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NY Int'l Children's Film Fest to Host Giovanni's Island International Premiere
posted on by Karen Ressler
The New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) announced on Wednesday that it has added Production I.G's Giovanni's Island to its line-up of film screenings. The film will screen for the first time outside of Japan at the festival on Saturday, March 22 at 6:45 p.m. EDT.
The hand-drawn film tells the story of two brothers living on the island of Shikotan. Their family and the people of the island hear of Japan's loss in the war and are told not to worry. However, their island gets caught in the middle of the continuing conflict in the west and are invaded by Russian soldiers. The boys meet a western girl on the island named Tanya and the older of the brothers, despite their language barriers, cultural differences, and warnings from friends, starts to fall in love with her. The boys' father gets lured out by the army is and is captured and taken to Siberia. The brothers embark on a journey to see their father again.
The film will star Masachika Ichimura, Yukie Nakama, comedian Kanako Yanagihara, Yusuke Santamaria, Hiroshi Inuzuka, Kaoru Yachigusa, Tatsuya Nakadai, and Saburo Kitajima.
Mizuho Nishikubo (Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai, Video Girl Ai) is directing the film from a screenplay by Shigemichi Sugita (From the Northern Lands) and Yoshiki Sakurai (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Blood+). The film is being presented by the Japan Association of Music Enterprises (JAME) in order to celebrate the organization's 50th anniversary. The film will open in Japan on February 22.
The NYICFF will run from March 7 to 30 and will also screen Yasuhiro Yoshiura's Patema Inverted on Saturday, March 8.
Note: ANN recently published an interview with Giovanni's Island director, Mizuho Nishikubo, here. The interview includes an exclusive look at the international trailer for Giovanni's Island.
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