• The most family-oriented section of this 23rd edition of the FICLPGC will screen Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret, The Masters of Time and Deep Sea, three animated films aimed at children and young audiences
• These works will be shown throughout the two weekends of the Film Festival at Cine Yelmo Las Arenas Screen 4
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Friday, April 19, 2024. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival’s Magic Lantern section will give families the opportunity to enjoy on the big screento three titles aimed at children and young audiences. From different latitudes and times, these co-productions from France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany and China, Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret, The Masters of Time and Deep Sea will be shown throughout the two weekends of the Film Festival at Cine Yelmo Las Arenas Screen 4.
As Elodie Mellado, a member of the selection committee, claims in the Festival’s catalog, these three films “combine the best traditional European animation with the new waves of Eastern animation from China.”
With Deep Sea (Tian Xiaopeng, China, 2023, 113 min.) the audience will dive into vast oceans in a journey reminiscent of Chihiro’s voyage to evil Yubaba’s bathhouse, which in this case is a chaotic restaurant sure to delight all One Piece fans, especially those fond of a certain chef called Sanji. It is a prodigy of animation with a disarmingly innovative use of 3D.
In Deep Sea, Shenxiu, a girl who was abandoned by her mother when she was younger, embarks on a family cruise during her vacation. One night, following a call from the sea, she ends up in an elegant restaurant located in an old submarine. Although all of that has something to do with her mother, she doesn’t suspect a thing. Thus, a dreamlike and kaleidoscopic world of colorful whirlpools and waterfalls comes to life in this story that brings together adventure, animation and fantasy. It will be screened on Sunday 21 and Saturday 27 mornings (dubbed in Spanish).
For those looking for quieter proposals, the Film Festival will present the co-production Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret (Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, France, Luxembourg, 2023, 78 min.), a title celebrating the wonders of storytelling and starring “one of the most adorable characters in our program,” according to programmer Mellado.
The main character of Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret is a ten-year-old girl fascinated by the stories her father tells her before bed, in which a hedgehog discovers the world. But one evening, worried about his work, he doesn’t tell her a new tale. Her best friend Mehdi will help Nina find the solution and they embark on a great adventure that involves a treasure hidden in the factory from which her father has just been fired.
This animated gem is Magic Lantern’s opening and closing film. It will be screened the morning of Saturday 20 and the afternoon of Sunday 28 (dubbed in Spanish).
Finally, the section of the Festival dedicated to families will surprise its audience with The Masters of Time (René Laloux, France, Switzerland, Federal Republic of Germany, 1982, 79 min.). For the most nostalgic, the best of French animation will be represented with this classic by the director of the cult film Fantastic Planet and the design of comic art genius Moebius. A colorful space epic that the FICLPGC now recovers in a new edition restored after its 40th anniversary.
The story of this acclaimed animated production begins when a ship crashes on the strange and inhospitable planet Perdide. Such an impact has eliminated almost all the crew except the son of a couple: Piel. This boy and his only hope represented by a microphone he nicknames Mike will be the main characters of the film. The small artifact, to which the boy attributes a life of its own, is a communication mechanism that can bypass stellar distances and find a receiver. A group of colonists receives the distress signal and embarks on the rescue of the orphan. In addition, the dangers increase, since that planet has been selected for colonization by a highly advanced race of beings.
This adventure will hit the big screen on the afternoon of Saturday 20 and the morning of Sunday 28 (French with English and Spanish subtitles).
The Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival, organized by the Culture area of the Gran-Canarian capital’s City Council through Promoción de la Ciudad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, has received public assistance by the ICAA [Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts], the program for the internationalization of Spanish culture, PICE Visitantes, of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), from the Consejería de Universidades, Ciencia e Innovación y Cultura del Gobierno de Canarias, as well as public support from Promotur Turismo Islas Canarias.
Among the Festival’s collaborators we may find Fundación Auditorio Teatro, Cines Yelmo, Las Arenas Shopping Center and Hotel Cristina by Tigotan, places which also function as venues or hold activities of the film event; as well as other institutions and companies such as Sagulpa, Hospitales San Roque, Jameson, Ikigai, Cientouno Group, el Centro de Cultura Audiovisual de Gran Canaria, Audiovisuales Canarias, Music Library &SFX, Blackout Films and International Bach Festival. Likewise, its market, MECAS, has been possible thanks to the sponsorship of the Gran Canaria Film Commission-Sociedad de Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria and the support of Canary Islands Film and Proexca.
The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Mid Atlantic University, the CIFP Felo Monzón Grau-Bassas, the Canary Islands Film Institute, the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, Digital 104, the Audiovisual Cluster of the Canary Islands, CIMA Asociación de Mujeres Cineastas y de Medios Audiovisuales, the Cartagena International Film Festival, the Gijón International Film Festival, the Barcelona Independent Film Festival, Toyota Canarias and Very Good Script are also collaborators.
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