New York International Children's Film Fest Line-up Includes 'When Marnie Was There' Première, 'Shaun the Sheep' and 'The Prophet'

If you're impatiently awaiting the release of the most recent Studio Ghibli production When Marnie Was There, and live in or near the Big Apple, we've got some good news for you. The new film from Arriety's Hiromasa Yonebayshi has been picked up by GKIDS for a Spring 2015 cinema release in North America. The American première will take place some time before that though, as the film has been confirmed to screen as part of the New York International Children's Film Festival.

The première will take place on the festival's opening night, February 27th at 8.30 PM EST. A second screening will take place the following Saturday (March 7th) at 2.00PM. Both screenings will be in original Japanese language with subtitles. However, Marnie is only part of the embarrassment of animated riches due to screen at the festival. 

Aardman's eagerly awaited new feature Shaun The Sheep will be screening at 6.00 PM on the opening night, fresh from highly a successful screening at this month's Sundance Film Fest. To mark the occasion, the event will also feature two further screenings from the UK studio, with Best Of Aardman Shorts and Wallace and Gromit Shorts.

The festival has animation from further afield too, with the 'Lost Classic' The King And The Mockingbird (from France),  Moomins on The Riviera (from Finland) and Norway's Hocus Pocus Alfie Atkins among them.

The closing night hosts another US première, this time of the anthology film Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. Marshaled by Lion King director Roger Allers, The Prophet is a very intriguing sounding work with segments directed by some of the greatest talents working in animation today, including Nina Paley (Sita Sings The Blues), the legendary Bill Plympton and of course Song Of The Sea's Tomm Moore.

See the full line-up here.