Among the more anticipated feature screenings at Annecy this year is the world premiere of Mutafukaz, which will take place on Tuesday evening.

An English-subbed trailer for the film was released today:

Based on the work of French comic artist Guillaume Renard (aka Run), the hyperviolent sci-fi dystopia marks a unique collaboration between France’s Ankama (Wakfu, Dofus) and Japan’s Studio4°C (Batman: Gotham Knight, Animatrix, Tekkonkinkreet).

Run co-directed the film with Shoujirou Nishimi, the latter of whom also served as the film’s lead animator. Both Run and and Nishimi will attend Tuesday evening’s screening in Annecy.

Mutafukaz takes place in Dark Meat City (DMC), which Run has described as “a condensed exaggeration of Los Angeles’ varied strengths and weaknesses.” The story follows DMC resident Angelino, a deadbeat who starts experiencing violent headaches and monstrous hallucinations after a scooter accident.

In a director’s statement, Run described some of the film’s themes and influences:

Through this animated film, which resolutely focuses on action, I try to address deeper issues: the search for identity, each person’s place in society, friendship, and, of course, love. I played around with all the pre-conceived ideas conveyed by pop culture, with many nods to this American imagery that struck my French teenager imagination. From masked luchadores to Latino and African-American gangs (directly inspired from the war between Bloods and Crips that shook South Los Angeles in the ’90s), including Men in Black directly inspired by ufology myths.

Release dates for Mutafukaz haven’t been finalized yet.

mutafukaz_poster

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