Unicorn Wars (2022) Animation First 2023

Based on director Alberto Vazquez ‘s near perfect black confection Unicorn Blood (my review is here), UNICORN WARS is a stunning brightly colored nightmare that is not for children but will delight adults who love the darkness. It’s a damning indictment of macho social interactions and warfare that will leave you feeling physically abused.

The plot of the film has a bunch of teddy bears training to go to war with the unicorns. The unicorns are to be wiped out and their blood is thought to have magical properties. As the bears train for war they deal with the macho mind games that push people to the edge.

Violent in the extreme this is a black comedy/horror film of the darkest sort. Don’t let the bright colors and cute designs fool you, by the time the film ends copious amounts of blood have flowed, terrible acts have been committed and the dead out number the living. This is a film that uses it’s violence for effect and the effect is shattering.

I suspect that some people in the audience aren’t going to not look past the bright colors and simply laugh at the carnage and cruelty. I couldn’t do so. While I laughed at some of the black jokes, mostly I was horrified. This is potent stuff even more so when it drops the pretense of the bright and shiny happiness. I say that because there is a dark monster lurking in this tale and it is truly frightening… and it is us.

This is a mirror up to the dark soul of humanity and it is beyond frightening. If you want to know why war and violence and simply cruelty happen look no farther than this film. This is truly one of the best anti war and anti-violence films you will ever see.

It also maybe one of the best films you will see this year.

Highly recommended.

Little Nicholas (2022) Animation First 2023

Animated gem of a film is the dual story of the creation and creators of the Little Nicholas comic strip and the adventures of their character as well. Sweet little animated film begins with the creation of the Little Nicholas comic strip and then moves into the adventures of the little guy and his friends.

This film is a delight. It’s a “hand drawn” film that is certain to put a smile on your face. It’s a celebration  of a creation and the creators that is just a lot of fun. I just chuckled my way through the film from start to finish.

While the film is good fun from start to finish, I’m not going to lie and say it’s perfect. The sections of the films on creators René Goscinny, and Jean-Jacques Sempé where Nicholas isn’t involved are less compelling. Yes they are good, but the problem is its about the life of grown ups which makes them less fun that Nicholas. The Nicholas stuff is a blast and I’m so annoyed that I never ran into him before this.(I will have to track reprints down)

If you need to smile you need to see this.

Currently on the film is on the festival circuit Opening Animation First in NYC tomorrow and is absolutely worth your time. It

FIAF Announces Animation First 2023

 

FIAF Announces Animation First 2023 Friday, January 27—Sunday, January 29

New York, NY (December 6, 2022) — The French Institute Alliance Française announces the program for the sixth edition of Animation First, the only U.S. festival dedicated to showcasing the legacy and innovation of French animation. The 2023 festival will run from Friday, January 27 through Sunday, January 29 and will present six feature-length films (including three U.S. and three NY premieres), and six short film programs with over 65 new shorts (including eight U.S. and 12 NY premieres). The complete Animation First program will comprise filmmaker conversations, "Work in Progress" presentations, a selection of video games and AR-VR experiences, and student shorts programs. Tickets are now on sale. An early bird discount is available on festival passes through December 16. Animation First curators are Delphine Selles-Alvarez, FIAF Film Curator, and Chloé Dheu, FIAF Film Coordinator. Selles-Alvarez says, “Animation First is an international celebration of all forms of animation. FIAF takes pride in offering NY audiences the best of animated Francophone programs. This year, I’m thrilled that we will honor Anca Damian, one of the most creative filmmakers working today,” Opening the festival on Friday, January 27 will be the NY premiere of Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre's Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be. Little Nicholas is a charming rendition of artist Jean-Jacques Sempé’s and René Goscinny’s lives which co-exist within the fictitious adventures of Le Petit Nicolas, the beloved French children's character. The film is presented in conjunction with the FIAF Gallery exhibition: Signature Sempé. The exhibition will consist of a selection of Sempé’s most iconic works, including quintessential drawings from Le Petit Nicolas and New Yorker cover designs. On Saturday, January 28 there will be a conversation with the Little Nicholas filmmakers, Martine Gossieaux (Sempé’s widow), and New Yorker artistic director Françoise Mouly examining the allure and longevity of Sempé and Le Petit Nicolas. The Animation First 2023 Guest of Honor is award-winning screenwriter and director, Anca Damian. Damian will present the NY premiere of her mixed media animated film, The Island (The Island was an Animation First 2021 ‘Work in Progress’ presentation) on Sunday, January 29. Following the screening, there will be a conversation with Damian where she will discuss her new film and the augmented reality companion piece, In Search of Paradise. The closing night film on Sunday, January 29 will be the U.S. premiere of Alain Ughetto's stop motion feature, No Dogs or Italians Allowed. Told as a fictional dialog between the filmmaker and his grandmother, the film details the lives of Italian immigrants who fled poverty and fascism. Other 2023 feature films include the NY premiere of Alberto Vázquez's Unicorn Wars, an anti-war allegory; the U.S. premiere of Michael Ocelot's The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess, three tales celebrating courage in the face of injustice; and the U.S. premiere of Pierre Földes' Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, based on short stories by Haruki Murakami. This year's festival will also include six short film programs: Best of Annecy, Best of Annecy Kids, New Francophone Shorts programs, Student Shorts Competition and RECA, the French Animation School Network. There will be two ‘Work in Progress’ presentations for 2023. On Saturday, January 28, Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi will discuss her upcoming film The Siren, which relays the story of a young boy living in Abadan. Farsi will elaborate on some of her artistic choices and inspiration for the film. On Sunday, January 29, artist Cédric Babouche and producer Aymeric Castaing will discuss the inception of Dordogne, a unique video game that utilizes over 150 watercolor paintings to immerse players in the Dordogne region of France. Throughout the festival, the FIAF Library will be free and open to the public to experience video games and virtual reality films from French studios and distributors. This years video game selection includes a first look at the Dordogne prototype, a demonstration copy of Chants of Sennaar, and A Plague Tale: Requiem, amongst others. There will also be three VR experiences and an AR exhibit: The Starry Sand Beach (NY premiere), Seven Grams, All Unsaved Progress Will Be Lost (U.S. premiere), and the U.S premiere of augmented reality exhibit, In Search of Paradise, a companion piece to The Island. The complete Animation First 2023 schedule can be found here.

About Animation First Created in 2018, Animation First is the only film festival in the United States dedicated to French animation. Today, France is Europe’s largest producer and the world’s third-largest exporter of animated film. Since its early beginnings in the late 19th century when Émile Reynaud projected his Pantomimes Lumineuses at the Musée Grevin in Paris, the French animation industry has inspired filmmakers and artists. Their resulting experiments with puppets, cutouts, and stop motion, have been instrumental in inventing important techniques in cinema. Renowned for its stylistic innovation and an approach that integrates artisanal methods with technological ingenuity, French animation continues to garner awards worldwide and spans a diversity of genres. It is responsible for a variety of films from independent art-house successes such as Sylvain Chomet’s The Triplets of Belleville and Michael Dudok de Wit’s The Red Turtle to those for mature audiences like Persepolis and I Lost My Body to 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.