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Official selection
Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2024
Director
Nick Johnson
Executive Producer
Colin Curwen
Producer
Nick Johnson, Patrick Wilding
Writer
Nick Johnson
Cast
Kathleen Barr, Brian Drummond, Diana Kaarina, Laara Sadiq, Tabitha St. Germain
Composer
Tiffany Ayalik (PIQSIQ), Inuksuk Mackay (PIQSIQ)
contact
2448223 Alberta Ltd. / Sunburnt Unicorn
Official website
A sudden car accident on a desolate stretch of desert highway leaves teenager Frankie alone in the sun-scorched and seemingly empty landscape. He’s not in the best shape—roasted red from exposure, without water, and disfigured by a jagged chunk of metal lodged in his forehead—but he can’t just stay where he is. His father is missing, and Frankie must find him. His search takes him ever further into the inhospitable environment, which begins to reveal its mysterious locales and unusual inhabitants. These include a truncated tortoise, a lively family of kit foxes with a dark secret, a phantom aviatrix lurking in a nocturnal oasis, and ultimately, the desert’s dreadful despot, the terrifying Cactus King.
It’s rare enough to come across a high-quality, CG-animated fantasy film for young audiences that really challenges the commercial conventions of the genre, rarer still one that comes from right here in Canada. Unlike actual unicorns, however, such a thing does exist, and Fantasia is proud to launch it in its home country. With the fascinating, eccentric SUNBURNT UNICORN, Alberta-based animator Nick Johnson (GHOST TOAST, YOUNG GEORGE: THE SERIES), has elevated the generic wilderness adventure to a hallucinatory, existential odyssey. His aim was to follow in the footsteps of those fantasy films of the 1980s that, with their penchant for the unexpected and moments of true fright, acted as a gateway for kids to the horror genre. The pervasive eeriness of SUNBURNT UNICORN is further heightened by the astounding score by Inuit sister duo Piqsiq, who with only their two voices conjure up a powerful atmosphere of wonder and dread. – Rupert Bottenberg
Showings
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