Kells Gets Academy Run, Spring U.S. Release

The Secret of Kells, a European animated feature that has racked up prestigious honors at film festivals all over the world, has secured a U.S. distributor and plans a one-week run to qualify for this year’s animated feature Oscar category.

Qualifying for the Oscar race increases the odds that at least 16 films will qualify for the best animated feature category, which would mean five films instead of three would be nominated for the award.

Independent distributor GKIDS will handle the film’s American release, which will include an Academy-qualifying run set for Dec. 4-10 at the AMC Burbank Town Center 8 theater. The film will play at 7 p.m. weekdays and 2 p.m. on weekends for that week only, followed by a wider theatrical release across the nation in March.

Directed by Tomm Moore, the film is a co-production of Les Armateurs, Viva Film, Cartoon Saloon and France 2 Cinema and features the voices of Brendan Gleeson, Evan McGuire and Christen Mooney.

The film was an official selection at the Berlin International Film Festival, played at the New York International Children’s Film Festival and won audience awards at the Annecy and Edinburgh festivals.