Gkids has acquired the North American distribution rights for Another World, a fantasy animated film from Hong Kong which will make its global debut at the ongoing Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The film will be showcased in the festival’s midnight specials section. It has been more than two decades since a Hong Kong animated feature was last presented at Annecy, with My Life as McDull in 2003.
The feature is a directorial debut of Tommy Ng Kai Chung and the film is written and produced by Polly Yeung Po Man and co-produced by veteran filmmaker Chan Gin Kai. The feature animated film is adapted from the popular Japanese novel Sennenki by Saijo Naka and published by Tokuma Shoten Publishing.
“Another World is a captivating and moving exploration of life and death with awe-inspiring visuals that showcases the incredible young talent coming out of Hong Kong. With mind-blowing action sequences deftly grounded by heartfelt emotional storytelling, we are so thrilled to introduce director Ng’s stunning directorial debut to North America,” Gkids director of content Erica Chon.
“When faced with truths too heavy to bear, they falter. They grieve, they rage—and they cling to the unresolved questions in their hearts. That stubbornness, that unwillingness to let go, has the power to destroy them, but it also fuels their strength. It becomes the fire that lights their path forward, even in darkness,” Chung shared.
Synopsis: Gudo, a spirit tasked with guiding souls to their next lives, embarks on a journey with a young girl named Yuri. As they traverse realms both seen and unseen, they uncover a long-buried curse fueled by lingering anger, powerful enough to unravel both the physical and spiritual worlds.
Details on the film’s release, including theatrical and home entertainment plans, will be revealed later. Presented in Cantonese with subtitles, it’s still unclear if an English dub will be part of its theatrical run.
A global collaboration spanning artists from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, France and the Philippines, Another World continues Gkids tradition of bringing visionary animated storytelling to U.S. audiences. The feature film is financed through equity investments from the Film Development Fund of Hong Kong and Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) (Hong Kong), AnimeKey (Saudi Arabia), Full Colour Limited (Hong Kong), TMZ Media (China), and Digital Hollywood University (Japan), as well as a production grant from the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
The deal was negotiated between Gkids Rodney Uhler, Silver Media Chan Gin Kai and Point Five Creations Polly Yeung.
