GKIDS Release 'Boy and The World' Trailer

The Academy recently released the list of all the animated features eligible for nomination at the 2016 ceremony. Among all the major studio pictures there were a few lesser known titles- including Boy And The World.  The Brazilian 2D feature from Alê Abreu may not be on everyone's radar just yet, but it has already numerous awards nominations and wins to its name from various festivals, including the 2014 Annecy Crystal and even the Audience Award at the same festival. Could it be soon adding an Oscar nomination to the growing list?

US distributor GKIDS certainly hopes so, as the film is due to start its Oscar-qualifying run in New York and LA in December. To mark the occasion, we now have the first English trailer for the film.

Abreu's film has some highly distinctive visuals, often resembling the drawings of a child. The film (as with other potential fellow nominee Shaun The Sheep) is entirely dialogue free. Music, however, plays a major part,  blending traditional Brazilian music, with much more contemporary stuff. GKIDS's official synopsis describes the film:

Cuca lives a life of quiet wonder, exploring all that the countryside has to offer. But his cozy life is shattered when his father leaves for the city, prompting him to embark on a quest to reunite his family. The young boy’s journey unfolds like a tapestry, the animation taking on greater complexity and variety as his small world expands. Simple line drawings of the village give way to broad brushstrokes forming giant bushels of cotton lining country roads and sweeps of pastel churned into roaring waves.

Approaching the city, industrial landscapes are inhabited by animal-machines, whirling carnival colors and exploding fireworks fill the sky above decoupage favelas, while flashing neon advertisements and garish shop windows illuminate the night.
Entirely wordless, the narrative describes a clash between poor and rich, countryside and city, indigenous and imperial, handcrafted and mechanized – and throughout the tumult, the heart and soul of the people beats on as a song. Accompanying the stunning visuals is a rich soundscape of pan-flute, samba, and Brazilian hip-hop, creating the powerful visceral experience of a passage through life.

Boy and The World opens December 11th 2016 in Los Angeles and New York, and will open in cinemas across the United States in January 2016.