out with his first animated feature, a passion project many years in the...
- 10/20/2022
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
Updated: The Animation Is Film Festival has added a special presentation of Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” (Netflix) as the closing night selection. Del Toro will appear in person for an introduction and a Q&a. The world premiere of the English-language version of “One Piece Film Red,” Japan’s top box-office film of the year, will serve as the centerpiece.
Earlier: The fifth annual Animation Is Film (Aif) Festival has announced its 2022 lineup featuring the U.S. premiere of Academy Award winner Jordan Peele and BAFTA winner Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild.”
The Aif fest opens with “Wendell & Wild” on October 21, running through October 23 and closing with a special surprise screening on October 29. Programming highlights also include “My Father’s Dragon” from Oscar-nominated Nora Twomey and Annecy Cristal winner “Little Nicolas.”
“I’m delighted my new film ‘Wendell & Wild,’ co-written and produced with Jordan Peele, will have its U.
Earlier: The fifth annual Animation Is Film (Aif) Festival has announced its 2022 lineup featuring the U.S. premiere of Academy Award winner Jordan Peele and BAFTA winner Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild.”
The Aif fest opens with “Wendell & Wild” on October 21, running through October 23 and closing with a special surprise screening on October 29. Programming highlights also include “My Father’s Dragon” from Oscar-nominated Nora Twomey and Annecy Cristal winner “Little Nicolas.”
“I’m delighted my new film ‘Wendell & Wild,’ co-written and produced with Jordan Peele, will have its U.
- 10/7/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Shorts showcase presented in partnership with Annecy and Women In Animation returns.
The US premiere of Henry Selick’s Netflix stop-motion feature Wendell & Wild will open next month’s Animation Is Film (Aif) in Los Angeles.
Selick will attend the fifth, in-person edition and take part in a post-screening Q&a at Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood on October 21 to discuss his film about two scheming demons voiced by Jordan Peele and longtime comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key who strike a deal with a teen punk to escape the Underworld.
The film’s producer and founder/CEO of the Gotham Group...
The US premiere of Henry Selick’s Netflix stop-motion feature Wendell & Wild will open next month’s Animation Is Film (Aif) in Los Angeles.
Selick will attend the fifth, in-person edition and take part in a post-screening Q&a at Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood on October 21 to discuss his film about two scheming demons voiced by Jordan Peele and longtime comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key who strike a deal with a teen punk to escape the Underworld.
The film’s producer and founder/CEO of the Gotham Group...
- 9/22/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Wendell & Wild, the upcoming Netflix movie directed by Henry Selick that features the voices of Jordan Peele, Angela Bassett, Keegan-Michael Key and Lyric Ross, has been selected as the opening-night film for Animation Is Film, the growing animation festival that will run October 21-23 and October 29 at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theaters in Hollywood.
It will mark the U.S. premiere of the pic, which world premiered earlier this month at the Toronto Film Festival and is due to hit Netflix on October 28. Selick, the stop-motion animation veteran behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and Coraline, will participate in a post-screening Q&a. As part of the Aif special events, Wendell & Wild producer and founder and CEO of the Gotham Group Ellen Goldsmith-Vein will receive an award recognizing her impact on the animation industry.
This year’s edition also for the first time will extend...
It will mark the U.S. premiere of the pic, which world premiered earlier this month at the Toronto Film Festival and is due to hit Netflix on October 28. Selick, the stop-motion animation veteran behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and Coraline, will participate in a post-screening Q&a. As part of the Aif special events, Wendell & Wild producer and founder and CEO of the Gotham Group Ellen Goldsmith-Vein will receive an award recognizing her impact on the animation industry.
This year’s edition also for the first time will extend...
- 9/22/2022
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
The U.S. premiere of Jordan Peele and Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild” will kick off the fifth edition of Animation Is Film (Aif) on Oct. 21. The screening of the forthcoming Netflix feature will be followed by an in-person Q&a with Selick.
“I’m delighted my new film ‘Wendell & Wild’ — co-written and produced with Jordan Peele — will have its U.S. premiere at Animation Is Film, a festival that celebrates the non-traditional and ground-breaking in animated movies,” Selick said in a statement. “Our made-in-the-usa stop-motion feature is many things: scary, funny, creepy, sad, and empowering, but most of all, it’s very very original so I can’t think of a better place for its U.S. premiere than Animation Is Film. Hope you enjoy the show.
Aif will be expanding to a second weekend for the first time in the festival’s history, and will conclude...
“I’m delighted my new film ‘Wendell & Wild’ — co-written and produced with Jordan Peele — will have its U.S. premiere at Animation Is Film, a festival that celebrates the non-traditional and ground-breaking in animated movies,” Selick said in a statement. “Our made-in-the-usa stop-motion feature is many things: scary, funny, creepy, sad, and empowering, but most of all, it’s very very original so I can’t think of a better place for its U.S. premiere than Animation Is Film. Hope you enjoy the show.
Aif will be expanding to a second weekend for the first time in the festival’s history, and will conclude...
- 9/22/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Neon/Participant’s Oscar buzzy animated doc, “Flee,” won the Grand Prize at the fourth annual Animation Is Film Festival, held last weekend at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theater in Hollywood. This follows Sundance doc and Annecy animation wins for the Danish entry in this season’s international Oscar race.
“Flee,” directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, tells the true story of Amin Nawabi as he grapples with his secret past as an Afghan refugee on the verge of marrying his husband.
“In the touching and innovative documentary ‘Flee,’ Jonas Poher Rasmussen takes great care in sharing the personal history of an Afghan refugee. The filmmaker uses the process of animation to protect the identity of his subject, while also bringing an added layer to the material, capturing the impact of trauma on memory and identity in the process,” said Jury chair Peter Debruge, chief Variety film critic.
“Belle,” the GKids contender,...
“Flee,” directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, tells the true story of Amin Nawabi as he grapples with his secret past as an Afghan refugee on the verge of marrying his husband.
“In the touching and innovative documentary ‘Flee,’ Jonas Poher Rasmussen takes great care in sharing the personal history of an Afghan refugee. The filmmaker uses the process of animation to protect the identity of his subject, while also bringing an added layer to the material, capturing the impact of trauma on memory and identity in the process,” said Jury chair Peter Debruge, chief Variety film critic.
“Belle,” the GKids contender,...
- 10/26/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Animation Is Film has announced the winners of its fourth annual film festival. The organization has awarded the grand prize, its top honor, to “Flee.”
Written and directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, “Flee” follows the story of Awin Nawabi, an Afghan refugee who is suddenly forced to face life-altering effects of a secret that he has kept for 20 years. Neon is distributing the film.
“In the touching and innovative documentary ‘Flee,’ Jonas Poher Rasmussen takes great care in sharing the personal history of an Afghan refugee. The filmmaker uses the process of animation to protect the identity of his subject, while also bringing an added layer to the material, capturing the impact of trauma on memory and identity in the process,” stated Jury chair and Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge.
The special jury prize was awarded to “Belle.” Writer-director Mamoru Hosuda’s film chronicles the adventures of a 17-year-old high school student.
Written and directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, “Flee” follows the story of Awin Nawabi, an Afghan refugee who is suddenly forced to face life-altering effects of a secret that he has kept for 20 years. Neon is distributing the film.
“In the touching and innovative documentary ‘Flee,’ Jonas Poher Rasmussen takes great care in sharing the personal history of an Afghan refugee. The filmmaker uses the process of animation to protect the identity of his subject, while also bringing an added layer to the material, capturing the impact of trauma on memory and identity in the process,” stated Jury chair and Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge.
The special jury prize was awarded to “Belle.” Writer-director Mamoru Hosuda’s film chronicles the adventures of a 17-year-old high school student.
- 10/26/2021
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
After a year-long delay due to the pandemic, the Animation Is Film festival returns this year for its fourth edition, taking place Oct. 22-24. The festival will be held, as it traditionally has been, at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood and will feature a competition lineup of the best animation films of the year, as well as other special events.
“If you look at the lineup, you’ll see that there are titles … that have played at Sundance and Cannes and Annecy, and the festival is an opportunity for everyone to see these films,” says Matt Kaszanek, director, Animation Is Film. “We’re really happy with the lineup we were able to put together this year in the strange times of 2021, so we’re really excited for the program and we hope everyone else is too.”
The festival kicks off with the North American premiere of the Netflix feature “The Summit of the Gods,...
“If you look at the lineup, you’ll see that there are titles … that have played at Sundance and Cannes and Annecy, and the festival is an opportunity for everyone to see these films,” says Matt Kaszanek, director, Animation Is Film. “We’re really happy with the lineup we were able to put together this year in the strange times of 2021, so we’re really excited for the program and we hope everyone else is too.”
The festival kicks off with the North American premiere of the Netflix feature “The Summit of the Gods,...
- 10/23/2021
- by Katie Song
- Variety Film + TV
Animation in Film Festival Announces 2021 Lineup Including ‘The Summit of the Gods,’ ‘Belle,’ ‘Flee’
Animation is Film announced the competition lineup and other special events for the fourth edition of the festival, which will take place from Oct. 22-24 at the Tcl Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. The lineup includes 12 feature films in competition as well as 20 programs overall including shorts.
The festival will open with the North American premiere of upcoming Netflix animated feature “The Summit of the Gods,” directed by Patrick Imbert and adapted from Jiro Taniguchi and Baku Yumemakura’s manga series. Imbert will appear for a post-screening Q&a. The centerpiece film on Oct. 23 is the West Coast premiere of Gkids’ “Belle,” directed by Mamoru Hosada who will also appear for a Q&a. The West Coast premiere of Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee” will close the festival.
Also among the competition features are the world premiere of the English dub of Yusuke Hirota’s “Poupelle of Chimney Town,” the North...
The festival will open with the North American premiere of upcoming Netflix animated feature “The Summit of the Gods,” directed by Patrick Imbert and adapted from Jiro Taniguchi and Baku Yumemakura’s manga series. Imbert will appear for a post-screening Q&a. The centerpiece film on Oct. 23 is the West Coast premiere of Gkids’ “Belle,” directed by Mamoru Hosada who will also appear for a Q&a. The West Coast premiere of Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee” will close the festival.
Also among the competition features are the world premiere of the English dub of Yusuke Hirota’s “Poupelle of Chimney Town,” the North...
- 9/23/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
The fourth edition of the Animation Is Film festival (Aif) returns in-person October 22-24 to the Tcl Chinese 6 in Hollywood, and will kick off opening night with the North American premiere of Netflix’s “The Summit of the Gods,” the breathtaking French 2D feature from director Patrick Imbert (“The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales”), who will do an in-person Q&a.
“The Summit of the Gods” (opening November 24 in select theaters and streaming November 30) is adapted from the popular manga and concerns a Japanese adventure photographer and mountain climber obsessed with finding a legendary climber obsessed with scaling Mount Everest.
Other highlights include the West Coast premieres of GKids’ “Belle” on October 23 and Neon’s award-winning “Flee” on October 24. “Belle” is the musical fantasy 2D reworking of “Beauty and the Beast” from Oscar-nominated anime master Mamoru Hosoda (“Mirai”), who will do an in-person Q&a. “Flee” (December 3) is the...
“The Summit of the Gods” (opening November 24 in select theaters and streaming November 30) is adapted from the popular manga and concerns a Japanese adventure photographer and mountain climber obsessed with finding a legendary climber obsessed with scaling Mount Everest.
Other highlights include the West Coast premieres of GKids’ “Belle” on October 23 and Neon’s award-winning “Flee” on October 24. “Belle” is the musical fantasy 2D reworking of “Beauty and the Beast” from Oscar-nominated anime master Mamoru Hosoda (“Mirai”), who will do an in-person Q&a. “Flee” (December 3) is the...
- 9/22/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Patton Oswalt is toplining and starring alongside writer-director James Morosini in I Love My Dad, a dramatic comedy that just wrapped principal photography in Syracuse, NY. Claudia Sulewski, Rachel Dratch, Ricky Velez also star along with Lil Rel Howery and Amy Landecker.
Inspired by Morosini’s real-life experiences, the pic follows Chuck (Oswalt), an estranged father who desperately wants to reconnect with his depressive son, Franklin (Morosini). Blocked on social media and concerned for his son’s life, Chuck impersonates a waitress (Sulewski) online and starts checking in with Franklin. But things begin to spiral when Franklin falls for this imaginary girl and wants nothing more than to meet her in person.
Bill Stertz and Sean King O’Grady produce for Atlas Industries alongside Dane Eckerle, Daniel Brandt and Burn Later Productions’ Phil Keefe and Sam Slater. Lauren Hantz and John Hantz are executive producers via their Hantz Motion Pictures, which fully financed.
Inspired by Morosini’s real-life experiences, the pic follows Chuck (Oswalt), an estranged father who desperately wants to reconnect with his depressive son, Franklin (Morosini). Blocked on social media and concerned for his son’s life, Chuck impersonates a waitress (Sulewski) online and starts checking in with Franklin. But things begin to spiral when Franklin falls for this imaginary girl and wants nothing more than to meet her in person.
Bill Stertz and Sean King O’Grady produce for Atlas Industries alongside Dane Eckerle, Daniel Brandt and Burn Later Productions’ Phil Keefe and Sam Slater. Lauren Hantz and John Hantz are executive producers via their Hantz Motion Pictures, which fully financed.
- 6/18/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
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