FIAF's Animation First to Present US Premiere of CALAMITY JANE on Opening Night, Feb. 5

The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) is proud to announce additions to the 2021 Animation First Festival, taking place from Friday, February 5 to Monday, February 15. Opening night will now feature the US premiere of Calamity Jane (Calamity, une enfance de Martha Jane Cannary) from director Rémi Chayé, who will be a festival Special Guest.

Winner of the Crystal Award for best feature at the 2020 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Calamity Jane is based on the early life of the legendary Wild West figure. This feminist retelling shows how young Martha Jane Cannary fought against a sexist and male-dominated society to become an iconic frontierswoman.

Chayé, who will be a special guest of the festival, will discuss his newest film in a live talk on Saturday, February 6 at 2pm EST. His 2015 animated feature, Long Way North (Tout en haut du monde), about another adventuresome young girl-this one based in Russia-will also be screened during the Festival.

"It's an honor to bring Calamity Jane to FIAF's Animation First," said Chayé. "As an American tale, adapted by a French filmmaker, it feels uniquely suited to receive its US Premiere at this Festival, and I look forward to discussing the years-long process of bringing it to fruition with American audiences."

FIAF is also proud to collaborate with Dr. Boukary Sawadogo, professor of cinema studies at the City College of New York and founding director of the Harlem African Animation Festival, on two programs highlighting animation from Africa. The 2013 feature, Aya of Yop City (Aya de Yopougon), adapts the best-selling graphic novels by Marguerite Abouet about three teenage friends to the screen. A program of shorts brings together filmmakers from Ghana, Tunisia, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burkina Faso by way of Canada, showcasing the diverse storytelling and multifaceted filmmaking techniques across the continent.

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