Announcing NYICFF 2020 OPENING NIGHT and Countries of Focus: JAPAN & SPOTLIGHT ON CANADA

         FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS: JAPAN & SPOTLIGHT ON CANADA

NYICFF 2020 is thrilled to highlight the cinematic achievements of Japan in an expanded Friends & Neighbors program and shine a spotlight on brand new Canadian animation!

Member Tickets Go On Sale January 15
General Public Tickets Go On Sale January 22

OPENING NIGHT Children Of The Sea JAPAN—EAST COAST PREMIERE Ayumu Watanabe, 2019, 111 min. Japanese with English Subtitles A visually dazzling, mind-bending aquatic mystery. Ruka’s dad is so absorbed in his studies at the aquarium that he hardly notices when she befriends Umi and Sora. Like Ruka, the mysterious duo has the unique ability to hear the call of the sea and its endangered creatures. Together, can they save them?FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS: JAPAN  On-Gaku: Our Sound  JAPAN—US PREMIERE Kenji Iwaisawa, 2019, 71 min. Japanese with English subtitles From grunge to genius, On-Gaku turns it up to eleven musically and visually! Kenji and his two buddies are considered the toughs in their high school. Only clever Aya knows their too-cool-for-school attitude is a total act, until a bass guitar unexpectedly ends up in Kenji’s hands. With its deadpan humor, fresh animation style, and upending of the musical genre, there’s no wonder this film won the Ottawa Int’l Animation Festival’s top prize.  Bento Harassment JAPAN—EAST COAST PREMIERE Renpei Tsukamoto, 2019, 106 min.Japanese with English subtitles Can food speak louder than words? With Futaba’s mother tired of her teen’s icy attitude, she’ll try an unusual tactic to get her to talk—by way of her bento lunch box. For an entire school term, Futaba opens box after box, each designed with its own cringe-worthy message. An offbeat story of growing up, Bento Harassment will leave audiences laughing...and hungry. Magic Boy  JAPAN Akira Daikuhara and Taiji Yabushita, 1961, 83 min.Japanese with English subtitles Anime? Check. Disney-inspired cute critters? Check. Beautiful colors? Do you even have to ask?! Our Festival Flashback is a groundbreaker: the first-ever anime film released in the US (from renowned Toei Studios), and quite possibly the inspiration for many more. Step back in time and follow Sasuke’s adventures from the very beginning! Friends & Neighbors: Japan short film program  JAPAN Japanese with English subtitles Say konichiwa (hello!) to our 2020 Friends & Neighbors. Celebrate Japan’s rich film and cultural history in a breathtaking range of styles: the hand-drawn artistry of master animator and NYICFF alum Koji Yamamura’s world premiere, Dreams into Drawing, the stop-motion nod to traditional Japanese puppetry in Gon, the Little Fox, and the manga-style zaps, zings, and pows of Onomatopoeia Rap, and more.SPOTLIGHT ON CANADA Hilda UK/US/CANADA—WORLD PREMIERE Andy Coyle, 2020, 44 min. She’s clever, kind, witty—and rocks a pair of red boots like nobody’s business. Hilda is back, rescuing elves, dodging trolls, and exploring Trolberg’s strange history and stranger personalities. The BAFTA award-winning Netflix Original series inspired by Luke Pearson’s hugely popular graphic novels returns to NYICFF with the world premiere of Season Two. Join us for sneak peeks of “Troll Circle” and “The Witch,” two truly enchanting adventures!

FULL FEATURE FILM LINEUP ANNOUNCED NEXT WEEK!