GKIDS Snags North American Rights To Alberto Vazquez’s Psychedelic War Allegory ‘Unicorn Wars’

Spanish auteur Alberto Vazquez’s Unicorn Wars will get a North American theatrical run after it was announced today that GKIDS has picked up distribution rights to the film for the territory.

Unicorn Wars is playing in competition at many of this year’s biggest festivals including Annecy, Ottawa International Animation Festival, BFI London Film Festival, and is about to make its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin later this month.

The film is a psychedelic anti-war allegory which unspools in the middle of a religiously fueled battle between cuddly colorful bears and shadowy unicorns. It’s as funny as it is morbid and a visual feast of color and movement, as seen in the trailer below.

According to GKIDS, it will release Unicorn Wars theatrically in North America sometime in early 2023 after a Spanish release this fall. The film is represented for international sales by leading French outfit Charades.

Vazquez’s films have won awards at many of the world’s most prestigious festivals. Last year, his short Homeless Home won the jury award at Annecy and screened at Clermont-Ferrand, Fantoche, Ottawa, and was nominated for a Spanish Academy Goya Award. His breakout feature Birdboy: The Forgotten Children, also distributed in North America by GKIDS, enjoyed a tremendous festival run and won prizes at the Platino Awards, the Goyas, and the Fantasia Film Festival.

At Annecy, Vazquez sat down with Cartoon Brew to discuss the film in a wide-ranging interview available here.