Annual Top Films Lists

Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2019: #115. The Thousand Miles – Sylvain Chomet

Published on January 2, 2019

The Thousand Miles

Sylvain Chomet may finally be ready with his fourth feature (and third animated project) The Thousand Miles, his first return to the format in eight years. Initially announced in 2014, Chomet went into production in 2016 and in early 2018 confirmed news of his next project, an adaptation of South Korean novel Familiar Things. Effectively, his latest will be his English language debut, a mix of 2D and CG technology produced by Savoy & Gregory. In early 2016, Chomet announced newcomer James Lipsius would be making his debut in the voice cast but forthcoming details about additional voice cast members has not yet been divulged. Chomet has been nominated for four Academy Awards, beginning with his 1997 short The Old Lady and the Pigeons, Best Animated Feature and Song for his 2003 debut The Triplets of Belleville (review) and Best Animated Feature for 2010’s The Illusionist. In 2003, Chomet premiered at Cannes in an out-of-competition slot with Belleville and The Illusionist was a Special Screening at the Berlinale. His 2013 live action feature Attila Marcel was programmed in Toronto. This was inspired by Federico Fellini.

Gist: Chomet’s latest, based on a treatment by producer Demian Gregory, is an homage to Federico Fellini, inspired by his diaries while filming La Dolce Vita.

Release Date/Prediction: The initial target date for The Thousand Miles was pegged for 2017, which obviously didn’t transpire. With news of his next project on the horizon, we’re assuming 2019 will be the year we can revisit Chomet. While Cannes may be a probability, the lengthy post-production period of The Thousand Miles makes it hard to predict if it’s actually ready. A competition slot in Berlin wouldn’t be a surprise, nor a slot in Venice.

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.