Azur & Asmar Exclusive Engagement at Valley Art Theater

Film offers strong cross-over appeal to arthouse, family and animation audiences

New York, NY – GKIDS is thrilled to announce an exclusive one week engagement of the groundbreaking new animated film Azur & Asmar, from celebrated director and animator Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress), presented by The Weinstein Company.  The film received a standing ovation at Cannes, has garnered rave reviews from critics worldwide, and grossed $16 million at the French box office. 
 
Azur & Asmar breaks new cinematic ground both thematically and visually and is a film very much for adults as well as children.  The story unfolds with the poetic simplicity of a fairytale, while touching on currently relevant themes of race, immigration, cultural conflict, and Arab/west relations. The filmmaker made the artistic choice not to subtitle or dub the Arabic dialogue, so the audience can experience “the condition of the immigrant” and appreciate the mystery of discovering an exotic land and intuiting meaning from non-language cues.  But perhaps most impressive is Ocelot’s shimmering, brilliant art direction.  “Quite simply, it’s a visual masterpiece that combines cut-outs with CGI and the mesmeric beauty of Islamic art to create a magical world, in which scarlet lions with blue claws and birds with rainbow wings stand between the blonde Azur and Asmar, the estranged Arab friend of his childhood.” (Empire Magazine)
 
Azur & Asmar plays December 12 – 18 exclusively at Harkins’ Valley Art theater, located at 505 South Mill Ave in Tempe.  For exact showtimes, ticket information and advance tickets please visit the Harkins Theatres website at www.harkinstheatres.com or call the box office (480) 446-7272.

Azur & Asmar – France, Michel Ocelot, 2006/2008, 99 min, in English, Rated PG.
Set in the Middle Ages, Azur and Asmar is the story of two boys raised as brothers. Blonde, blue-eyed, white skinned Azur and black-haired, brown-eyed, dark-skinned Asmar are lovingly cared for by Asmar’s gentle mother, who tells them magical stories of her faraway homeland and of beautiful, imprisoned Fairy Djinn waiting to be set free. Time passes, and one day Azur’s father, the master of the house, provokes a brutal separation. Azur is sent away to study, while Asmar and his mother are driven out, homeless and penniless.

Years later, as a young adult, Azur remains haunted by memories of the sunny land of his nanny, and sets sail south across the high seas to find the country of his dreams. Arriving as an immigrant in a strange land, Azur is rejected by everyone he meets on account of his “unlucky” blue eyes, until finally he resolves never to open those eyes again. The once-beautiful child clad in gold is reduced to a blind beggar. Yet, blind though he is, little by little and step by step, he discovers a beautiful and mysterious country. Meanwhile, back in her homeland, Azur’s nanny has become a wealthy merchant and Asmar has grown into a dashing horseman. Reunited but now as adversaries, the two brothers set off on a dangerous quest to find and free the Fairy of the Djinns.
 
About GKIDS
GKIDS brings exceptional animated, live action, documentary and experimental programming to American families across multiple media platforms. In partnership with the prestigious New York International Children’s Film Festival, GKIDS presents groundbreaking independent film programs in New York City and at theaters around the country. The new GKIDS.TV video and community website is a place where children, teens, and parents can watch, rate, review, buy and share award-winning film and animation from around the world.  For more information, visit http://www.gkids.tv/azur.

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