Festivals - Animation is film : a great place to discover the best animation international films

By Mulder, Los Angeles, 20 october 2017

Animation is Film is produced by GKIDS in partnership with Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Variety and ASIFA-Hollywood, with sponsors Google, Fathom Events, Loews Hollywood Hotel, Cartoon Brew and IndieWire. Industry partners and supporters include Sony Pictures Animation; Warner Animation Group; Shout! Factory; Visual Effects Society; Unifrance; ELMA; Women In Animation; Women In Film; Animation Magazine; Animation World Network; Art Center; CalArts; Chapman University; Ireland Week; MovieMaker Magazine; Tiki Night benefitting the National MS Society; UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. It aims to fill a gap in the market by establishing the first world class animation festival in the US, with its home in the world capital of filmmaking. The festival embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form on par with live action filmmaking and will be vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of their work to the fullest range of expression that the medium is capable of.

The festival present a selection of new animated feature films from Asia, Europe, South America and North America, with both juried and audience prizes, with filmmakers attending for most screenings. Additionally, the festival will feature studio events, special screenings, short film programs, and VR lounge. AIF is presented by GKIDS, Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Variety, and ASIFA-Hollywood

The Animation is Film is composed by :
Allison Abbate, EVP Theatrical Animation, Warner Brothers Pictures; Producer of The Iron Giant, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Lego Movie
Anne Thompson, Editor-At-Large, IndieWire
Bonnie Arnold, DreamWorks Animation; Producer of Toy Story, How to Train Your Dragon
Brenda Chapman, Oscar®-winning director of Brave
Carolyn Giardina, Tech Editor, The Hollywood Reporter
Charles Solomon, Film critic and historian
Jorge R. Gutiérrez, Director of Book of Life
Mabel Tam, Head film buyer, Landmark Cinemas
Peter Debruge, Chief film critic, Variety, jury chair

AIF Special Screenings and events :

Outlandish Lands, surreal studio shorts from the 1930”s
Various Directors, USA, 75 min
Saturday, October 21st at 11:00AM

Snow White and the seven dwarfs 80th Anniversary Screening
director David Hand, USA, 1937
Saturday, October 21st at 11:00AM

Mind Game
Director Masaaki Yuasa, Japan, 2004
Saturday, October 21st at 9:30PM

Disney Pixar’s The Incredibles plus sneak peek of Upcoming Disney Pixar release Coco
Director Brad Bird, USA, 2004
Followed by Q&A with Producer John Walker
Sunday, October 22nd at 11:00AM

The Lego Batman movie
Director Chris McKay, USA, 2017
Followed by Q&A with Filmmakers
Sunday, October 22nd at 2:15PM

VR Flicker Lounge
Saturday & Sunday, October 21st & 22nd from 12:00pm to 7:00pm
Various titles including the LA premieres of the latest Google Spotlights Stories, Jorge Gutierrez’s
Jorge Gutiérrez'SON OF JAGUAR and Scot Stafford and Chromosphere's SONARIA

AIF 2017 films in competition

The Big Bad Fox & other tales (US Premiere)

director. Patrick Imbert, Benjamin Renner, France, 2017
Followed by Q&A with directors Patrick Imbert and Benjamin Renner
Saturday, October 21st at 1:30PM

Big Fish & Begonia (World Premiere)
director Liang Xua, Zhang Chun, China, 2016
Sunday, October 22nd at 11:00AM

Birdboy : The Forgotten children (West Coast Premiere)
directors Alberto Vázquez, Pedro Rivero, Spain, 2015
Followed by Q&A with directors Alberto Vázquez and Pedro Rivero
Saturday, October 21st at 4:15PM

The Breadwinner (US Premiere)
Followed by Q&A with director Nora Twomeyd. Nora Twomey, Ireland/Canada/Luxembourg, 2017
Friday, October 20th at 7:00PM

Fireworks, should we see it from the side of the bottom (North American Premiere)
director Noboyuki Takeuchi, Akiyuki Shinbo, Japan, 2017
Friday, October 20th at 9:30PM

Lu over the wall (US Premiere)
Director Masaaki Yuasa, Japan, 2017
Cristal Award (Grand Prize) Winner Annecy International Animation Film Festival
Sunday, October 22nd at 2:15PM

Mary and the witch’s flower (North American Premiere)
director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Japan, 2017
Followed by Q&A with director Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Sunday, October 22nd at 5:15PM

Mutafukaz (West Coast Premiere)
Director Guillaume Renard and Shoujirou Nishimi, France/Japan, 2017
Saturday, October 21st at 7:00PM

Night is short, walk on girl (US Premiere)
director Masaaki Yuasa, Japan, 2017
Sunday, October 22nd at 8:00PM

Tehran Taboo (North American Premiere)
director Ali Soozandeh, Germany, 2017
Followed by Q&A with director Ali Soozandeh
Sunday, October 22nd at 5:15PM

Tropical Virus (World Premiere)
director Santiago Caicedo, Colombia, 2017
Followed by Q&A with director Santiago Caicedo
Saturday, October 21st at 7:00PM

Zombillenium (North American Premiere)
director Arthur de Pins & Alexis Ducord, France, 2017
Followed by Q&A with director Alexis Ducord
Saturday, October 21st at 4:15PM