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Azur & Asmar - The Princes' Quest: Once upon a time there were two very different children nursed by the same woman. Azur, was a blonde haired, blue-eyed son of a noblewoman and Asmar, was a dark skinned, dark-eyed child of the nurse. The nurse tells the boys the story of the Djinn-fairy; waiting to be released from her chamber by a brave and heroic prince. Brought up together, Azur and Asmar are as close as brothers, fighting and playing together as brothers until the day Azur's father suddenly separates them. He banishes the nurse and Asmar from his home and sends Azur away to the city to receive his future schooling from a tutor. Years later, Azur driven by memories of the legendary Djinn-fairy, he journeys to Asmar's homeland to seek out the Djinn-fairy. He finds his nurse has since become a successful merchant, and Asmar is
now a member of the Royal Guard. Asmar also longs to find the Djinn-fairy,
but only one of the two youths can be successful in their quest. Azur & Asmar is an original fairy tale, in this case
inspired by the folk-lore and decorative art of North Africa and the Middle
East. The film has an increased degree of characterization relative to his
previous works which for many has pushed it into the genre of fairytale
fantasy. The film was subsequently dubbed into English and distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland by Soda Pictures, receiving a limited release which began on 8 February 2008. The film was licensed for distribution in the United States by the Weinstein Company during European Film Market at the Berlin International Film Festival. . Similarly, Seville Pictures announced that they would distribute the film to both English and French speakers in Canada, but they have only released a DVD with only the original French dialogue and no English subtitles. The English-Dubbed version had its American première at IFC Center in New York City on 17 October 2008. It was originally planned to run for one week in New York, before touring to other cities. However, due to the success of the first week (all screenings were sold out) its residency was extended for a second week of screenings. When these too sold out, a "third and final" week was announced. Cities it will tour to are expected to include Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Hartford, Connecticut, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The film will screen at the San Joaquin Children's Film Festival, in Stockton, California from January 16 to 18, 2009. |
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