The fifth edition of Animation Is Film Festival will be held Oct. 21-23 and 29 at TCL Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Blvd. (at Highland) in Hollywood.
Enjoy premiere screenings, filmmaker Q&As and more during one of animation’s biggest weekends. The schedule is as follows:
Friday, Oct. 21
6 p.m.: Shorts #1. Free event.
7 p.m.: “Wendell & Wild” (USA, 2022), directed by Henry Selick. U.S. premiere. Filmmaker Q&A. Rush tickets available.
8 p.m.: “Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom” (Japan), directed by Kotono Watanabe. World premiere. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Saturday, Oct. 22
11 a.m.: Work-in-Progress: Disney’s “Strange World” (USA, 2022). Behind the scenes, filmmaker Q&A.
11:45 a.m.: “Oni: Thunder God’s Tale” (USA/Japan, 2022), directed by Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi. World premiere. Filmmaker Q&A.
1 p.m.: Work-in-progress: “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” directed by Joel Crawford. Behind the scenes, filmmaker Q&A.
3:30 p.m.: “My Father’s Dragon” (Ireland/France, 2022), directed by Nora Twomey. North American premiere. Filmmaker Q&A.
3:30 p.m.: “Turning Red” (USA, 2022), directed by Domee Shi. Filmmaker Q&A.
6:30 p.m.: “One Piece Film Red” (Japan, 2022), directed by Goro Taniguchi. Rush tickets available.
6:45 p.m.: Shorts #2: Student Showcase. Free event.
8:30 p.m.: “Summer Ghost” (Japan, 2021), directed by Loundraw. Filmmaker Q&A.
9:30 p.m.: “New Gods: Yang Jian” (China, 2022), directed by Ji Zhao.
Sunday, Oct. 23
11 a.m.: “Luck” (USA/Spain, 2022), directed by Peggy Holmes. Filmmaker Q&A.
11 a.m.: “Oink” (Netherlands, 2022), directed by Mascha Halberstad. Filmmaker Q&A.
1:30 p.m.: “Titina” (Norway/Belgium, 2022), directed by Kajsa Næss. World premiere. Filmmaker Q&A.
1:30 p.m.: “Perlimps” (Brazil, 2022), directed by Alê Abreu. West Coast premiere. Filmmaker Q&A.
4 p.m.: “Little Nicolas” (France/Luxembourg, 2022), directed by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre. U.S. premiere.
4 p.m.: Shorts #3: Annecy/Women in Animation.
6:30 p.m.: “Aurora’s Sunrise” (Armenia/Germany/Lithuania, 2022), directed by Inna Sahakyan. North American premiere. Filmmaker Q&A.
6:30 p.m.: “Unicorn Wars” (Spain/France, 2022), directed by Alberto Vázquez. West Coast premiere. Filmmaker Q&A.
9 p.m.: “Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama” (Japan, 1993), directed by Ram Mohan, Yugo Sako and Koichi Saski.
Note: The Oct. 29 sneak preview of “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (USA, 2022) is sold out.
Tickets and info: https://animationisfilm.com/
Founded in 2017, AIF celebrates animated films from all over the world, embracing the highest aspirations of the medium as an artistic cinematic art form on par with live action. AIF fills a gap in the U.S. market with an established world-class animation festival on par with the major events in Europe and Asia, and based in the world capital of animated filmmaking — Los Angeles.
Embracing the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form akin to live action, the festival is an international advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of their work to the fullest range of the medium’s artistic expression. AIF is produced by GKIDS in partnership with Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Major industry and media sponsors include: ASIFA-Hollywood, Cartoon Network, ELMA, Fathom Events, Laika, Netflix, Paramount Animation, Pixar Animation Studios, Shout! Factory, Sony Pictures Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Warner Animation Group, and Warner Bros. Animation.