Hypersensitive (2025) plays Animation First 2026 in Francophone Shorts 1 on Wednesday

This is a stunningly beautiful journey inside the mind of a person on a road trip who is hypersensitive. It’s all visuals and sounds and absolutely hypnotic. You so need to see this on a big screen where the images can cover whelm you.

I watched this  a couple of times in a row just so I could get lost in the experience.

Highly recommended

Animation First -The Short Film Collections

When Animation First starts Friday they are going to run several sections of shorts. The PR people were kind enough to send me links to some of the shorts screening. I did not see everything (none of the erotic shorts were available for pre-screening) however what I did see makes me believe that all of the sections are worth your time and effort. 

Here now is quick word on the films I screened.

3D ANIMATED SHORTS
This is a collection of largely computer generated shorts meant to be seen in 3D. All of the films have eye popping effects that will be lessened if not seen as intended and on the big screen. A must see collection because of the effects.

Time Out
Thrill ride video as a man climb a clock tower and get bounced around inside it. A must see large and in 3D, it will not have the same effect on a small screen.

5 Meters
This is the awesome film about high diving giraffes. As I said when I originally reviewed it "Wickedly cool and damn near perfect"

Mr Hublot
2013 Oscar winning Animated Short will either thrill you or leave you cold. Forgive me I still don't know why this won the Oscar.

Table Bob
Very short film is a blackout sketch of shorts about a little man dancing on a table until he meets a bad end. A trifle

PIONEERS OF ANIMATION (Autour des pionniers de l'animation)
At the risk of having the festival PR people hunt me down and kill me I'm going to begin by saying that of all the collections this is the one that isn't for everyone. A mix of differing styles of animation and of quality this is a group of films that is not going to play well for everyone. It's not that te films are bad, it's more that some are stilted by modern standards. While the Segundo de Chamon film is great  regardless some of the others can be an aquitred taste since these films were made when animation was in it's infancy.  Recommended for students of film and those wanting to see how animation evolved.

Les Locataires d'à côté (1909)
Two couples living next to each other. The older tries to spy on the younger one at which point the couple becomes animated. Very odd partly animated film that is more curio than anything.

Sculpteur moderne (1908) Segundo de Chomón
Yes the great Spanish filmmaker is represented here. Its not a mistake since he worked in France for Pathe. Here a sculptor unveils their work which comes to life. Like all of de Chomon's work a must see.

Affaires de Cœur (1909)
Intriguing animated love story of hearts taking place with in a heart

Les déboires d'un piéton (1922)
Very Short piece about a man being chased by a car

René Laloux
Animation First is screening the classic FANTASTIC PLANET  by Rene Laloux along wit tree of his shorts. The films can be even stranger than Laloux's feature work and seeing them with the FANTASTIC PLANET is a perfect way to spend an evening.

Les Escargots
A man toils in a field and giant snails wander about. Very Strange

Les Dents du Singe
Strange cut out animation that I'm not sure if I like even if it has monkeys as dentists.

Comment Wang-Fô fut sauvé
Asian set tale is probably te most beautiful film being screened during the whole evening. I have no idea what I fully think of the film but I wish I had seen tis on a big screen.

THEY WON!
A very full collection of award winning shorts as tons of great films in them. While I've seen several of them previously, it's been too long to be able to write them up. I have written up the films that I was allowed to screen by the festival.

Mr Hublot
This film also screens as part of the 3D animated  collection and is probably the weakest film in the collection

Logorama
Stunning visually amazing film about a would filled with living product logos. A copyright nightmare the film is just as amazing as they come and an absolute must see- especially if you've never seen this on a big screen since it will take your breath away.

Pixels
8 bit video game characters invade our world. This begat te feature film of the same name but is probably ten times more delightful. Its a damn near perfect film and a must see.

For tickets to any of the short collections of anything at Animation First go here.

MINUSCULE: VALLEY OF THE LOST ANTS (2013) Animation First 2018

This is an edited version of a review that I ran a couple years back during the New York International Children's Film Festival when the film played there. With the film opening FIAF's Animation First Festival I'm reposting it.

The short version is you have to see this film- even if you've seen it on home video- you need to see this in 3D because it's just that good as a film and as a 3D experience. For tickets and more information go here

... MINUSCULE: VALLEY OF THE LOST ANTS is an animated French film about a lady bug who befriends some black ants who are transporting a tin of sugar to their nest. The black ants end up being hunted by a bunch of red ants who eventually assault the black nest in force. Think cowboys being chased by Indians only smaller.

You have to see this...no, you have to see this in 3D. No, things don't pop out at you but damn...er darn the sense of depth adds a great deal to the film. Saying that is a big deal since I hate the extra cost of 3D films and find the process annoying. However you have to keep in mind that this is a great looking (its animated characters in real backgrounds) grand adventure that sucks you in and carries you away. And while this film has echoes and out right steals things from some of the greatest films of all time-it does so in such away that its not showy or over powering. Its like oh look a reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark, that's cool, but whats going to happen next? You'll care less about the riff then you will about how the characters are going to get out of the danger they are in.

This is a great great film that had the kids cheering and everyone roaring with laughter. Trust me on this, this is a film that will grab you and drag you along-all without one word of human dialog. Yea the insects buzz, tweet and whatever, but no one says a word.

I need to see this again soon because it had me awestruck.

The Day of the Crows (2012) FIAF's Animation First Festival

THE DAY OF THE CROWS is playing at FIAF's Animation First Festival this weekend. Its is hands down one of the best animated films I've seen in the last ten years. It is a stunning piece of storytelling and is a must see.  I highly recommend the film, especially if you like the works of Studio Ghibli because this film will make you very aware that there are other filmmakers who are one-uping them. Here is my (slightly altered) review from the New York International Children's Film Festival from a couple years back

For tickets and more information go here.

You're going to hear this compared to the work of Studio Ghibli- forget it. This may play in a similar field but in reality when the film comes together it reveals itself to be it's own powerful tale.

The story follows a young boy only known as Son who lives in the forest with his father. His father is a tough man who teaches his son that there is nothing outside of the forest but the World Beyond. He warns him that should he ever go outside it he will disappear. Son is content to follow his father's instructions until seeing people in the fields outside the border makes him wonder. He lets it go until his father is badly injured in a fall and the spirits of the forest who are is friends tell him to take his father out into the World Beyond for help. This sets in motion a chain of events that will, of course, change everything forever.

You gotta stay with this film for a little bit. It's not that it's bad, it's more that it seems to be going in different directions, with it's various animation styles, (some realistic,some anime like, some cartoony) and magical realism colliding with seeming out right fantasy which makes for a weird mix. There is a point to it all and if you can hang in there you'll be greatly rewarded. By the time the end came I was welling up with tears and had I not wanted to talk to the head of the NYICFF with red puffy tear filled eyes I probably would have been out right crying from the bittersweet ending.

I love when a film upsets my expectations. I love it when a film reveals itself to be fully in control of what it's doing. I love when a filmmaker seems to go at the end "and you thought I didn't know what I was doing..." which is why I love The Day of the Crows. Its one of those films that doesn't do what you expect, and is so much better than you could ever have hoped.

The film seems to be ripping off the Ghibli canon, but this is darker territory. There is death and damage. People are truly broken individuals who aren't always put right in a story book way, but in a real way that comes from losses too deep and pain somewhere past enduring. I can't remember Miyazaki ever having people this broken in his films, nor such careless violence (There is a point to it) or even violence in his films. I know I've never seen any children run out of a Ghibli film out of fear, and that happened here as several younger kids left upset by some of the darkness.

This is a great great film. As of right now it has no US release planned so you really need to get to any of the screening at FIAF because this is something you want to see. This is one of those hidden gems that this website was started to highlight.

Go see this film.

Renaissance (2006) Animation First 2018

Stark black and white animated film created using motion capture is a visual delight.

A young scientist goes missing and a police detective and his partner go on the hunt- only to find a bigger conspiracy tan either had ever imagined.

The visuals are everything here. The stark shade of light and dark make this truly a cinematic comic book, something the previous year's SIN CITY hadn't quite managed. The film is a monochromatic delight  with the images kind of taking on a life of their own.

While a very good film, RENAISSANCE suffers from a plot that isn't all that remarkable. We've been here any number of times with the good cop running into bad corporate types. There are simply too many riffs from other films to make the mystery all that mysterious.

Weak mystery or no the film is entertaining and if you want to see a film with a truly unique visual style then this film is a must when it plays next weekend at Animation First in NYC. If you've never seen this film or only seen it on TV  you must see this on a big screen were it will overhelm you.

For tickets and more information go here.

Thoughts on Fantastic Planet (1973) Animation First 2018

René Laloux's FANTASTIC PLANET was the film that changed the way many Americans saw animation. In a country were  any sort of feature animation was restricted to Disney's out put and  the very rare imported kids film, animated features were just for kids except for perhaps the occasional Ralph Bakshi masterpiece. No one, as far as most people in America were concerned were doing anything with animation tat pushed the boundaries.

Of course everyone was wrong since there were thriving industries in Japan and Europe, but we never saw it because no one thought there was a market.

That FANTASTIC PLANET got a real US release is amazing. I was a kid in the 70's and I remember my mind being blown by the crazy images I was seeing on the TV screen. What was this film that was coming to theaters? I had no idea. I wouldn't know until the film played on cable in semi regular rotation a couple of years later.

The film is set on the world Ygam were the blue Draags who rule over the smaller human Oms as if they were pets. The conflict between the two species drives the plot as the Oms attempt to break free and make to Ygams moon.

Full of incredible imagery and heady ideas the film found a secure place as a second level midnight movie where Laloux's animation created a unique head space. This was never a film I watched with any regularity because the film required I go with it to Ygam. Its other worldliness was something that both won it fans and lost it viewers who found it too weird.

But its the fact tat it is unlike any other films except Laloux's other films that as made it stay fresh and alive even 45 years later.

If you've never seen the film you should. If you never seen it on a big screen you must go see it when it plays this weekend at Animation first. Yes the Criterion DVD is nice but act of seeing this on the big screen is life changing. It will truly alter how you see the world and animation.

FANTASTIC PLANET plays next weekend at Animation First in NYC. For tickets and more information go here.

Nightcap: 1/8/18: NYJFF opens Wednesday, The First Look Fest continues, SATURDAY CHURCH opens Friday

Ai Weiwei takes selfies with audience members after the screening of his film HUMAN FLOW this past Thursday

The film year is just about to kick into high gear with the opening of the New York Jewish Film Festival which is always the first great festival of any calendar year. And I do mean great since there has not been a year since I started covering it that at least one or more of my Best of the Best list films has come from the festival.

Yea I know the Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look Festival (see below) starts earlier and the twin punch of Sundance and Slamdance come later in the month, but NYJFF is the first of the fests to begin to reveal the goodies that everyone will be talking about later in the year. (First Look is often a bit too artsy while the Dances can be a bit too inde) In the past THE CONGRESS, BETTE MIDLER THE DIVINE MISS M, FELIX AND MEIRA and DELI MAN have all played here. This year there are any number of possibilities, but for certain the SAMMY DAVIS JR: I GOTTA BE ME is going to be making waves when it hits American Masters (it’s an incredible look at the man and his art).

I love this festival a great deal, and while I don’t wax as poetic about it, I do look forward to it every year. As the New York Film Festival winds down and the number of fest dwindles I start looking forward to the goodies that I’m going to get to sample.

Look for a good amount of coverage of this year’s fest. I’ve seen a bunch of films already and I have a good amount yet to go so keep checking back.

If you need recommendations I would say start with SAMMY DAVIS JR, THE MISSION OF RAOUL WALLENBERG,  TRACKING EDITH and LET YOURSELF GO. Also a great film is the short THE RED HOUSE. However everything they program is wonderful so just get tickets to everything.

The festival starts Wednesday and all the information on the films and the tickets can be found here.

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If you haven’t noticed we’ve started running coverage of this year’s First Look Festival at the Museum of the Moving Image. While our coverage hasn't been large scale, the every busy JB has found the time to quietly drop some reviews. For more information on the festival go here and to read about what JB has been seeing go here.

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The absolutely fantastic SATURDAY CHURCH opens Friday. I saw the film during this past years Tribeca Film Festival. But we didn't run a full review because everyone thought someone else was going to write it up. I'm going to try and get back into my notes and write it up for Friday's opening. Until I do so, and in case I don't - just know that you must see the film because it will end up being one of the best films you see this year

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If you didn't see the press release Friday night I want to impress upon you that if you love animation you must attend the French Institute: Alliance Francaise's Animation Festival February 2,3 and 4. I've seen most of the features and they are awesome. I will be rerunning the related reviews closer to te festival. We will also have lots of coverage of the special events.

For tickets and details go here.

Animation First First-Ever French Animation Festival in United States Launches with 12 US and New York Premieres

French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)

presents

Animation First

First-Ever French Animation Festival in United States Launches with 12 US and New York Premieres

Friday, February 2–Sunday, February 4

FILMS ∙ VIDEO GAMES ∙ VIRTUAL REALITY ∙ TALKS ∙ WORKSHOPS

all at FIAF

New York, NY, January 5, 2018—Celebrating France’s rich tradition as a pioneer of animation, the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), New York’s premiere French cultural center, is thrilled to launch Animation First, the first-ever French animation festival in the United States, which will take place Friday, February 2 through Sunday, February 4.

With 12 US and New York premieres, the festival presents ambitious, innovative, and award-winning animated feature and short films, virtual reality, video games, and more, coming out of France’s most exciting studios and art schools. Animation First features special screenings and events for all ages, putting audiences in the front seat of 3D animation, works in progress, interactive workshops on drawing and sound effects, gaming demonstrations, and panel discussions with leading artists and studio executives.

The festival will present a preview of Terry Gilliam and Tim Ollive's latest project 1884: Yesterday’s Future; a rare Q&A and presentation of Oscar-nominated The Red Turtle with celebrated director Michael Dudok de Wit, the festival’s guest of honor; and the US Premiere of En sortant de l’école, a collection of animated short films inspired by the poems of surrealist author Robert Desnos. International superstar and César-nominated actor Jean Reno (Léon: The Professional), who lends his voice to The Day of the Crows (Le jour des corneilles), screening at the festival, will be in attendance for the film’s Q&A along with bestselling French novelist and festival patron Marc Levy (If Only It Were True and film adaptation Just Like Heaven).

The Opening Night celebration, for all ages, is a special 3D screening of the beloved film Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants, followed by a kick-off party at FIAF. After the kids are asleep, stay for a nightcap as the festival presents Erotic Animation, where animators let their imaginations run wild. Sensual, erotic, naughty, poetic, or risqué, these fanciful and unconventional shorts celebrate passion, desire, and fantasies.

Highlights of the film program include Michel Fuzellier and Babak Payami’s feature Iqbal, a Tale of a Fearless Child (Iqbal, l’enfant qui n’avait pas peur). Inspired by the life of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani boy who became a spokesperson against child slavery, the film takes an imaginative, inspiring approach to a pressing contemporary issue; and Loulou and Other Wolves (Loulou et autres loups), a program of shorts based on the bestselling children’s book by writer and illustrator Grégoire Solotareff. Serge Elissalde, director of the short Loulou, will also be present for a Q&A after the film. Other programs include 3D Animated Short Films with 3D festival programmer and director François Serre; the classic 1973 Cannes Film Festival winning Fantastic Planet (La planète sauvage) by animation legend René Laloux; and Pioneers of French Animation, a ciné-concert with a live piano performance.

An exceptional partnership with the City of Angoulême, Grand Angoulême, Department of Charente, and Magelis will highlight the unique animation ecosystem thriving in the Aquitaine region of France. A significant number of the films in this year’s edition of the festival were produced in the region, which is home to several of France’s top-rated animation schools and studios. In collaboration with SolidAnim, a French leader in virtual production, Augmented Reality (AR) will be used in all promotional material created for the festival, which marks one of the first times AR has been conceived for a major cultural project.

Animation First is co-curated by Delphine Selles-Alvarez, FIAF’s Film Curator, and Catherine Lamairesse, Director of Special Projects at FIAF, who said, “French animation has enjoyed increasing success worldwide in recent years, from the Oscar-nominated Triplets of Belleville to recent hits The Red Turtle and My Life as a Zucchini. With Animation First we are excited to offer New York audiences of all ages the opportunity to explore the breadth and diversity of animation in France, and discover an abundance of creativity across genres and techniques, past and present.”

About French Animation

Animation has a rich history in France. Since its early beginnings in the late 19th century when Émile Reynaud projected his Pantomimes Lumineuses at the Musée Grevin in Paris, French filmmakers and artisans have experimented with puppets, cutouts, and stop motion, inventing important techniques along the way. Notable animated films have peppered the history of French cinema, from Émile Cohl’s Fantasmagorie (1908), depicting a stick figure moving through space, to Ladislas Starewich’s influential stop-motion Le Roman de Renard (1930), the first French animated feature film. Other acclaimed works have included the experimental Une nuit sur le mont chauve (1933), using a pinscreen machine invented by Alexandre Alexieff and Claire Parker; La Demoiselle and Le violoncelliste (1965), films that launched the career of Jean-François Laguionie (Louise en hiver, 2016); as well as Fantastic Planet (René Laloux, 1973), Le Roi et l’Oiseau (Paul Grimault, 1980), and Kirikou and the Sorceress (Michel Ocelot, 1998).

Today, France is Europe’s largest producer and the world’s third largest exporter of animated film. Renowned for stylistic innovation and an often artisanal approach, French animation continues to garner awards worldwide and spans a diversity of genres, from independent art-house successes The Triplets of Belleville, and more recently The Red Turtle, to films for mature audiences like Renaissance, as well as big-budget blockbusters Ballerina and the Franco-American Despicable Me franchise. Beyond films, France has carved out an important space in animated TV programs, web series, video games, and the rapidly developing fields of virtual reality and new technologies.

Festival program follows. For full screening and events schedule, visit fiaf.org/animation.

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New York Premiere

Iqbal, a Tale of a Fearless Child (Iqbal, l’enfant qui n’avait pas peur)

Friday, February 2 at 11am

DCP

Dir. Michel Fuzellier, Babak Payami, 2015. 87 min. Color.

In French with English subtitles.

One night, little Iqbal slips out of his family’s home with his goat Raja to go find cough medicine for his brother in the big city. But Iqbal falls into the hands of a criminal who enslaves children and forces them to weave rugs for him. Determined to escape, Iqbal promises his fellow prisoners he will come back to rescue them. Inspired by the life of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani boy who became a spokesperson against child slavery, Iqbal takes an imaginative, inspiring approach to a disturbingly important issue, spinning a tale that is a joy for the whole family.

A Q&A with a representative of UNICEF will follow the screening.

Presented as part of FIAF’s Young Audience Program for school groups. For information contact Clémentine Guichat at cguinchat@fiaf.org.

Ages 9 & up

Venue: FIAF, Florence Gould Hall

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OPENING NIGHT 3D SCREENING & PARTY

Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants (Minuscule – La vallée des fourmis perdues)

Friday, February 2 at 7pm

DCP 3D

Dir. Thomas Szabo, Hélène Giraud, 2013. 89 min. Color.

No dialogue.