Author: Newsroom
NEW YORK (July 25, 2024) – GKIDS, the Academy Award®-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the globe, will release the French psychedelic fantasy SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF WINDS in theaters nationwide for two nights only. The film will be released on August 11th in an all new English language dub, and on August 12th in its original French language with English subtitles. Directed by Benoît Chieux, the film is a singular vision many years in the making. The film held its world debut as the opening night feature of the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, winning the festival’s Audience Award, and it held its US debut at the 2023 Animation is Film Festival.
SIROCCO AND THE KINGDOM OF WINDS is the first animated feature solely directed by Benoît Chieux, who previously co-directed 2013’s Aunt Hilda!. Chieux is a two-time César Award nominee (Midnight’s Garden, Tigers Tied Up in One Rope), and additionally served as the screenwriter for 2008’s European Film Award-winning Mia and the Migoo, which was one of the earliest titles distributed by GKIDS.
Synopsis
One day, the adventurous Juliette and her sister Carmen find an enchanted toy and get swept away into the Kingdom of the Winds. They are transformed into cats and find themselves in a fantastical new world full of flying divas, technicolor dragons, and other mind-melting creations. When Juliette causes an accident that draws the ire of the local inhabitants, the Mayor gives Juliette to the beautiful songstress Selma and sentences Carmen to marry his son as punishment. The sisters must find a way to escape before the wedding bells ring, but the key to their journey home lies with Sirocco, the mysterious wizard feared for his ferocious storms.
A psychedelic fairy tale years in the making comes from the imagination of director Benoît Chieux. With captivating creatures and a vibrant Seussian world, Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds is a kaleidoscopic fantasy adventure bursting with charm and wonder.
English Language Cast
Briauna James as Agnès
Tallula Dinsmore as Carmen
Élia St-Pierre as Juliette
Lucinda Davis as Selma
Terrence Scammell as Sirocco
Marcel Jeannin as The Mayor
Wyatt Bowen as The Mayor’s Son
Bruce Dinsmore as The Toy