On March 5, 2005, the New York International Childrens Film Festival (NYICFF) will screen the highly anticipated U.S. premiere of the animated feature STEAMBOY, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo (AKIRA). This retro sci-fi anime was 10 years in the making and is the most expensive Japanese film ever produced. The film features the voices of Patrick Stewart, Alfred Molina and Anna Paquin. Director Otomo will be on hand for a Q&A immediately after the screening. A VIP reception will follow. The film will be screened at the Directors Guild of America (110 West 57th Street) at 6:00 pm.
NYICFF 2005 commences March 4 at Directors Guild of America Theater and continues through March 20 at Cantor Film Center, Peter Norton Symphony Space, Brooklyn Museum of Art, and American Museum of the Moving Image. Tickets to all events are on sale now. For the past five years NYICFF has sold out all seats and is expected to attract an audience of more than 20,000 this year.
As always, our goal is to help redefine the term film for kids by presenting an uncompromising slate of intelligent, passionate, subtle and stimulating works that challenge contemporary notions of childrens media. The lineup this year has some truly extraordinary films, and is perhaps the most expansive slate we have put forward. That our audience continues to grow and responds so enthusiastically to these films points to a large untapped market for independent film for kids. says NYICFF founder and co-director, Eric Beckman
Additional highlights of this years festival include: NY premieres of STRINGS (Denmark), THE CAT RETURNS (Japan), OSEAM (South Korea) and LITTLE LONGNOSE (Russia) as well as a 50-year retrospective of groundbreaking stop-motion and traditional animation from masters Jiri Barta, Jan Svankmajer, Zdenek Miler and others.
For more information, visit www.gkids.com or call (212) 349-0330.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
