Gkids and Beijing Partner To Present “Animation Is Film Beijing” Festival April 13-20

Gkids and Beijing Partner To Present “Animation Is Film Beijing” Festival April 13-20

March 30th, 2019

Jerry Beck

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 (BJIFF), 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’ LA 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. For more information, visit AnimationIsFilm.com/Beijing-2019.

The complete program is listed below.

ANIMATION IS FILM BEIJING 2019 LINEUP

ANOTHER DAY OF LIFE
(Poland/Spain/Germany/Belgium/Hungary, Raúl de la Fuente, Damian Nenow, 2018)
CHINESE PREMIERE

BUÑUEL IN THE LABYRINTH OF TURTLES
(Spain, Salvador Simo, 2018)
CHINESE PREMIERE

DRAGON BALL SUPER: BROLY
(Japan, Tatsuya Nagamine, 2018)
CHINESE PREMIERE

THE IRON GIANT
(U.S., Brad Bird, 1999)
20TH ANNIVERSARY PRESENTATION – CHINESE THEATRICAL PREMIERE

MODEST HEROES
(Japan, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Yoshiyuki Momose, Akihiko Yamashita, 2018)
CHINESE PREMIERE

PENGUIN HIGHWAY
(Japan, Hiroyasu Ishida, 2018)
CHINESE PREMIERE

RUBEN BRANDT: COLLECTOR
(Hungary, Milorad Krstić, 2018)
CHINESE PREMIERE

THIS MAGNIFICENT CAKE
(Belgium/France/Netherlands, Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels, 2018)
CHINESE PREMIERE

Appearing with This Magnificent Cake:
SOLAR WALK (Germany, Réka Bucsi, 2017)
ODD IS AN EGG (Portugal, Kristin Ulseth, 2016)

TITO AND THE BIRDS
(Brazil, Gustavo Steinberg, André Catoto, Gabriel Bitar, 2018)
CHINESE PREMIERE

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)

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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.