French 2D animation specialist Disnosc will bring Miles Davis, Chet Baker and Fats Waller to a headset near you.
A family venture founded by Fabrice and Nathan Otaño – a father-son duo with respective experience in corporate analytics and high-end animation, with credits on films like “The Summit of the Gods” and “Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia” – the Biarritz-based studio launched in 2020 to bring pet-project “Blue Figures” to the small screen.
Co-directed by David Calvert and developed in-house, the hand-drawn anthology series follows a Parisian record store, staffed by jazz aficionados, that opens a wider window onto the world. Episodes will focus on individuals such as Davis, Baker and Waller, as well as pianist Mary Lou Williams and French author-scenester Boris Vian.
“Jazz isn’t just about music,” says producer Fabrice Otaño, evoking Miles Davis’ infamous police assault outside of New York’s Birdland. “It’s also about political and social struggle.
A family venture founded by Fabrice and Nathan Otaño – a father-son duo with respective experience in corporate analytics and high-end animation, with credits on films like “The Summit of the Gods” and “Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia” – the Biarritz-based studio launched in 2020 to bring pet-project “Blue Figures” to the small screen.
Co-directed by David Calvert and developed in-house, the hand-drawn anthology series follows a Parisian record store, staffed by jazz aficionados, that opens a wider window onto the world. Episodes will focus on individuals such as Davis, Baker and Waller, as well as pianist Mary Lou Williams and French author-scenester Boris Vian.
“Jazz isn’t just about music,” says producer Fabrice Otaño, evoking Miles Davis’ infamous police assault outside of New York’s Birdland. “It’s also about political and social struggle.
- 4/27/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Garouden , a series of martial arts novels written by Baku Yumemakura, is being adapted into an anime entitled Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf that will stream on Netflix in worldwide markets beginning on May 23, 2024. Atsushi Ikariya ( Sabakui Bisco ) directs the series at animation studio Naz with series composition by Sadayuki Murai and character designs by Ikariya and Momoko Kawai. Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf features the voice talents of Ryota Takeuchi, Tetsu Inada, Shunsuke Takeuchi, Rintaro Nishi, Tessho Genda, Aya Endo, Ryota Suzuki, Hidenobu Kiuchi, Junya Enoki, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Junichi Suwabe, Kenjiro Tsuda, Shiro Saito, Maki Izawa, Yume Miyamoto and Yuhko Kaida. AA= performs the opening and ending themes for the series, which are entitled “Fight & Pride” and “Cry Boy”, respectively. Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf key visual Related: The Summit of the Gods Anime Film Releases Full Trailer Introducing Its Japanese Dub Voices...
- 4/22/2024
- by Paul Chapman
- Crunchyroll
Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. Today we’re talking to French execs Clément Calvet and Jérémie Fajner, founders of Paris-based production and distribution company Superprod Group. The group is on the rise with a recent high-profile company acquisition, an eclectic multi-format slate and embrace of cutting-edge Usd pipeline technology pioneered by Pixar which is giving it the edge.
It’s hard to define Paris-based content company Superprod. Launched in 2010 with an accent on animation, the group has since branched out into live action, working on original in-house content and commissions across all formats.
The company’s eclectic slate spans hit animated series Batwheels and Paddington and the upcoming update of iconic Dutch children’s character Miffy as well as French live action drama series Panda and feature...
It’s hard to define Paris-based content company Superprod. Launched in 2010 with an accent on animation, the group has since branched out into live action, working on original in-house content and commissions across all formats.
The company’s eclectic slate spans hit animated series Batwheels and Paddington and the upcoming update of iconic Dutch children’s character Miffy as well as French live action drama series Panda and feature...
- 4/17/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Paris-based Superprod Group has acquired top Luxembourgish animation companies Studio 352 and Mélusine Productions in a move that consolidates its position as one of Europe’s leading animation production groups.
Based in Contern in Southern Luxembourg, the sister companies were founded by Belgian producer Stéphan Roelants in the late 1990s.
Mélusine Productions develops, finances and manages the projects, while Studio 352, which has built up a local team of top-level artists and technicians, executes the work.
The sister companies have been involved in some of the most important animated feature films produced out of Europe in the past 27 years.
At the same time, they have also cemented Luxembourg’s position as an animation production hub, with strong support from the Luxembourg Film Fund.
Latest credits include Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry’s Michael Morpurgo-adaptation Kensuké’s Kingdom, which won Best Feature Film at the 2024 British Animation Awards in February.
Other...
Based in Contern in Southern Luxembourg, the sister companies were founded by Belgian producer Stéphan Roelants in the late 1990s.
Mélusine Productions develops, finances and manages the projects, while Studio 352, which has built up a local team of top-level artists and technicians, executes the work.
The sister companies have been involved in some of the most important animated feature films produced out of Europe in the past 27 years.
At the same time, they have also cemented Luxembourg’s position as an animation production hub, with strong support from the Luxembourg Film Fund.
Latest credits include Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry’s Michael Morpurgo-adaptation Kensuké’s Kingdom, which won Best Feature Film at the 2024 British Animation Awards in February.
Other...
- 4/2/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
London- and Paris-based Film Constellation has boarded sales on 2D family animated feature “Carmen,” a contemporary adaptation of the opera, to be directed by 2023 Annecy Film Festival winner Sébastien Laudenbach. Variety revealed first details of the project last year exclusively.
Laudenbach, who won the best film award at Annecy for “Chicken for Linda!,” is teaming up with renowned French animation studio Folivari on “Carmen.”
It’s 1840 in Seville, a pulsating town of sailors and small-time crooks. Salvador, a young assistant to the gifted knife grinder Antonio, meets a captivating gypsy girl named Carmen. Her rapturous beauty and independent spirit are the talk of the town, but Antonio’s ability to glimpse the future foretells a tragic fate. With unwavering resolve, Salvador will muster an eclectic band of misfit kids, led by the spirited Belén, to protect Carmen against the unyielding threads of destiny, igniting the ancient city’s alleyways in a symphony of emotions.
Laudenbach, who won the best film award at Annecy for “Chicken for Linda!,” is teaming up with renowned French animation studio Folivari on “Carmen.”
It’s 1840 in Seville, a pulsating town of sailors and small-time crooks. Salvador, a young assistant to the gifted knife grinder Antonio, meets a captivating gypsy girl named Carmen. Her rapturous beauty and independent spirit are the talk of the town, but Antonio’s ability to glimpse the future foretells a tragic fate. With unwavering resolve, Salvador will muster an eclectic band of misfit kids, led by the spirited Belén, to protect Carmen against the unyielding threads of destiny, igniting the ancient city’s alleyways in a symphony of emotions.
- 9/8/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Every year at the Cannes Film Festival, there's one extraordinary animated film that quietly premieres in one of the side sections. Some of my other favorites from the past are: I Lost My Body (2019), The Summit of the Gods (2021), and Little Nicholas: Happy as Can Be (2022). This year's big animation discovery is a French animated feature called Mars Express, a hard sci-fi creation from director Jérémie Périn. At the fest there's also the animated film Robot Dreams, which I already reviewed and it's wonderful as well, but this one completely rocked me. Both of these films involve robots, which is a bit of a fun coincidence. Mars Express is pretty much a French update on the iconic Japanese anime Ghost in the Shell, featuring a noir story involving androids and artificial intelligence and hacking and robots galore. While it's not as great as Gits, it's as close as anyone has...
- 5/23/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Upcoming animated features on the company’s slate include The Character Of Rain and Sheba.
France-based animation sales company Gebeka International, which was launched as a joint venture between Wild Bunch International (Wbi) and Gebeka Films last June, has hired Jason Bressand to pilot sales.
He reports to Wbi head of sales Eva Diederix and joins Wbi and Gebeka Films staffers Livia Van der Staay and Marion Delord who oversee acquisitions.
Bressand arrives from Paulo Branco’s Paris-based company Alfama Films, where he was head of international sales and festivals from 2018.
During his time there, he handled titles including German...
France-based animation sales company Gebeka International, which was launched as a joint venture between Wild Bunch International (Wbi) and Gebeka Films last June, has hired Jason Bressand to pilot sales.
He reports to Wbi head of sales Eva Diederix and joins Wbi and Gebeka Films staffers Livia Van der Staay and Marion Delord who oversee acquisitions.
Bressand arrives from Paulo Branco’s Paris-based company Alfama Films, where he was head of international sales and festivals from 2018.
During his time there, he handled titles including German...
- 4/6/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Netflix dominated the Annie Awards on March 12, winning a whopping 20 categories including the big prize, Best Studio Animated Feature. That went to “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” which also won all seven of its other races.
“Encanto,” the Oscar frontrunner for Best Animated Feature, only went three for nine (and those were in races where it wasn’t competing against “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”). Of the other Oscar nominees, “Luca” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” were shut out despite 10 and eight bids respectively. The fifth Oscar nominee, “Flee,” Best Independent Feature over “Belle,” “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko,” “Pompo the Cinephile” and “The Summit of the Gods.”
Netflix also rule on the TV side, winning an even dozen awards across 13 categories. Its action adventure series “Arcane” claimed bragging rights by bagging nine trophies. Among its win was Best Animated TV Production (General Audience), which is roughly equivalent to the Emmy for Best Animated Program.
“Encanto,” the Oscar frontrunner for Best Animated Feature, only went three for nine (and those were in races where it wasn’t competing against “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”). Of the other Oscar nominees, “Luca” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” were shut out despite 10 and eight bids respectively. The fifth Oscar nominee, “Flee,” Best Independent Feature over “Belle,” “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko,” “Pompo the Cinephile” and “The Summit of the Gods.”
Netflix also rule on the TV side, winning an even dozen awards across 13 categories. Its action adventure series “Arcane” claimed bragging rights by bagging nine trophies. Among its win was Best Animated TV Production (General Audience), which is roughly equivalent to the Emmy for Best Animated Program.
- 3/13/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
For the second year in a row, the 49th Annie Awards will be virtual after Asifa-Hollywood, the organization behind the event, decided to pivot amid the omicron-driven surge in Covid-19 cases.
The show was originally going to be an in-person affair Feb. 26 at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA. Now it will be streamed on the Annie Awards website, on Saturday, March 12, beginning at 7 p.m. Pt.
According to Asifa-Hollywood executive director Frank Gladstone, the board made the decision to pivot in mid-January. Members considered three options. “One was to just stay the course and do the live show,” Gladstone says. Option two was to go virtual. “And the third option was doing a live show but postponing it even further,” he says. “At the end of the day, going virtual was what the board decided to do.”
The decision meant the team behind the show had to scramble...
The show was originally going to be an in-person affair Feb. 26 at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA. Now it will be streamed on the Annie Awards website, on Saturday, March 12, beginning at 7 p.m. Pt.
According to Asifa-Hollywood executive director Frank Gladstone, the board made the decision to pivot in mid-January. Members considered three options. “One was to just stay the course and do the live show,” Gladstone says. Option two was to go virtual. “And the third option was doing a live show but postponing it even further,” he says. “At the end of the day, going virtual was what the board decided to do.”
The decision meant the team behind the show had to scramble...
- 3/10/2022
- by Terry Flores
- Variety Film + TV
Not surprisingly, four of the five contenders for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars number among the leading contenders for the 49th annual Annie Awards. Our predicted winner of that race, “Encanto,” reaped nine nominations here. It was outpaced by “Raya and the Last Dragon” with a leading 10 bids while “Luca” and “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” are at eight each. All four are up for Best Studio Animated Feature as is “Sing 2,” which merited just this one mention.
“Flee” rounds out the Best Animated Feature race at the Oscars. This Danish import is up for Best Independent Feature against “Belle,” “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko,” “Pompo the Cinephile” and “The Summit of the Gods.”
These precursor prizes are presented by the Hollywood chapter of the International Animated Film Association. The ceremony is set for Saturday, March 12. That is five days before final Oscar voting commences.
Seven of the last...
“Flee” rounds out the Best Animated Feature race at the Oscars. This Danish import is up for Best Independent Feature against “Belle,” “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko,” “Pompo the Cinephile” and “The Summit of the Gods.”
These precursor prizes are presented by the Hollywood chapter of the International Animated Film Association. The ceremony is set for Saturday, March 12. That is five days before final Oscar voting commences.
Seven of the last...
- 3/10/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Following the November 2021 announcement of upcoming releases from Yen Audio at Anime NYC, Yen Press, LLC has announced the narrators for these new audiobook adaptations of beloved light novel series.
Spice and Wolf Vol. 1 will be narrated by J. Michael Tatum. J. Michael Tatum is an actor, writer, Adr director, and adaptive scriptwriter. Nurtured by anime classics, Tatum has lent his voice to several popular anime franchises over the years. After being cast as Rikichi in 2005’s Samurai 7, Tatum was able to attain a slew of dream roles, most notably Kyoya Ootori in Ouran High School Host Club, suave, demonic Sebastian Michaelis in Black Butler, France in the Hetalia franchise, Tomoe in Kamisama Kiss, and the equal parts maniacal and vulnerable Rintarou Okabe from Steins;Gate. Recently, he can be heard in the epic My Hero Academia as Tenya Iida. Most relevantly, he also played Kraft Lawrence in the 2009 anime adaptation of Spice and Wolf.
Spice and Wolf Vol. 1 will be narrated by J. Michael Tatum. J. Michael Tatum is an actor, writer, Adr director, and adaptive scriptwriter. Nurtured by anime classics, Tatum has lent his voice to several popular anime franchises over the years. After being cast as Rikichi in 2005’s Samurai 7, Tatum was able to attain a slew of dream roles, most notably Kyoya Ootori in Ouran High School Host Club, suave, demonic Sebastian Michaelis in Black Butler, France in the Hetalia franchise, Tomoe in Kamisama Kiss, and the equal parts maniacal and vulnerable Rintarou Okabe from Steins;Gate. Recently, he can be heard in the epic My Hero Academia as Tenya Iida. Most relevantly, he also played Kraft Lawrence in the 2009 anime adaptation of Spice and Wolf.
- 3/5/2022
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
This year’s ceremony was uncharacteristically devoid of controversy after politically-charged editions in 2020 and 2021.
Xavier Giannoli’s costume drama Lost Illusions was the big winner at the 47th Cesar awards of France’s Academy of Cinema and Arts and Sciences on Friday evening (25), winning best film, adapted screenplay, costume and supporting actor among others.
The adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s19th-century novel premiered in competition at Venice last year. It was the frontrunner at the nomination stage, making it into 15 of the 24 César categories.
The other big winner of the evening was Leos Carax’s English-language musical Annette. Carax won best director,...
Xavier Giannoli’s costume drama Lost Illusions was the big winner at the 47th Cesar awards of France’s Academy of Cinema and Arts and Sciences on Friday evening (25), winning best film, adapted screenplay, costume and supporting actor among others.
The adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s19th-century novel premiered in competition at Venice last year. It was the frontrunner at the nomination stage, making it into 15 of the 24 César categories.
The other big winner of the evening was Leos Carax’s English-language musical Annette. Carax won best director,...
- 2/25/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The 46th César Awards took place at L’Olympia Bruno Coquatrix in Paris on Friday, February 25. The ceremony, France’s equivalent of the Academy Awards, honored the best in French cinema from 2021. The star-studded event also featured plenty of American talent, with the likes of Adam Driver and Cate Blanchett attending the ceremony. The show was hosted by French broadcaster Antoine de Caunes, marking his 10th time as emcee.
The night’s big winners were “Annette” and “Lost Illusions.” The former, a musical from director Leos Carax starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard and featuring music by Sparks, is a rock opera about a married couple whose lives change when they have a child, which is portrayed by a marionette puppet. Carax took home the trophy for Best Director, with Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks winning Best Original Score. The film also performed well in the crafts categories, winning Best Sound,...
The night’s big winners were “Annette” and “Lost Illusions.” The former, a musical from director Leos Carax starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard and featuring music by Sparks, is a rock opera about a married couple whose lives change when they have a child, which is portrayed by a marionette puppet. Carax took home the trophy for Best Director, with Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks winning Best Original Score. The film also performed well in the crafts categories, winning Best Sound,...
- 2/25/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Hiventy, one of France’s leading post-production companies, is seeing rising demand across its range of services, including film processing, dubbing and subtitling, post-production, film restoration and BluRay mastering. It has operations in France, Poland, Singapore, Vietnam, Kenya and Nigeria.
Hiventy has one of the few film lab services in Europe. CEO Thierry Schindele says that there has been rising demand for the company’s film processing services. Recent 35mm shoots processed by the group include Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” and Christophe Honoré’s “Le Lycéen,” produced by Les Films Pelléas. Recent French films handled by Hiventy include Mia Hansen Love’s “One Beautiful Morning,” Serge Bozon’s “Don Juan,” Léa Mysius’ “The Five Devils” and Pietro Marcello’s “The Flight.”
Schindele expects demand for film processing services to continue to rise. Hiventy is supplying film processing services for shoots across Europe. For example, “Asteroid City” was shot in Spain,...
Hiventy has one of the few film lab services in Europe. CEO Thierry Schindele says that there has been rising demand for the company’s film processing services. Recent 35mm shoots processed by the group include Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” and Christophe Honoré’s “Le Lycéen,” produced by Les Films Pelléas. Recent French films handled by Hiventy include Mia Hansen Love’s “One Beautiful Morning,” Serge Bozon’s “Don Juan,” Léa Mysius’ “The Five Devils” and Pietro Marcello’s “The Flight.”
Schindele expects demand for film processing services to continue to rise. Hiventy is supplying film processing services for shoots across Europe. For example, “Asteroid City” was shot in Spain,...
- 1/30/2022
- by Martin Dale
- Variety Film + TV
This story about “The Summit of the Gods” first appeared in the special animation section in the Awards Preview issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Based on the manga by Jirô Taniguchi and Baku Yumemakura, the breathtaking French-language animated feature “The Summit of the Gods” searches for meaning at inhospitable heights. The drama set in the 1990s chronicles two quests, one of headstrong climber Habu (voiced by Eric Herson-Macarel) bent on conquering Mount Everest alone, and one involving photojournalist Fukamachi (Damien Boisseau) seeking grandeur by potentially finding a camera that belonged to George Mallory, the real-life mountaineer who disappeared in 1953 while attempting to climb the same peak. Inevitably, their paths overlap.
Director Patrick Imbert wasn’t familiar with the material until renowned producers Damien Brunner and Didier Brunner at Folivari approached him. He immediately appreciated the story’s potential for animation and began sorting through the passages to adapt it...
Based on the manga by Jirô Taniguchi and Baku Yumemakura, the breathtaking French-language animated feature “The Summit of the Gods” searches for meaning at inhospitable heights. The drama set in the 1990s chronicles two quests, one of headstrong climber Habu (voiced by Eric Herson-Macarel) bent on conquering Mount Everest alone, and one involving photojournalist Fukamachi (Damien Boisseau) seeking grandeur by potentially finding a camera that belonged to George Mallory, the real-life mountaineer who disappeared in 1953 while attempting to climb the same peak. Inevitably, their paths overlap.
Director Patrick Imbert wasn’t familiar with the material until renowned producers Damien Brunner and Didier Brunner at Folivari approached him. He immediately appreciated the story’s potential for animation and began sorting through the passages to adapt it...
- 1/26/2022
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Ceremony for awards voted on by 4,363 members of the César academy will take place on February 25.
Xavier Giannoli’s literary adaptation Lost Illusions is the frontrunner in the nomination stage of the 47th edition of France’s César awards, followed by Leos Carax’s Annette and Valérie Lemercier’s Aline.
France’s Academy of Cinema and Arts and Sciences unveiled the nomination list online on Wednesday morning (January 26), ahead of the ceremony scheduled to take place on February 25.
Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s eponymous 19th-century novel, which premiered in competition at Venice last year, was nominated in...
Xavier Giannoli’s literary adaptation Lost Illusions is the frontrunner in the nomination stage of the 47th edition of France’s César awards, followed by Leos Carax’s Annette and Valérie Lemercier’s Aline.
France’s Academy of Cinema and Arts and Sciences unveiled the nomination list online on Wednesday morning (January 26), ahead of the ceremony scheduled to take place on February 25.
Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s eponymous 19th-century novel, which premiered in competition at Venice last year, was nominated in...
- 1/26/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
This marks the fifth year that the entire membership of the academy can take part in the nomination stage of the Animated Feature Oscar race. Previously, only select members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch and invited members from the other branches could serve on the committee that decided the nominees. Collectively, the committee tended to favor traditional and stop-motion films over CG fare. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2022 Oscars predictions for Best Animated Feature.)
Mandatory attendance at screenings has been dropped and voters who want to be on the nominations committee need only attest to having seen all the contenders at theaters or screenings or by way of the the academy’s streaming site.
The method of determining the nominees has also changed. Gone is the system where voters scored a film from 6 (poor) to 10 (excellent) with only those movies meriting an average mark of at least 7.5 eligible for a nomination.
Mandatory attendance at screenings has been dropped and voters who want to be on the nominations committee need only attest to having seen all the contenders at theaters or screenings or by way of the the academy’s streaming site.
The method of determining the nominees has also changed. Gone is the system where voters scored a film from 6 (poor) to 10 (excellent) with only those movies meriting an average mark of at least 7.5 eligible for a nomination.
- 1/24/2022
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Venice Golden Lion winner Happening won best film and best actress prizes
Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening won best film at the 27th edition of France’s Lumière Awards on Monday evening, while its star Anamaria Vartolomei was awarded the best actress prize.
Adapted from French writer Annie Ernaux’s 2019 semi-autobiographical work, Happening recounts a gifted literature student’s struggle to get an abortion in 1964, 11 years before abortion was legalised in France in 1975.
It marks a first lead role for Vartolomei, whose previous credits include How To Be A Good Wife and The Royal Exchange. Vartolomei is...
Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening won best film at the 27th edition of France’s Lumière Awards on Monday evening, while its star Anamaria Vartolomei was awarded the best actress prize.
Adapted from French writer Annie Ernaux’s 2019 semi-autobiographical work, Happening recounts a gifted literature student’s struggle to get an abortion in 1964, 11 years before abortion was legalised in France in 1975.
It marks a first lead role for Vartolomei, whose previous credits include How To Be A Good Wife and The Royal Exchange. Vartolomei is...
- 1/18/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Encanto, Flee and Luca are also in contention for the animation awards.
Disney’s Raya And The Last Dragon and Encanto lead the field of nominees for this year’s Annie Awards, announced on Monday by international animated film society Asifa-Hollywood.
Besides the two Disney titles, other nominees for the group’s best animated feature award are Pixar’s Luca, Illumination’s Sing 2 and Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix’s The Mitchells Vs The Machines.
Nominated for the best independent animated feature Annie are Japanese anime epic Belle and European awards contenders Flee and The Summit Of The Gods, as...
Disney’s Raya And The Last Dragon and Encanto lead the field of nominees for this year’s Annie Awards, announced on Monday by international animated film society Asifa-Hollywood.
Besides the two Disney titles, other nominees for the group’s best animated feature award are Pixar’s Luca, Illumination’s Sing 2 and Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix’s The Mitchells Vs The Machines.
Nominated for the best independent animated feature Annie are Japanese anime epic Belle and European awards contenders Flee and The Summit Of The Gods, as...
- 12/21/2021
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon,” the studio’s first Southeast Asian action-adventure, led Asifa-Hollywood’s 49th Annie Awards with 10 nominations, including best animated feature. Disney’s Colombian-set musical “Encanto,” followed with nine nods, while Pixar’s Italian-set “Luca” tied for eight with Sony Animation/Netflix’s innovative, 2D-inspired “The Mitchells vs. The Machines.” This year’s ceremony is scheduled to return live on Saturday, February 26, 2022 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
The best feature noms went to “Raya,” (from “Big Hero Six” Oscar-winning director Don Hall), “Encanto”, “Luca,” “The Mitchells” (from “Spider-Verse” Oscar-winning producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller), and Illumination’s “Sing 2.” The competitive studio race for best feature could go Disney’s way or “The Mitchells'” (winner of the NYFCC animated feature award).
The race for best independent feature, meanwhile, was led by GKids’ “Belle,” the metaverse “Beauty and the Beast”-inspired musical from director Mamoru Hosoda...
The best feature noms went to “Raya,” (from “Big Hero Six” Oscar-winning director Don Hall), “Encanto”, “Luca,” “The Mitchells” (from “Spider-Verse” Oscar-winning producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller), and Illumination’s “Sing 2.” The competitive studio race for best feature could go Disney’s way or “The Mitchells'” (winner of the NYFCC animated feature award).
The race for best independent feature, meanwhile, was led by GKids’ “Belle,” the metaverse “Beauty and the Beast”-inspired musical from director Mamoru Hosoda...
- 12/21/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Netflix’s investment in animation has paid off in a big way, as the streamer picked up a whopping 52 nominations at the 49th Annie Awards. Following behind is Disney, which received 29 bids between its film and TV projects.
Taking place on Feb. 26, 2022 at UCLA’s Royce Hall and presented by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, the Annie Awards recognize excellence in cinema and television.
Netflix picked up nine nominations for “Arcane,” its series based on Riot Games’ online multiplayer game “League of Legends.” The hit film from Sony Pictures Animation “The Mitchells vs. The Machines” earned eight nods, and Netflix’s own limited series “Maya and the Three,” directed by Jorge Gutierrez, has seven.
While Disney lagged behind Netflix for total nominations, the studio’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” led all content with 10 nominations, followed by its studio sibling “Encanto,” which picked up nine.
Taking place on Feb. 26, 2022 at UCLA’s Royce Hall and presented by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, the Annie Awards recognize excellence in cinema and television.
Netflix picked up nine nominations for “Arcane,” its series based on Riot Games’ online multiplayer game “League of Legends.” The hit film from Sony Pictures Animation “The Mitchells vs. The Machines” earned eight nods, and Netflix’s own limited series “Maya and the Three,” directed by Jorge Gutierrez, has seven.
While Disney lagged behind Netflix for total nominations, the studio’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” led all content with 10 nominations, followed by its studio sibling “Encanto,” which picked up nine.
- 12/21/2021
- by Terry Flores
- Variety Film + TV
Disney films are the ones to beat at the 49th annual Annie Awards, whose nominations were announced Tuesday morning. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto scored a leading 10 and nine noms, respectively, followed by Pixar’s Luca with eight.
Sony & Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines also landed eight noms and will vie for the marquee Best Feature prize with those Disney titles and Illumination’s Sing 2, which scored just the one nom.
Gkids distributes three of the four pics up for Best Indie feature: Belle, Pompo the Cinephile and Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko. They will battle against Flee, which is Denmark’s official entry for the International Feature Oscar, and Netflix’s The Summit of the Gods.
For the list of the nominees in all 36 categories, click here.
“In spite of everything or maybe because of what we and the world around...
Sony & Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines also landed eight noms and will vie for the marquee Best Feature prize with those Disney titles and Illumination’s Sing 2, which scored just the one nom.
Gkids distributes three of the four pics up for Best Indie feature: Belle, Pompo the Cinephile and Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko. They will battle against Flee, which is Denmark’s official entry for the International Feature Oscar, and Netflix’s The Summit of the Gods.
For the list of the nominees in all 36 categories, click here.
“In spite of everything or maybe because of what we and the world around...
- 12/21/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s been another strange year. Perhaps more so than ever, the way films have been released has been in a confusing state of flux. What’s coming to cinemas? If it makes it how many screenings will it actually have? What’s going to which streaming service, and when? There have been a lot of excellent movies released in 2021, but sifting through them has been challenging, even if you’re doing your best to keep up.
Here, the HeyUGuys team have a few suggestions for things that may have slipped through the cracks, but which we think you should catch up with.
Daniel Goodwin Recommends
The Summit of the Gods (Patrick Imbert)
Based on the Jiro Taniguchi manga, this visually breath-taking, staggeringly dramatic, 90s set, French animated feature tells the tale of Nepal based, Japanese photojournalist Makato Fukamachi (Damien Boisseau), who happens upon the old Kodak camera of a...
Here, the HeyUGuys team have a few suggestions for things that may have slipped through the cracks, but which we think you should catch up with.
Daniel Goodwin Recommends
The Summit of the Gods (Patrick Imbert)
Based on the Jiro Taniguchi manga, this visually breath-taking, staggeringly dramatic, 90s set, French animated feature tells the tale of Nepal based, Japanese photojournalist Makato Fukamachi (Damien Boisseau), who happens upon the old Kodak camera of a...
- 12/16/2021
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The awards are voted on by 95 international correspondents from 36 countries.
Xavier Giannoli’s literary adaptation Lost Illusions leads the nominations of the 27th edition of France’s Lumière awards, followed by Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening and Arthur Harari’s Onoda, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle.
The awards, which are voted on by 95 international correspondents hailing from 36 countries this year, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.
Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s eponymous 19th-century novel, which premiered in competition in Venice this year, was nominated in five categories including best film, director, screenplay, actor...
Xavier Giannoli’s literary adaptation Lost Illusions leads the nominations of the 27th edition of France’s Lumière awards, followed by Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner Happening and Arthur Harari’s Onoda, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle.
The awards, which are voted on by 95 international correspondents hailing from 36 countries this year, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.
Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s eponymous 19th-century novel, which premiered in competition in Venice this year, was nominated in five categories including best film, director, screenplay, actor...
- 12/10/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Animation, documentary submissions also tallied.
The Academy has confirmed it has received 93 country submissions for the international feature film category in the run-up to the 94th Oscars on March 27, 2022.
The Academy said on Monday (December 6) it had also received 26 animated feature and 138 documentary feature submissions.
The entire list of international feature film submissions can be viewed here and includes a first submission from Somalia. The Academy said some of the films have not yet had their required qualifying release and must fulfil that requirement and comply with all the category’s other qualifying rules to advance in the voting process.
The Academy has confirmed it has received 93 country submissions for the international feature film category in the run-up to the 94th Oscars on March 27, 2022.
The Academy said on Monday (December 6) it had also received 26 animated feature and 138 documentary feature submissions.
The entire list of international feature film submissions can be viewed here and includes a first submission from Somalia. The Academy said some of the films have not yet had their required qualifying release and must fulfil that requirement and comply with all the category’s other qualifying rules to advance in the voting process.
- 12/6/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Animation, documentary submissions also tallied.
The Academy has confirmed it has received 93 country submissions for the international feature film category in the run-up to the 94th Oscars on March 27, 2022.
The Academy said on Monday (December 6) it had also received 26 animated feature and 138 documentary feature submissions.
The entire list of international feature film submissions can be viewed here and includes a first submission from Somalia. The Academy said some of the films have not yet had their required qualifying release and must fulfil that requirement and comply with all the category’s other qualifying rules to advance in the voting process.
The Academy has confirmed it has received 93 country submissions for the international feature film category in the run-up to the 94th Oscars on March 27, 2022.
The Academy said on Monday (December 6) it had also received 26 animated feature and 138 documentary feature submissions.
The entire list of international feature film submissions can be viewed here and includes a first submission from Somalia. The Academy said some of the films have not yet had their required qualifying release and must fulfil that requirement and comply with all the category’s other qualifying rules to advance in the voting process.
- 12/6/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
When “Summit of the Gods” director Patrick Imbert graduated from France’s Les Gobelins school of animation in the late 1990s, he entered an industry still looking for its right footing.
“The market and industry was not as developed as it is today,” Imbert tells Variety. “There were much fewer projects because there were much fewer screens. We did pre-production in Paris and sent most of the production work overseas. You couldn’t imagine becoming a film director or a character designer or anything so prestigious. You were happy enough to simply make your living by drawing, hoping to work on cool projects. That was our vision of animation.”
Suffice it to say, France’s animation ecosystem has grown by leaps and bounds over the following decades. Buoyed by advances in digital software that cut down production costs, staffed by a workforce from a growing number of training programs and...
“The market and industry was not as developed as it is today,” Imbert tells Variety. “There were much fewer projects because there were much fewer screens. We did pre-production in Paris and sent most of the production work overseas. You couldn’t imagine becoming a film director or a character designer or anything so prestigious. You were happy enough to simply make your living by drawing, hoping to work on cool projects. That was our vision of animation.”
Suffice it to say, France’s animation ecosystem has grown by leaps and bounds over the following decades. Buoyed by advances in digital software that cut down production costs, staffed by a workforce from a growing number of training programs and...
- 12/3/2021
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
In directing “The Summit of the Gods,” Patrick Imbert knew that the scenes taking place on Mount Everest would be challenging to animate but there were other scenes that he paid special attention to. “There are some dialogue scenes and I pay a lot of attention to those scenes because the animation is very sober. You cannot hide behind swagger and you have to be really precise,” he says during our recent webchat (watch the video above). He further explains how getting these scenes right could be even more difficult than animating the scenes on Everest. “It is not necessary to animate too much, but you have to catch the right movement depending on what you want to say.”
Currently streaming on Netflix, the film examines the drive behind the people that seek to conquer the world’s tallest mountain. A young Japanese reporter Makoto encounters Habu, who is in...
Currently streaming on Netflix, the film examines the drive behind the people that seek to conquer the world’s tallest mountain. A young Japanese reporter Makoto encounters Habu, who is in...
- 12/2/2021
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Adapted from Baku Yumemakura’s mid-‘90s manga series of the same name, Patrick Imbert’s “The Summit of the Gods” might reflect the awed and glassy tone of recent French animation (the similarly ethereal “I Lost My Body” comes to mind), but its most formative influence is fittingly Japanese: Studio Ghibli.
You might sense it in the structure of Imbet, Magali Pouzol, and Jean-Charles Ostorero’s screenplay, which unfolds through a series of nested memories à la Isao Takahata’s “Only Yesterday” — or “Citizen Kane.” More specific is how this film rustles with the same melancholic beauty that swirls through every frame of Hayao Miyazaki’s magnum opus “The Wind Rises.” Where that melodrama weighed the creative spirit against its most awful cost, this adventure story reaches even higher in its bid to understand why some men are compelled to climb the world’s tallest mountain and/or die trying.
You might sense it in the structure of Imbet, Magali Pouzol, and Jean-Charles Ostorero’s screenplay, which unfolds through a series of nested memories à la Isao Takahata’s “Only Yesterday” — or “Citizen Kane.” More specific is how this film rustles with the same melancholic beauty that swirls through every frame of Hayao Miyazaki’s magnum opus “The Wind Rises.” Where that melodrama weighed the creative spirit against its most awful cost, this adventure story reaches even higher in its bid to understand why some men are compelled to climb the world’s tallest mountain and/or die trying.
- 11/30/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The beauty of The Summit of the Gods, a breathtaking animated feature about a photojournalist’s mission to crack a Mount Everest mystery, is achieved through its less profound moments. Like the close shot of a brooding character leaning over a bridge drinking from a glistening beer bottle. Or one of a nondescript hand depositing a beige envelope into a fire-red mailbox with the dim yellows and greens of a near slumbering city in the backdrop. Backed by a stirring score (composed by Amin Bouhafa), these junctures enliven a film that perfectly captures the delirious pull of pursuing a singular vision....
- 11/26/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The beauty of The Summit of the Gods, a breathtaking animated feature about a photojournalist’s mission to crack a Mount Everest mystery, is achieved through its less profound moments. Like the close shot of a brooding character leaning over a bridge drinking from a glistening beer bottle. Or one of a nondescript hand depositing a beige envelope into a fire-red mailbox with the dim yellows and greens of a near slumbering city in the backdrop. Backed by a stirring score (composed by Amin Bouhafa), these junctures enliven a film that perfectly captures the delirious pull of pursuing a singular vision....
- 11/26/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Netflix’s “The Summit of the Gods” (opening November 24 in select theaters and streaming November 30) accomplishes something new and immersive in 2D animation: the beauty, excitement, and danger of scaling Mount Everest. However, for French director Patrick Imbert (“The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales”), this was not about soaring new heights in animation, but exploring the obsession with mountain climbing.
“You use the tools that you bring with telling a movie story,” said Imbert, a former animation supervisor who teamed up with producers Didier Brunner, Damien Brunner, Jean-Charles Ostorero (who co-scripted), and Stéphan Roelants. “And that’s why we use image, sound design, and music [by Amine Bouhafa] to create something that doesn’t exist outside. Of course, I know and love some animation a lot, but most of my influences are live-action movies. For example, [Stanley] Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon.’ One thing I learned is that many different things happen to that character,...
“You use the tools that you bring with telling a movie story,” said Imbert, a former animation supervisor who teamed up with producers Didier Brunner, Damien Brunner, Jean-Charles Ostorero (who co-scripted), and Stéphan Roelants. “And that’s why we use image, sound design, and music [by Amine Bouhafa] to create something that doesn’t exist outside. Of course, I know and love some animation a lot, but most of my influences are live-action movies. For example, [Stanley] Kubrick’s ‘Barry Lyndon.’ One thing I learned is that many different things happen to that character,...
- 11/23/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Rich Ting (“Warrior”), Darren Barnet (“Never Have I Ever”) and Keiko Agena (“Better Call Saul”) have been tapped to lead the voice cast for the English-language dub of Netflix’s “The Summit of the Gods,” from César award-winning filmmaker Patrick Imbert.
Based on the acclaimed manga by Jirô Taniguchi and the novel by Baku Yumemakura, “The Summit of the Gods” poses the question, “Were George Mallory and his companion Andrew Irvine the first men to scale Everest on June 8th, 1924? Only the little Vestpocket Kodak camera they took with them might reveal the truth.”
“The Summit of the Gods” picks up in Kathmandu, 70 years after Mallory and Irvine’s journey, when a young Japanese reporter named Fukamachi Makoto (Barnet) recognizes the camera in the hands of the mysterious Habu Joji (Ting), an outcast climber believed missing for years. As the plot progresses, Fukamachi enters a world of obsessive mountaineers on...
Based on the acclaimed manga by Jirô Taniguchi and the novel by Baku Yumemakura, “The Summit of the Gods” poses the question, “Were George Mallory and his companion Andrew Irvine the first men to scale Everest on June 8th, 1924? Only the little Vestpocket Kodak camera they took with them might reveal the truth.”
“The Summit of the Gods” picks up in Kathmandu, 70 years after Mallory and Irvine’s journey, when a young Japanese reporter named Fukamachi Makoto (Barnet) recognizes the camera in the hands of the mysterious Habu Joji (Ting), an outcast climber believed missing for years. As the plot progresses, Fukamachi enters a world of obsessive mountaineers on...
- 11/23/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
You’d think presenting Mount Everest, the God of the Sky, Earth’s tallest mountain and one of its deadliest, through hand-drawn animation would make the landscape look less forbidding and not more. Patrick Imbert’s new movie, “The Summit of the Gods,” planes away Everest’s intimidating features, like sharp rock faces captured via telephoto lenses, and flattens the bedrock colossus to fit his medium; in the process, the mountain gains new sobriety.
Continue reading ‘The Summit Of The Gods’ Review: In Patrick Imbert’s Breathtaking Animated Film, Everest Is The True Star at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Summit Of The Gods’ Review: In Patrick Imbert’s Breathtaking Animated Film, Everest Is The True Star at The Playlist.
- 11/19/2021
- by Andrew Crump
- The Playlist
Emmanuel Mouret’s “Love Affair(s),” Samir Guesmi’s “Ibrahim” and Elie Wajeman’s “Night Doctor” won top prizes at Colcoa, the French film and TV festival.
The festival, which marked its 25th edition, wrapped at the DGA on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on Nov. 7. It was attended by 14,000 people.
The festival, programmed by Francois Truffart, is organized by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, a collaboration between the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), The Writers Guild of America West (Wgaw) and France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (Sacem).
Colcoa shifted its spring dates to the fall in 2019 as the DGA was being renovated and is now ideally positioned at the start of the awards season in the U.S. The awards ceremony took place at the Sacem headquarters near Paris in the presence of many honorees, notably Guesmi and “Love Affair(s)” producer Frédéric Niedermayer,...
The festival, which marked its 25th edition, wrapped at the DGA on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles on Nov. 7. It was attended by 14,000 people.
The festival, programmed by Francois Truffart, is organized by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, a collaboration between the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), The Writers Guild of America West (Wgaw) and France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (Sacem).
Colcoa shifted its spring dates to the fall in 2019 as the DGA was being renovated and is now ideally positioned at the start of the awards season in the U.S. The awards ceremony took place at the Sacem headquarters near Paris in the presence of many honorees, notably Guesmi and “Love Affair(s)” producer Frédéric Niedermayer,...
- 11/17/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
"If I can stay alive, I can do this in seven months..." "You are on the edge of life and death." Netflix has revealed a trailer for a mountain climbing documentary film called 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, one of the first ever to profile a Nepalese climber. Fearless Nepali Mountaineer Nimsdai Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all 14 of the worlds 8000-meter peaks in seven months. This is a daunting, near impossible feat for any human, even for a Nepalese person born in the Himalayas. "14 Peaks is a thrilling, action-packed story about courage, perseverance, and pushing the limits of human endurance. Written, directed and produced by Torquil Jones, an executive produced by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. I am a big fan of mountain climbing films (also see this year's The Summit of the Gods) and I'm very excited to watch this documentary soon. Nimsdai...
- 11/2/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Netflix kicks off the holidays in earnest in November, with over a dozen festive movies, specials and shows, a list of which is organized below alphabetically by date.
For a deeper dive on the 42(!) original films the streamer plans to release in the final months of this year, see Deadline’s trailer-laden story here.
November 1
21 Jump Street
60 Days In: Season 6
A River Runs Through It
Addams Family Values
American Gangster
An Elf’s Story: The Elf on the Shelf
Angry Birds: Season 4 – Slingshot Stories
Bella and the Bulldogs: Season 2
The Big Wedding
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
The Claus Family (original film)
Elf Pets: Santa’s St. Bernards Save Christmas
First Knight
Forged in Fire: Season 7
Gather
The General’s Daughter
It Follows
Johnny Mnemonic
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind
Last Action Hero
Moneyball
Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher
My Dad’s Christmas Date
The Nightingale
Total Recall...
For a deeper dive on the 42(!) original films the streamer plans to release in the final months of this year, see Deadline’s trailer-laden story here.
November 1
21 Jump Street
60 Days In: Season 6
A River Runs Through It
Addams Family Values
American Gangster
An Elf’s Story: The Elf on the Shelf
Angry Birds: Season 4 – Slingshot Stories
Bella and the Bulldogs: Season 2
The Big Wedding
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
The Claus Family (original film)
Elf Pets: Santa’s St. Bernards Save Christmas
First Knight
Forged in Fire: Season 7
Gather
The General’s Daughter
It Follows
Johnny Mnemonic
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind
Last Action Hero
Moneyball
Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher
My Dad’s Christmas Date
The Nightingale
Total Recall...
- 10/26/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline 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
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
For the 4,000-plus people who have climbed Mt. Everest, it’s likely that no film will ever come close to capturing the reality of that once-impossible experience. For the rest of us, “The Summit of the Gods” and its ilk will have to suffice. And while it may not ascend to the same heights as the likes of “Free Solo” or the under-appreciated “Vertical Limit,” director Patrick Imbert’s animated adaptation of Jirô Taniguchi and Baku Yumemakura’s manga of the same name makes for an impressive trek.
Looming just as large in the narrative is a camera that may or may not have been recovered from the remains of George Mallory, a mountaineer who disappeared along with his climbing partner Andrew Irvine on Everest in 1924. To this day, whether they became the first to successfully reach the summit before meeting their end remains a matter of speculation and debate.
Looming just as large in the narrative is a camera that may or may not have been recovered from the remains of George Mallory, a mountaineer who disappeared along with his climbing partner Andrew Irvine on Everest in 1924. To this day, whether they became the first to successfully reach the summit before meeting their end remains a matter of speculation and debate.
- 10/22/2021
- by Michael Nordine
- Variety Film + TV
"For some, the mountain isn't a goal, but a path." Netflix has revealed the official trailer for the animated film The Summit of the Gods, a French production based on a Japanese manga that's about two Japanese mountain climbers. The film premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival this year, after showing as a "work in progress" at the Annecy Film Festival last year. It's one of my favorite films of the year - I love it so much and it has everything I adore: photography, mountains, Japan, Nepal. Photographer Fukamachi finds a camera that supposedly belongs to George Mallory, a mountaineer who went missing on Mt Everest, and goes on a mountain-climbing adventure with his friend Habu Joji, who also disappeared into the mountains a few years before. The voice cast includes Lazare Herson-Macarel, Eric Herson-Macarel, Damien Boisseau, Elisabeth Ventura, Kylian Rehlinger, François Dunoyer, Philippe Vincent, and Luc Bernard. With...
- 10/22/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
With awards season fast approaching, it’s looking like this could be the year animation awards finally grow up. With Sundance winner “Flee” earning early buzz, there’s clearly a growing appetite for more mature animated fare in the U.S. Entering into the fray this year is “The Summit of the Gods,” a sweeping 2D animation from French director Patrick Imbert. Adapted from the acclaimed manga series of the same name, “The Summit of the Gods” follows a Japanese adventure photographer and mountaineer obsessed with finding a legendary climber attempting to scale Mount Everest. IndieWire is proud to premiere the trailer exclusively below.
Here’s the official synopsis, per Netflix: “Were George Mallory and his companion Andrew Irvine the first men to scale Everest on June 8, 1924? Only the little Vestpocket Kodak camera they took with them might reveal the truth. In Kathmandu, 70 years later, a young Japanese reporter...
Here’s the official synopsis, per Netflix: “Were George Mallory and his companion Andrew Irvine the first men to scale Everest on June 8, 1924? Only the little Vestpocket Kodak camera they took with them might reveal the truth. In Kathmandu, 70 years later, a young Japanese reporter...
- 10/22/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Colcoa French Film and Series Festival announced the lineup for the 25th edition of the annual City of Lights, City of Angels event, which is scheduled to take place Nov. 1 to Nov. 7 at the Director’s Guild of America headquarters in Los Angeles as it has been traditionally held. The event will be in-person and will feature 55 films and series screened live, 30 of which will be considered for Colcoa cinema awards. Among the films are also 19 shorts.
The opening film, screening Nov. 1, will be “Between Two Worlds,” which recounts the adventures of Marianne Winckler, a celebrated author who goes undercover as a cleaning lady to write a book on job insecurity in the gig economy. The closing films scheduled are writer and director Xavier Giannoli’s “Lost Illusions” as well as writer and director Arthur Harari’s “Onoda, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle.” All three of these films will be premiering...
The opening film, screening Nov. 1, will be “Between Two Worlds,” which recounts the adventures of Marianne Winckler, a celebrated author who goes undercover as a cleaning lady to write a book on job insecurity in the gig economy. The closing films scheduled are writer and director Xavier Giannoli’s “Lost Illusions” as well as writer and director Arthur Harari’s “Onoda, 10,000 Nights In The Jungle.” All three of these films will be premiering...
- 10/11/2021
- 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
On Thursday, the Austin Film Festival unveiled its 2021 lineup, comprising 26 World, North American, and US Premieres, setting Oscar nominee Peter Hedges’ The Same Storm as its Opening Night Film.
The feature examining the tumult of the Covid-19 pandemic boasts a stacked cast, with Noma Dumezweni, Mary-Louise Parker, Sandra Oh, Elaine May, Raúl Castillo, Ato Blankson-Wood, Corey Michael Smith, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston and Alison Pill amongst its ensemble.
Other marquee titles to look out for at the 28th edition of the festival, taking place from October 21-28, include Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Mike Mills’ latest A24 pic C’mon C’mon, led by Joaquin Phoenix, Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II, starring Honor Swinton Byrne, Tilda Swinton and more, and Joachim Trier’s Neon festival favorite The Worst Person in the World.
Spencer King’s Dark Star Pictures title Time Now will make its World Premiere alongside...
The feature examining the tumult of the Covid-19 pandemic boasts a stacked cast, with Noma Dumezweni, Mary-Louise Parker, Sandra Oh, Elaine May, Raúl Castillo, Ato Blankson-Wood, Corey Michael Smith, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston and Alison Pill amongst its ensemble.
Other marquee titles to look out for at the 28th edition of the festival, taking place from October 21-28, include Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Mike Mills’ latest A24 pic C’mon C’mon, led by Joaquin Phoenix, Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II, starring Honor Swinton Byrne, Tilda Swinton and more, and Joachim Trier’s Neon festival favorite The Worst Person in the World.
Spencer King’s Dark Star Pictures title Time Now will make its World Premiere alongside...
- 9/23/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline 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
Exclusive: Netflix has taken worldwide rights to animated feature The Summit Of The Gods (Le Sommet Des Dieux). Based on Jiro Taniguchi and Baku Yumemakura’s best selling manga, the movie debuted in the Cinema de la Plage section at the Cannes Film Festival this past July. Netflix is planning a theatrical release in select U.S. theaters on November 24, followed by select cinemas in the UK on November 26 and will put it on the streaming service on November 30.
Patrick Imbert (The Big Bad Fox And Other Tales) directs the film that poses the question: Were George Mallory and his companion Andrew Irvine the first men to scale Everest on June 8, 1924? And sets in motion a quest for the truth.
The synopsis tells us that only the little Kodak camera Mallory and Irvine took with them might reveal the real story. Seventy years after their feat,...
Patrick Imbert (The Big Bad Fox And Other Tales) directs the film that poses the question: Were George Mallory and his companion Andrew Irvine the first men to scale Everest on June 8, 1924? And sets in motion a quest for the truth.
The synopsis tells us that only the little Kodak camera Mallory and Irvine took with them might reveal the real story. Seventy years after their feat,...
- 8/31/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
“F9” may not have been the planetary blockbuster anyone expected at Cannes, but amid the randy nuns, self-indulgent musicals and bovine documentaries, it was the planetary blockbuster we needed.
The latest instalment of the Fast and the Furious franchise enjoyed its French premiere on Monday (July 12) on the beach along the Croisette, two days before its release in local theaters. The film, which has so far grossed $141.8 million in the U.S., was unveiled in early June as the much-hyped tentpole teased by the festival, only to be instantly mocked by some who balked at Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto putting the pedal to the metal in high-brow Cannes.
But come Monday evening, hundreds of people — the vast majority holidaymakers — lined up along the Croisette hoping to score a striped deckchair or sandy spot to watch the latest chapter in Universal’s 20-year-old franchise. Cannes’ July dates, as opposed to the usual May affair,...
The latest instalment of the Fast and the Furious franchise enjoyed its French premiere on Monday (July 12) on the beach along the Croisette, two days before its release in local theaters. The film, which has so far grossed $141.8 million in the U.S., was unveiled in early June as the much-hyped tentpole teased by the festival, only to be instantly mocked by some who balked at Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto putting the pedal to the metal in high-brow Cannes.
But come Monday evening, hundreds of people — the vast majority holidaymakers — lined up along the Croisette hoping to score a striped deckchair or sandy spot to watch the latest chapter in Universal’s 20-year-old franchise. Cannes’ July dates, as opposed to the usual May affair,...
- 7/13/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Oh my goodness, this is an instant personal favorite. No exaggeration, this goes on my "all-timer" list right away. I want to watch it again right now. I want the posters, I want frames of the film on my wall, I want to listen to the score non-stop, I want to buy copies of the graphic novel it's based on. It has everything I love, everything that amazes me about this world: photography, mountains, Nepal, the Himalayas, Japan, Tokyo, the starry night sky. The Summit of the Gods (also known as Le Sommet des Dieux) is a French animated film made by animation filmmaker Patrick Imbert, based on the Japanese manga also titled The Summit of the Gods written by Jiro Taniguchi. It tells a riveting story about a Japanese adventure photographer and mountain climber who becomes obsessed with searching for a long lost Japanese mountain climber hiding out in...
- 7/11/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Animation film “Belle” by the Japanese director Hosoda Mamoru will join the Cannes Film Festival lineup.
The festival said Sunday that “Belle” will have its world premiere in the Cannes Premiere section and play on Thursday July 15.
” ‘Belle’ is the film that I’ve always dreamt to create and that I can make today thanks to the culmination of my previous films,” said Hosoda. “In this one, I explore romance, action, and suspense as well as deeper themes such as life and death. I hope that it will be a big entertaining show.”
The story follows a 17-year-old high school student living in a rural village with her father. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. One day, she enters U, a virtual world of 5 billion members and where she has become Belle, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious creature and they embark on a journey of adventures,...
The festival said Sunday that “Belle” will have its world premiere in the Cannes Premiere section and play on Thursday July 15.
” ‘Belle’ is the film that I’ve always dreamt to create and that I can make today thanks to the culmination of my previous films,” said Hosoda. “In this one, I explore romance, action, and suspense as well as deeper themes such as life and death. I hope that it will be a big entertaining show.”
The story follows a 17-year-old high school student living in a rural village with her father. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. One day, she enters U, a virtual world of 5 billion members and where she has become Belle, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious creature and they embark on a journey of adventures,...
- 7/4/2021
- by Patrick Frater and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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