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VIFF Unveils 2013 Animation Slate

The Vancouver International Film Festival announces the highlights of its slate of animated films for the 2013 edition of the festival, including the Canadian premiere of Ari Folman’s The Congress, as well as screenings of Max Andersson and Helena Ahonen’s Tito on Ice and Hosoda Mamoru’s Wolf Children.

The Vancouver International Film Festival  (VIFF) has announced the highlights of its slate of animated films for the 2013 edition of the festival, which runs September 26 - October 11.

As one of the largest film festivals in North America, VIFF brings Vancouver audiences some of the best films from around the globe. VIFF 2012 presented over 380 films from 75 countries to over 140,000 enthusiastic film-lovers.

This year’s edition includes the Canadian premiere of Ari Folman’s The Congress, as well as screenings of Max Andersson and Helena Ahonen’s Tito on Ice and Hosoda Mamoru’s Wolf Children.

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WOLF CHILDREN (Okami kodomo no ame to yuki)

Japan | Director: Hosoda Mamoru

"Anime helmer Hosoda Mamoru tenderly imagines the complications that follow when an ordinary girl takes a lupine lover… Embracing the patient, poetic style of such Japanese masters as Ozu and Mizoguchi… this elegant project lovingly upholds Japan’s hand-drawn tradition."—Variety.

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THE CONGRESS

Israel/Germany/Poland/Luxembourg/ France/Belgium | Director: Ari Folman

Waltz with Bashir’s Ari Folman again pushes the boundaries of animation with this audacious reinvention of Stanislaw Lem’s The Futurological Congress. When Robin Wright (playing herself) consents to being digitally preserved, she’s inadvertently plunged into a dystopian "animation zone." A mind-bending "ode to the wonders of cinematic invention."—Indiewire

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ONCE UPON A FOREST (Il était une forêt)

France | Director: Luc Jacquet

Luc Jacquet (March of the Penguins)and pioneering botanist and ecologist Francis Hallé fly us to the very top of the Amazon rainforest canopy and chronicle seven centuries in the life of this "green lung" of the world. A glorious celebration of trees and a call to arms for the protection of this wondrous tropical ecosystem.

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TITO ON ICE

Sweden/Germany/Bosnia | Directors: Max Andersson, Helena Ahonen

On a barnstorming tour of the former Yugoslavia, graphic novelists Max Andersson (who directs, with Helena Ahonen) and Lars Sjunneson bring a macabre "mummy" of Marshal Tito along for the ride. Astonishing stop-motion animation sequences render their journey all the more surreal while a Balkan new wave soundtrack affirms this doc’s punk rock spirit.

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KISS THE WATER

UK/USA | Director: Eric Steel

A visually stunning celebration of the artistry and idiosyncrasy of Megan Boyd, the reclusive Scot whose intricate, hand-tied fishing flies made her a legend to anglers and artisans alike. An amalgam of breathtaking painted animation and reverential musings regarding the allure of fly fishing, Eric Steel’s enchanting documentary is "an elegant and fascinating delight…"—Screen

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OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Canada | Director: Various

A series of irresistible short films that explore the idealized individuals, coveted items and beguiling ideas that elicit yearning and inspire everything from reveries to demented rampages.

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FLASHBACK MEMORIES 3D

Japan | Director: Matsue Tetsuaki

Midway between a rave concert and a Koreeda documentary, Matsue Tetsuaki’s trippy film (in hypnotic 3D) looks at Goma, a Japanese didgeridoo player who has trained himself to play again after an accidental brain injury. Small film, big experience!

Source: Vancouver International Film Festival

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.

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