Fernando Trueba’s animated feature Chico & Rita is the opening film of the 13th edition of Cartoon Movie, set for March 2-4 in Lyons, France.
Trueba’s animation debut was recently released to wide public and critical acclaim in Britain after having received the award for Best Feature Film at the Holland Animation Film Festival. In the next few months, it will compete for a Goya Award for Best Animated Film at Spain’s national film awards.
Chico & Rita is a collaboration between Oscar-winning director Trueba and Spanish designer Javier Mariscal. Set in Cuba and New York during the end of the 1940s, Chico & Rita tells a story of love and heartbreak between a pianist and a singer who were brought together and torn apart by destiny over 50 years. The soundtrack by legendary Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes recalls the origins of latin jazz, when musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker started fusing Cuban music into their compositions.
The film is a joint-production between Spain’s companies Fernando Trueba PC and Estudio Mariscal, and Britain’s Magic Light Pictures, led by Michael Rose, formerly of Aardman Animations.
The film is one of 54 set to be presented at Cartoon Movie, a co-production forum for animated feature films. Projects include participation from other acclaimed live action directors like Patrice Leconte (Man on the Train, My Best Friend) and Terry Gilliam (Monty Python), as well as confirmed animation director Jean-François Laguionie (Cesar for Rowing across the Atlantic).
For more information on Cartoon Movie, visit http://www.cartoon-media.be.
