This Weekend Only - NYICFF Presents "Pom Poko"

THIS WEEKEND ONLY - NYICFF PRESENTS "POM POKO" - ISAO TAKAHATA - RARE 35MM SCREENING DECEMBER 12 & 13, 11AM - IFC CENTER

For complete film schedule scroll down. To purchase tickets click here.

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POM POKO
Japan, Isao Takahata, 1994, 119 min
In English - Recommended ages 7 to adult
Sat & Sun, Dec 12 & 13, 11:00am at IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue (at West Third)

NYICFF is very excited to present this rarely screened gem from Japan's famed Studio Ghibli (Ponyo, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro) by Ghibli co-head and master animator Isao Takahata. The forests are filled with groups of magical tanuki, mischievous raccoon-like animals from Japanese folklore that are capable of shape-shifting from their standard raccoon form to practically any object. They spend their idle days playing in the hillsides and squabbling over food, until the construction of a huge new Tokyo suburb clears the nearby forest and threatens to destroy their way of life. In an effort to defend their home, the tanuki learn to transform into humans and start playing tricks to make the workers think the construction site is haunted - ending in a spectacular night-time spirit parade, with thousands of ghosts, dragons and spirit creatures descending on the city.

Audiences will revel in Ghibli's trademark brilliant animation, with its humorous and wondrously inventive characters and sumptuous hand-painted backgrounds given loving attention to detail. But what makes Pom Poko special is the depth of emotional expression - a joyous, playful comedy containing a heartfelt plea to stop human destruction lest the Earth's animals, spirits, and magic become things of the past.

WINTER WONDERSHORTS
In English - Recommended all ages
Sat & Sun, Dec 19 & 20, 11:00am at IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue (at West Third)
Sat, Jan 23, 11am and 1pm - Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th Street)

The weather outside is frightful, but these shorts are so delightful! - Experience all of the splendor and magnificence of winter without the chattering teeth and frostbitten fingers. Grab your friends, your family, and your hot cocoa and come curl up in front of the big screen as the New York Int'l Children's Film Festival presents three beautiful animated short films celebrating snow, ice and all of winter's exciting wonders!

The program includes:

LEON IN WINTERTIME Animation, Canada, Pierre-Luc Granjon and Pascal Le Notre, 2007, 27 min Winter has descended on the kingdom and a mountain ogre has kidnapped beautiful Molly Gingerbread, the king's daughter. Meanwhile, LEON, a young bear adopted by a family of beekeepers, runs away from home, falls in love with the princess, and lands himself in all kinds of unexpected and perilous adventures.

SPOT & SPLODGE IN SNOWSTORM Animation, Sweden, Uzi Geffenblad and Lotta Geffenblad, 2008, 7.5 min It snows outside and Spot and Splodge run about building a snowman, having a snowball fight, and making snow angels. All of a sudden the wind is strong, the snow sticks all over their bodies, there isn't a spot of Spot to be seen! And where is Splodge? Where's the house?

CHOO-CHA Animation, Russia, Garry Bardin, 1997, 25 min A young boy is ignored by his parents and the other adults at a festive holiday gathering, and there are no other children to play with. So after concocting some minor mischief for the grownups, the boy retreats upstairs to the attic, where he rummages through odds and ends to create a special playmate for himself.

ANIMAL TREASURE ISLAND
Japan, Hiroshi Ikeda, 1971, 78 min
In English - Recommended ages 3 to 8
Sat, Jan 30, 11am and 1pm - Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th Street)

Key Animation by Hayao Miyazaki - A decade before he became renowned for animated masterworks like Castle in the Sky, Nausicaä, and My Neighbor Totoro, and eventually won the Oscar for Spirited Away, a young Hayao Miyazaki was lead animator for Toei Studios. His Animal Treasure Island is an anime adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure about a young boy who discovers a treasure map and goes toe to toe with the double-crossing, pegged-leg pirate Long John Silver. In this version Long John Silver is a cat, the pirates are all animals, and the young boy is joined by a tough-girl companion on a high seas adventure through imaginative worlds made even more fantastic by Miyazaki's boldly simple but beautiful style. The English language dub is reminiscent of 70's Hong Kong kung fu flick, but that somehow enhances the retro feel of the picture.

To purchase tickets click here.