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NY Int'l Children's Film Fest to Screen Lu Over the Wall Film, Horus - Prince of the Sun
posted on by Karen Ressler
The New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) will screen the East Coast premiere of Masaaki Yuasa's Lu over the wall Film as its opening night film on February 23, and again on March 4 and March 10. It will also screen Isao Takahata's directorial debut film Horus - Prince of the Sun on February 24, March 10, and March 11. All screenings will be in English.
In addition, the festival's short films programs will include Toshiko Hata's seven-minute "Fill and Moo" animation, Koji Yamamura's six-minute "Notes on Monstropedia," and Jon Frickey's 11-minute German/Japanese short "Cat Days."
Lu over the wall opened in Japan last May, and won the top "Cristal for a Feature Film" award at the Annecy International Film Festival in June. The film also won the Silver Prize for the "Best Animated Feature Film" audience award at Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival in August.
NYICFF describes the story:
Kai's quiet life in a traditional Japanese seaside town finally starts to rock and roil when he secretly joins a band with his classmates. His true interest is where they practice—on the foreboding Merfolk Island—a place that turns out to be even wilder than the town lore suggests. Enter Lu: a mermaid girl with the soul and voice of a pop star, who steals the show in this shape-shifting, musical/anime hybrid.
GKIDS announced last month that it had acquired the North American distribution rights for the film.
Toei Animation released Takahata's Horus - Prince of the Sun (Little Norse Prince) in 1968. Hayao Miyazaki served as concept artist and scene designer. NYICFF describes the story:
In this East-meets-West take on The Sword in the Stone, Japanese Ainu legend is transposed to a Norse setting filled with adventure. Enter our hero Horus, who ventures through snowy land and Ghibli-esque sea journeys to save a village from evil Grunwaald. He meets a new friend, the regal but mysterious Hilda, who may be more complicated than Horus could ever imagine…
MGM released the film in English-dubbed form. Discotek Media released the film on DVD in 2014 and on Blu-ray Disc last year.
