Festival Lineup

Friday–Sunday, January 25–27

Join us for the second edition of our wildly successful festival of French animation, featuring provoking films, exciting shorts, immersive exhibits, video game demonstrations, panels with leading animators and film executives, and much more.

Download: Festival Program (pdf)

Watch Trailer


Feature Films


Film

Kirikou and the Sorceress

Introduced by Michel Ocelot

Friday, January 25, 2019
7pm
Followed by Opening Night Party
Ages 6+
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Michel Ocelot introduces the 20th anniversary screening of his beloved film, Kirikou and the Sorceress. The film enchanted audiences worldwide and marked a turning point in the industry, unleashing a renewed interest for original and audacious animated filmmaking in France.

Film

Ivan Tsarevitch and the Changing Princess


Saturday, January 26, 2019
11am–12pm
Ages 6+
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Using his gorgeous trademark silhouetted style, Michel Ocelot conjures far-away lands of Indian palaces and Slavic castles in this film, named after a figure from Russian folklore.

Film

Only Yesterday
Homage to Takahata

Introduced by Michel Ocelot

Saturday, January 26, 2019
12:45–2:45pm
Ages 10+
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

A special homage to the late Isao Takahata, renowned filmmaker and co-founder of Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli, Only Yesterday will be introduced by Animation First’s Guest of Honor Michel Ocelot.

Film + Q&A

Funan

Post-screening Q&A with director Denis Do

NY Premiere
Saturday, January 26, 2019
7:45–9:45pm
Ages 12+
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Inspired by the life of his mother, Funan by Denis Do is a beautiful story of resilience in the face of unspeakable hardship. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Denis Do.

Film

Robinson & compagnie


Sunday, January 27, 2019
11am–12:15pm
Ages 6+
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Jacques Colombat offers a poetic, whimsical, and original take on the Daniel Defoe classic, Robinson Crusoe.

Film

White Fang

Croc-Blanc

Sunday, January 27, 2019
12:45–2:45pm
Ages 10+
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Based on the novel by Jack London, this elegantly-animated adaptation follows a young wolf-dog pup through a series of encounters in the Yukon Territory during the 1890s gold rush.


Shorts, Shorts, Shorts!


Shorts

Erotic Shorts


Friday, January 25, 2019
9:30pm
Opening Night Party at 8:30pm
Mature Audiences
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Sensual, naughty, poetic, and risqué works that celebrate passion, desire, and fantasy through sublimely creative and unconventional filmmaking.

Shorts

Documentary Shorts


Saturday, January 26, 2019
12–1:30pm
Mature Audiences
FIAF Skyroom

This program features student-made documentary shorts from Angouleme-based EMCA school of animation and the prominent CREADOC university program.

Shorts

Best of Annecy Shorts


Saturday, January 26, 2019
3:30-4:45pm
Mature Audiences
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Enjoy a collection of notable films straight from the 2018 edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the biggest animated film festival in the world.

Shorts + Q&A

Pinscreen Magic

Followed by Q&A with Special Guests

Saturday, January 26, 2019
5:30–7pm
Ages 12+
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

The pinscreen instrument produces beautiful and lyrical black and white short films. See the early films by pinscreen inventors Alexandre Alexeïeff and Claire Parker, alongside later films by Jacques Drouin, Michèle Lemieux, and Justine Vuylsteker.

Followed by Q&A with filmmakers Alexandre Rockwell and Michèle Lemieux, and from CNC, Jean-Baptiste Garnero and Sophie Le Tétour, .

Shorts

Late Night Chills


Saturday, January 26, 2019
10:30–11:45pm
Mature Audiences
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

This collection of spooky, imaginative, gripping, and out-of-this-world works expand the science fiction and suspense genres in animation.

Shorts

Michel Ocelot Selected Shorts


Sunday, January 27, 2019
3:30–4:45pm
Ages 12+
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

See eclectic shorts selected by Animation First 2019 guest of honor, Michel Ocelot, highlighting films that have nourished his own career as a filmmaker.

Shorts

Comedy Shorts


Sunday, January 27, 2019
5:30–6:45pm
Mature Audiences
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

See a diverse selection of comedic shorts featuring witty, burlesque, absurd, and darkly humorous works.

Shorts

César-Nominated Shorts


Sunday, January 27, 2019
7:45–9:15pm
Mature Audiences
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

This special closing night program will celebrate some of the best short animated films from the past year, four shorts in the running for the 2019 César Award for Best Animated Short.

Film Extract

The First Image
by Pierre-Henri Gibert


US Premiere
Friday, January 25–Sunday, January 27, 2019
FIAF Tinker Auditorium

This extract from a documentary series detailing the formative experiences of master filmmakers making their first films captures Michel Ocelot discussing the process behind Kirikou and the Sorceress. The 26-minute clip will loop throughout the weekend.


Panels Discussions and Works-in-Progress


Panel

Conversation with Michel Ocelot


Saturday, January 26, 2019
3–4:30pm
FIAF Skyroom

Legendary director Michel Ocelot will discuss his career from the critical success of Kirikou and the Sorceress to his most recent feature, Dilili in Paris, which premiered in France in June 2018.

Panel

Video Game Panel


Saturday, January 26, 2019
5:30–6:45pm
Ages 13+
FIAF Skyroom

Special guests from Atari and Ubisoft will discuss the history of video games, current trends, and predictions for the industry. They will address the various steps in making a video game, and skills needed to work in the industry.

Panel

The Legacy of the Pinscreen


Sunday, January 27, 2019
12:30–1:45pm (new time)
Ages 13+
FIAF Skyroom

Join Canadian filmmaker Michèle Lemieux and representatives of France’s national agency for cinema (CNC) for an in-depth conversation on the pinscreen instrument.

Panel

Mastering Special Effects: Motion Capture and Virtual Reconstruction


Sunday, January 27, 2019
4:30–5:45pm
Ages 13+
FIAF Skyroom

Emmanuel Linot and Jean-François Szlapka from the French-based virtual production studio SolidAnim will discuss techniques that they used to create visually stunning effects for the film White Fang and other projects.

Work in Progress

Work in Progress:
The Swallows of Kabul

With co-directors Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec,
and actress Hiam Abbass

Sunday, January 27, 2019
2:30–3:45pm (new time)
Ages 13+
FIAF Skyroom

Co-directors Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec, and actress Hiam Abbass present an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Swallows of Kabul, a film based on the bestselling novel by Yasmina Khadra.


Video Games & Exhibitions


Video Games

Video Games


Saturday, January 26, 2019
Sunday, January 27, 2019
11am-6pm
FIAF Gallery

Play a selection of exciting video games and check out new demos developed by Bordeaux-based studios as well as Ubisoft in Montreal.

Exhibition

Augmented Reality


Saturday, January 26, 2019
Sunday, January 27, 2019
11am-6pm
FIAF Gallery

This exhibition presents the work of Angouleme-based students from their final year at EMCA, one of the top animation schools in France.

Exhibition

Virtual Reality


Saturday, January 26, 2019
Sunday, January 27, 2019
11am-6pm
Ages 13+
FIAF Gallery

Head to the FIAF Gallery to experience thrilling virtual reality works from France and francophone countries. Discover digitally created worlds imagined, past, present, and future.


Times Square Midnight Moment


Visual Arts

Times Square Arts
Midnight Moment
I was crying out at life


January 1–31, 2019
11:57pm–Midnight
Ages 10+
Times Square

See artist Vergine Keaton’s powerful I was crying out at life (2009) on synchronized electronic billboards throughout Times Square nightly from 11:57 to midnight.


Workshops


Workshop

Professional Workshop:
New Digital Tools for Storytelling


Friday, January 25, 2019
4:30–6pm
FIAF Skyroom

French entrepreneurs at the forefront of the digital animation industry—Aymeric Castaing, Emmanuel Linot, and Olivier Palmieri—will speak about the latest cutting-edge digital technologies and techniques used as storytelling tools in the entertainment and cultural sectors, and beyond.

Workshop

Workshop I: Discover the Pinscreen Instrument


Saturday, January 26, 2019
11-12:30pm, 4-6pm;
Sunday, January 27, 2019
11am-1pm, 2-3:30pm, 4-6:30pm
Ages 7+
FIAF Tinker Auditorium

Children and adults will discover the magic of pulling and pushing pins on the screen to create their own images through shadows and light and animate them through stop motion.

Workshop

Workshop II: Make a Short Pinscreen Film


Saturday, January 26, 2019
1pm
Ages 12+
FIAF Tinker Auditorium

Alexandre Noyer will lead eight participants in the creation of a collective short film using a pinscreen instrument.


Events for School / University Students


Workshop

Masterclasses with Acclaimed Animators


Various Dates

During Animation First 2019, FIAF will offer masterclasses and discussion with leading filmmakers from France at educational institutes around New York City.

Screening + Q&A

Azur & Asmar:
The Princes’ Quest

Post-screening Q&A with director Michel Ocelot

Friday, January 25, 2019
11am
Grades 3-8 • In French & Arabic with English subtitles • 99 mins
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Directed by French animation legend Michel Ocelot, this beautiful film has a strong message about tolerance, respect for women, and the need for compassion.