Tickets Now On Sale For LA’s Animation Is Film; Festival Announces All-Star Line-up Of Attending Filmmakers

The Animation is Film Festival has assembled an extraordinary line-up for its first-ever edition, set to take place in Los Angeles next month.

The centerpiece of the inaugural edition is a 12-feature film competition program packed with high-profile premieres and many film directors in attendance, including (pictured at top) Benjamin Renner, Nora Twomey, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, and Alberto Vázquez. Both juried and audience prizes will be awarded.

The line-up promises to bring new attention and visibility to the diverse and vibrant array of animation currently being produced around the globe. The festival is put together by a group of organizations and companies that know what they’re doing: GKIDS, Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Variety, and ASIFA-Hollywood. Cartoon Brew is also honored to be a major sponsor of this inaugural edition.

Below is the full competition line-up. Tickets for the screenings, which take place October 20-22 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theater in Hollywood, go on sale today.

The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales (US Premiere)
Saturday, October 21st at 1:30PM
Followed by Q&A with directors Patrick Imbert and Benjamin Renner
d. Patrick Imbert, Benjamin Renner, France, 2017
Recommended for ages 8+
Benjamin Renner received an Oscar® nomination for “Ernest & Celestine”

Big Fish and Begonia (World Premiere – English Language Version)
Sunday, October 22nd at 11:00AM
d. Liang Xua, Zhang Chun, China, 2016
Recommended for ages 8+

Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (West Coast Premiere)
Saturday, October 21st at 4:15PM
Followed by Q&A with directors Alberto Vázquez and Pedro Rivero
d. Alberto Vázquez, Pedro Rivero, Spain, 2015
Recommended for ages 14+
Best Animated Feature 2017 Goya Awards 

The Breadwinner (US Premiere – Opening Night Film)
Friday, October 20th at 7:00PM
Followed by Q&A with director Nora Twomey
d. Nora Twomey, Ireland/Canada/Luxembourg, 2017
Recommended for ages 11+
Nora Twomey was co-director of the Oscar®-nominated “The Secret of Kells”

Fireworks, Should We See It From the Side or the Bottom (North American Premiere – Opening Night Film)
Friday, October 20th at 9:30PM
d. Noboyuki Takeuchi, Akiyuki Shinbo, Japan, 2017
Recommended for ages 8+

Lu Over The Wall (US Premiere)
Sunday, October 22nd at 2:15PM
d. Masaaki Yuasa, Japan, 2017
Recommended for ages 8+
Cristal Award (Grand Prize) Winner Annecy International Animation Film Festival

Mary and the Witch’s Flower (North American Premiere – English Language Version)
Sunday, October 22nd at 5:15PM
Followed by Q&A with director Hiromasa Yonebayashi
d. Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Japan, 2017
Recommended for ages 6+
Hiromasa Yonebayashi received an Oscar® nomination for “When Marnie Was There”

Mutafukaz (West Coast Premiere)
Saturday, October 21st at 7:00PM
d. Guillaume Renard and Shoujirou Nishimi, France/Japan, 2017
Recommended for ages 17+

Night is Short, Walk on Girl (US Premiere)
Sunday, October 22nd at 8:00PM
d. Masaaki Yuasa, Japan, 2017
Recommended for ages 14+

Tehran Taboo (North American Premiere)
Sunday, October 22nd at 5:15PM
Followed by Q&A with director Ali Soozandeh
d. Ali Soozandeh, Germany, 2017
Recommended for ages 17+
Official Selection 2017 Cannes Film Festival

Tropical Virus (World Premiere)
Saturday, October 21st at 7:00PM
Followed by Q&A with director Santiago Caicedo
d. Santiago Caicedo, Colombia, 2017
Recommended for ages 14+

Zombillenium (North American Premiere)
Saturday, October 21st at 4:15PM
Followed by Q&A with director Alexis Ducord
d. Arthur de Pins & Alexis Ducord, France, 2017
Recommended for ages 8+
Special Screening 2017 Cannes Film Festival

In addition to the feature line-up, there will be special screenings of Masaaki Yuasa’s Mind Game, Pixar’s The Incredibles (followed by a Q&A with producer John Walker), Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Lego Batman Movie (followed by Q&A with filmmakers), and a screening of surreal theatrical shorts from the 1930s.

A VR lounge will offer the LA premieres of the latest Google Spotlight Stories shorts: Jorge Gutierrez’ Son of Jaguar and Scot Stafford and Chromosphere’s Sonaria.

The festival jury has also been filled out to include more people. The jury members are:

• Peter Debruge, Chief film critic, Variety, jury chair
• Allison Abbate, EVP Theatrical Animation, Warner Brothers Pictures;
  Producer of The Iron Giant, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Lego Movie
• 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
• Jorge R. Gutierrez, Director of Book of Life
• Mabel Tam, Head film buyer, Landmark Cinemas
• Charles Solomon, Film critic and historian
• Anne Thompson, Editor-At-Large, IndieWire

For tickets and a full schedule of events, visit AnimationIsFilm.com.