Well, hooray! This is a brilliant film and it's been a long time coming to these shores.

NEW YORK INT’L CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS: ***US PREMIERE*** THE SECRET OF KELLS

The highly anticipated new animated masterpiece from the producers of Kirikou and the Sorceress and Triplets of Belleville

• Winner Audience Award - Annecy Animation Festival
• “Absolutely luscious to behold!” – Variety
• “Stunning! A cascade of light, color and wonder burst from the screen!” – The Irish Times
• “A visual universe of true splendor!” – Le Monde

SAT & SUN, JULY 18 & 19, 11:00AM
IFC Center (323 West Sixth Ave)

Tickets on sale now at
WWW.GKIDS.TV or 212-349-0330

New York, NY, June 23, 2009 –New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival extends its reputation as one of the nation’s premiere showcases of new animation with the July 18 & 19 U.S. Premiere screenings of The Secret of Kells, the highly anticipated new animated masterpiece from the producers of Kirikou and the Sorceress and Triplets of Belleville. The film has been hailed by international critics as one of the year’s most beautiful movies and has recently won audience awards at the prestigious Annecy Animation Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival. Tickets are now on sale at www.gkids.tv and 212-349-0330.

ANIMATION at NYICFF
New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF) has a history of presenting important and groundbreaking new feature animation, including U.S. Premiere screenings of Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso and Nausicaa by Hayao Miyazaki, Kirikou and the Sorceress and Azur & Asmar by Michel Ocelot, Steamboy by Katsuhiro Otomo, Mia & the Migoo by Jacques Remy Girerd, as well as many Oscar nominated short films.

NYICFF co-director Eric Beckman said, “We are absolutely delighted and thrilled to present The Secret of Kells. The film is completely unique, combining imagery from Celtic mythology and illuminated manuscripts, but also from print design and graphic novels, for a gloriously brilliant, explosion of color and form that is like nothing else you have seen.”

SYNOPSIS
Young Brendan lives in the Abbey of Kells, a remote medieval outpost, where he labors with the other monks to fortify the abbey walls against Viking raids. But a new life of adventure beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands, carrying an ancient--but unfinished--book, brimming with secret wisdom and magical powers. To help complete the book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him for the first time beyond the abbey’s walls and into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf/girl, who helps him along the way. But with the terrifying Viking hordes closing in, will Brendan’s artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against barbarians?

The Secret of Kells
Ireland/Belgium/France, Tomm Moore, 2009, 75 min
Sat & Sun, July 18 & 19, 11:00am – IFC Center, 323 West Sixth Avenue (at West Third)

Tickets $12.50 adult/ $8.50 children and seniors – Recommended ages 6 to adult
www.gkids.tv 212-349-0330

About NYICFF:
Over the past 12 years, NYICFF has earned the reputation as one of the finest film festivals for people under 18 by programming an uncompromising slate of the best new animation, live action and experimental film from around the world, with filmmaker Q&As, hands-on production workshops, red-carpet premieres, audience voting, and the NYICFF Awards. Programs are organized by age group, with screenings available for all ages from tots to teens. Winners are chosen by audience ballot and NYICFF also presents a Special Jury Award. The Festival jury Emmy® winner and Golden Globe® nominated actor John Turturro (Quiz Show), Academy Award® winning actress Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking), Academy Award® nominated director Gus Van Sant (Milk, Good Will Hunting), Academy Award® nominated filmmaker James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain, Milk), actor Matthew Modine (Birdy), director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King), Producer Christine Vachon (I’m Not There, Boys Don’t Cry), Evan Shapiro, President of Sundance Channel and The Independent Film Channel (IFC TV) and New Yorker contributor Adam Gopnik. In recognition of its efforts, NYICFF has been twice honored by the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, while NY State Council on the Arts named NYICFF "a model for youth programming in New York State."

Tickets and info: www.gkids.com
212-349-0330