Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber have partnered up to release the animated feature Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. The feature debut of composer Pierre Földes, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman will open theatrically at Film Forum in New York in April 2023 before expanding nationwide.
Based on several short stories by the internationally renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami (Drive My Car, Norwegian Wood), Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman won the Jury Special Mention Award at Annecy International Festival and has played extensively on the international film festival circuit, including bows at the Toronto International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the Busan International Film Festival.
Utilizing an elegantly surreal hybrid animation style that incorporates live-action references, 3D modeling, and traditional layouts, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman begins in Tokyo just days after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Aided by a lost cat and a loquacious giant frog, an unambitious salesman, his frustrated wife and a schizophrenic accountant are called upon to save their city from obliteration and find meaning in their lives.
Watch a trailer for Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.
Filmmaker Pierre Földes commented, “I’m very happy to have Zeitgeist and Kino Lorber work hand in hand for the US release of my film Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, a feature animation based on stories by Haruki Murakami. Zeitgeist’s profile based on their 200+ films seems like the perfect match. So many of the films they have distributed I love, so it’s great to bring the film with them to the US Market. I hope it inspires many the same way I was inspired writing and making it.”
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