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GKIDS Bringing Animation Is Film Festival to Beijing

Special animation section at the 2019 Beijing Int’l Film Festival is largest slate of international animated feature films to be shown in China.

Animation Is Film Beijing presents 15 feature films from Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, including 2018 Animation Is Film jury prize winner ‘Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles.’

NEW YORK -- GKIDS and Beijing Film Panorama have partnered to present Animation Is Film Beijing, a special animation section within the upcoming Beijing Int’l Film Festival, which runs April 13-20, 2019. The Animation Is Film Beijing lineup will be the largest slate of non-Chinese feature film animation ever to be presented in China and will highlight the work the of critically-acclaimed, groundbreaking animation artists from around the world. The program is modelled on GKIDS’ Los Angeles-based festival Animation Is Film, and features most of the films appearing in the AIF 2018 lineup. In its ninth year, BJIFF is among the largest film festivals in the world and a cultural phenomenon in Beijing, with 230,000 tickets sold for the most recent edition.

Animation Is Film Beijing presents 15 feature films from Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, with all new titles making their Asian or Chinese premieres at the festival. Festival highlights include Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-nominated Mirai, European Film Award-winner Another Day of Life, the hit anime Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and Animation Is Film jury prize winner Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles. The slate also showcases the complete feature film retrospective of Oscar®-nominated Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda as well as a 20th anniversary presentation of The Iron Giant, the influential first feature from legendary two-time Oscar-winning director Brad Bird.

Animation Is Film Beijing runs April 13-20 as an official section within BJIFF. The complete program is listed below.

ANIMATION IS FILM BEIJING 2019 LINEUP

  • Another Day of Life (Chinese Premiere)
    Poland/Spain/Germany/Belgium/Hungary, Raúl de la Fuente, Damian Nenow, 2018
  • Buñuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles (Chinese Premiere)
    (Spain, Salvador Simo, 2018)
  • Dragon Ball Super: Broly (Chinese Premiere)
    (Japan, Tatsuya Nagamine, 2018)
  • The Iron Giant – 20th Anniversary Presentation (Chinese Theatrical Premiere)
    (U.S., Brad Bird, 1999)
  • Modest Heroes (Chinese Premiere)
    (Japan, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Yoshiyuki Momose, Akihiko Yamashita, 2018)
  • Penguin Highway (Chinese Premiere)
    (Japan, Hiroyasu Ishida, 2018)
  • Ruben Brandt: Collector (Chinese Premiere)
    (Hungary, Milorad Krstić, 2018)
  • This Magnificent Cake (Chinese Premiere)
    Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels (Belgium/France/Netherlands, 2018)

Appearing with This Magnificent Cake:

  • Solar Walk (Réka Bucsi, Germany, 2017)
  • Odd Is an Egg (Kristin Ulseth, Portugal, 2016)
  • Tito and the Birds (Chinese Premiere)
    Gustavo Steinberg, André Catoto, Gabriel Bitar (Brazil, 2018)

Mamoru Hosoda Retrospective:

  • The Girl who Leapt Through Time (Japan, 2006)
  • Summer Wars (Japan, 2009)
  • Wolf Children (Japan, 2012)
  • The Boy and The Beast (Japan, 2015)
  • Mirai (Japan, 2018)

Source: ANIMATION IS FILM

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.