Fantastic Fest Hosts US ' The Boy And The Beast' Premiere and more

We're eagerly anticipating the release of Mamoru Hosoda's The Boy And The Beast around these parts. The new film from the director of  Wolf Children and Summer Wars has been a big success in Japan where it opened to a Box-office ker-ching of 5 billion Yen (around $42 million). The feature received it's first screening outside of Japan this past weekend at Toronto International Film Festival, and is also set to screen at the BFI London Film Festival next month.

However, fans in the US will be next to get to see it, as the US premiere has now been set. The film will screen at part of Fantastic Fest, the genre-based festival which takes place at the world-renowned Alamo DraftHouse in Austin, Texas.


Hosoda's newest is not the only film of interest to AFA readers that will be screening at the Fest either. GKIDS acquisition April and The Extraordinary World is the French/Canadian/Belgian steam-punkish animation set in an alternate history Twentieth Century Paris where Napoleon's descendants still rule. The feature will screen at Fantastic Fest fresh from its success at this year's Annecy festival.

Also screening is Belladonna Of Sadness, considered one of the lost masterpieces of Japanese animated cinema. Produced by 'God Of manga' Osamu Tezuka, it was a rare step into adult territory for the man best known for creating Astro Boy. The 1973 film has never been shown in the States before but now it has received a 4K digital restoration and will screen at the festival.



Elsewhere the festival also hosts programmes of shorts, and several animated films from around the world will be screening. Specific screening dates are not available yet, but the festival will run from  September 24th to October 1st. See the full programme here.