Iron Boy to Release in U.S. via Sony Pictures Classics
Clichy's directorial debut follows an 11-year-old boy in rural France navigating identity and family expectations.
Sony Pictures Classics announced that they will release Louis Clichy's IRON BOY in New York and Los Angeles on January 22, 2027, with an awards-qualifying run in December. The film received critical acclaim following its premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize for its stunning combination of realism and fantasy. The film went on to win the Audience, Jury and Distribution Awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and has been selected to screen at the Toronto and New York film festivals.
The film is co-written by Clichy and Franck Salomé, and marks Clichy's first film as a solo director. After many years devoted to 3D animation at Pixar where he worked as an animator on WALL-E and UP, the film presents a highly personal style, characterized by ink line drawing that returns to the spirit of Manga and his early short films.
The film follows 11-year-old Christophe in rural France, as he tries to live up to his rigid and distant father on the family farm. But the young boy starts to lean over and collapse without warning — on the tractor, at school, at dinner... A doctor finds the solution: Christophe must wear an iron corset to keep himself upright. Forced to reinvent his life away from the farm, Christophe discovers a new passion for music, meets a new friend, and follows her into his first mischief. But will any of this really fix what is out of balance?
The voice cast includes Gary Clichy, Rod Paradot (STANDING TALL), Brune Moulin, Dimitri Colas, Aurélie Vassort, Alexandre Astier (KAAMELOTT) and Jean-Pascal Zadi (DOG ON TRIAL) with animation by Chloë Aubert and art direction by Cécile Guillard. The film is produced by Céline Vanlint and Nicolas de Rosanbo for Eddy Cinéma (France) and co-produced by Fabrice Delville and Christophe Toulemonde for Beside Production (Belgium), Agathe Sofer and Alexandre Astier for Regular Production (France) along with France 3 Cinéma, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma and RTBF. SPC acquired the film from Playtime, the international sales company that is part of Vuelta.
About Playtime
Playtime is a Paris-based international sales, financing and production company active since 1997 and committed to co-finance, market, and distribute high-profile works by renowned filmmakers. Each year, Playtime launches approximately 15 new films in the most prestigious festivals. Recent successes include IRON BOY (UCR SPECIAL JURY PRIZE, Cannes 2026), THE QUIET SON (Best Actor, Venice 2024), STRANGER EYES (Venice in Competition 2024 - Singaporean Oscar entry 2026), EAGLES OF THE REPUBLIC (Cannes in Competition 2025 - Swedish Oscar entry 2026) as well as 120 BPM (Grand Prix, Cannes 2017) and SON OF SAUL (Oscar Winner, 2016). Playtime is part of Vuelta.
About Sony Pictures Classics
Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992—which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world. Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 42 Academy Awards (38 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 192 Academy Award nominations (166 at Sony Pictures Classics), including two nominations this year for BLUE MOON for Best Actor (Ethan Hawke) and Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Picture nominations for I'M STILL HERE, THE FATHER, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, WHIPLASH, AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.
About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services. http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html.
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