GKids has released the trailer for “Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles,” an animated film about the making of the revered surrealist’s second film. The singular auteur behind such all-timers as “Un Chien Andalou” and “That Obscure Object of Desire” might not seem like the most likely protagonist of an animated feature, but try telling that to director but Salvador Simó as you avail yourself of the trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis: “In a stranger-than-fiction tale befitting the master surrealist filmmaker, ‘Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles’ tells the true story of how Buñuel made his second movie. Paris, 1930. Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel are the main figures of the Surrealist movement, but Buñuel is left penniless after a scandal surrounding his first film [with a solo director credit] ‘L’Age d’Or.’ However, his good friend, the sculptor Ramón Acín, buys a lottery ticket with the promise that, if he wins, he will pay for his next film. Incredibly, luck is on their side, the ticket is a winner and so they set out to make the movie. Both a buddy adventure and a fascinating episode of cinematic history, Buñuel and the Labyrinth of the Turtles utilizes sensitive performances as well as excerpts of Buñuel’s own footage from the production, to present a deeply affecting and humanistic portrait of an artist hunting for his purpose.”
Gkids has previously released 11 Oscar-nominated animated features, including “Ernest & Celestine,” “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” and this year’s “Mirai.” It will release “Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles,” which recently won a Special Jury Prize at Los Angeles’ Animation Is Film Festival, later this year.