Marking a major milestone for Aotearoa animation, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! is New Zealand’s first stop-motion animated feature film. The film will premiere at Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) in Christchurch on August 7 before opening in cinemas nationwide on August 8. An Auckland NZIFF Whānau Day event will also take place on August 8.
Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! will have its world premiere at Annecy International Film Festival, widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious animation festival, on June 24.
Expanding the four season world of the BAFTA-nominated, internationally acclaimed animated series Kiri and Lou, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! is written and directed by Harry Sinclair, co-directed by Antony Elworthy, and features the voices of Jemaine Clement and Olivia Tennet as Kiri and Lou, with music by Don McGlashan and songs in collaboration with Harry Sinclair.
The 60-minute movie prequel follows Lou, a gentle purple creature with an embarrassingly stretchy trunk, as he rescues Kiri, an ungrateful little dinosaur, from a flood – sweeping the pair into the greatest adventure in prehistory. Along the way, they discover that friendship can be found in the wildest places.
Writer and director Harry Sinclair said: “It means a lot to have the film premiere in Aotearoa at NZIFF. The whole Kiri and Lou project has been a celebration of New Zealand and New Zealand values – New Zealand accents, New Zealand voices. It couldn’t be more Kiwi. I think it’s incredibly important that kids grow up hearing and seeing their own people on screen.”
Producer, Fiona Copland added: “Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! has been a huge effort from a tiny group of people determined to create something unique, from our own creative culture and voice, for our youngest, most deserving audience.”
Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! is written and directed by Harry Sinclair (Topless Women Talk About Their Lives, The Price of Milk), with Antony Elworthy (Pinocchio, Isle of Dogs, Coraline) as co-director and animation director, and produced by Fiona Copland (Topless Women Talk About Their Lives, The Strength of Water). Music is by Don McGlashan (Blam Blam Blam, The Mutton Birds) with songs in collaboration with Harry Sinclair (The Front Lawn). The voice cast includes Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, What We Do In The Shadows), Olivia Tennet (Power Rangers RPM, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), Rima Te Wiata (Hunt for the Wilderpeople), Josh Thomson (Win or Lose), Morgana O’Reilly (The White Lotus).
Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! is handmade by Stretchy in Ōtautahi Christchurch, in association with the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air, Screen Canterbury, and Hinterland, and will be theatrically distributed in New Zealand by Vendetta Films.
Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! premieres at Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) on August 7 before opening in cinemas nationwide on August 8.
