May 9, 2019

First English Trailer: See incredible hand-drawn animation at Cannes - Bound- Swallows in Kabul-

Ahead of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next week, the first English-subbed trailer for French animated feature The Swallows of Kabul (Les Hirondelles de Kaboul) has been released.

Directed by Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mevellec, the the watercolor-styled hand-drawn film will debut in the festival's Un Certain Regard section.

Adapted from Yasmina Khadra's 2002 novel of the same name, the project is a France/Luxembourg/Switzerland co-production, led by French studio Les Armateurs, and including the participation of Mélusine Productions, Close Up Films, Mystéo, and Hildegarde.

The trailer showcases the hand-crafted animation used to tell a adult-targeted story that seems to be emotionally charged and grounded in realistic drama.

A few years back, Nora Twomey's The Breadwinner also tackled the horrors committed against women in Afghanistan during the Taliban rule, however, the Cartoon Saloon production featured elements of fable and magical realism. These don't seem to be present in Breitman and Gobbé-Mevellecthe's more solemn feature.

Here's the official synopsis:

Cartoon Brew has been reporting about the project since 2017 when the first test teaser was released.

The Swallows of Kabul will open theatrically in France on September 4, 2019 through Memento Films. Celluloid Dreams is the international sales agent.