2010 GOYA AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
2011 EUROPEAN FILM AWARD BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
DESCRIPTION
Oscar®-winning director Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque) and Spain’s most famous and successful designer Javier Mariscal create a passionate and animated love story. Close collaborators and friends for many years, Trueba and Mariscal celebrate their passion for the music and culture of Cuba with an epic story of love and heartbreak, set against the color and bustle of Havana, New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood and Paris in the late 1940s and early '50s. In Chico & Rita, a gifted songwriter and beautiful singer chase their dreams - and each other - from Havana to New York and Las Vegas. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unite them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment. With an original soundtrack by legendary Cuban pianist, bandleader and composer Bebo Valdés, Chico & Rita captures a definitive moment in the evolution of jazz music. The film features music by jazz legends Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie and Freddy Cole (brother of Nat King Cole).
TRAILER
“Four Stars! Sexy, Sunny and Sweet-Natured! A Wonderfully Passionate Film!” –The Guardian
“Four Stars! Magnificent! Delicious! Ravishing! Swaying, snake-hipped Latin music from Bebo Valdés, Tito Puente and others reinforces the languid, sensual mood!” –The Telegraph
“Four Stars! A Love-Story for the Ages! By turns wistful, passionate, indignant and melancholy, this is an exquisitely composed piece of storytelling.” –The Independent
“Four Stars! Hispanic Art Deco Meets The Triplets of Belleville. The music is a splurge of euphony, featuring classics from Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.” –Financial Times
“Exuberant! Breathtakingly Beautiful! A visually hypnotic, musically electric film! It's a pleasure to surrender to the movie's lush visuals!” –The Hollywood Reporter
“Beautiful! A Swaying, Sexy, Dream of a Movie! The year's best musical and one of the year's finest animated films! Utterly delightful! An affecting, funny, historically accurate and at times pleasingly erotic story of the on-again, off-again love affair between Chico, a Cuban jazz pianist and composer, and the feisty Cuban chanteuse Rita." –The Observer
SELECT FESTIVALS
- Winner, 2011 European Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
- Winner, 2010 Goya Award (Spanish Academy) for Best Animated Feature
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2011 Miami International Film Festival (Opening Night)
- 2011 Annecy International Animation Festival (Opening Night)
ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Fernando Trueba was born in Madrid, Spain and is a screenwriter, director and producer. His films include Belle Epoque (1992), which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Too Much (1995), The Girl of Your Dreams (1998), Calle 54 (2000), Blanco y Nego (2003), Miracle of Candeal (2004), The Dancer and the Thief (2005) and Chico & Rita (co-director, 2010).
Javier Mariscal was born in Valencia, Spain and studied design at the Elisava School in Barcelona. He is a multi-platform artist, designer and filmmaker. His design, Cobi, became the mascot for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. He wrote and directed the animated television series The Cobi Troup (1992) and co-directed Chico & Rita (2010).
Tono Errando worked as a director of commercials and music videos before directing the animated television series Twipsy, based on a character created by Javier Mariscal. Chico & Rita (co-director, 10) is his latest film.
Directors: Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, Tono Errando Screenwriters: Fernando Trueba, Ignacio Martinez de Pison Graphics: Javier Mariscal Producers: Stanti Errando, Cristina Huete, Martin Pope, Michael Rose Original Music by: Bebo Valdés Editor: Arnau Quiles Voice Cast: Eman Xor Oña, Limara Meneses, Mario Guerra
