| Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds | |
| Director: | Benoît Chieux |
| Producer: | Ron Dyens Cilvy Aupin Grégory Zalcman |
| Screenplay: | Benoît Chieux Alain Gagnol |
| Music: | Pablo Pico |
| Distributor: | Haut et Court GKIDS |
| Runtime: | 74 minutes |
| Language: | French |
| Gross: | $898,790[1] |
Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds (French: Sirocco et le Royaume des Courants d'Air), also known as Sirocco and the Kingdom of Air Streams,[2] is a 2023 Belgian-French animated film directed by . Chieux also wrote the screenplay, along with Alain Gagnol.
Juliette and her sister Carmen are transported to the Kingdom of Winds after finding an enchanted book.[3] They are also transformed into cats. Juliette causes an accident that upsets the Kingdom's locals, leading to its ruler to give Juliette to the songstress Selma, while also sentencing Carmen to marry his son.[4]
A Belgian and French co-production, Sirocco was directed by French filmmaker Benoît Chieux and written by Chieux and Alain Gagnol.[5] [6] Chieux drew inspiration from Yellow Submarine, the French illustrator Mœbius, and Japanese animation filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.[3] [7]
Its world premiere was at the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it served as the festival's opening night feature.[8] Sirocco had its French theatrical release on 13 December 2023, with distributing the film.[7] [8] In January 2024, film distributor GKIDS acquired the North American rights of the film.[8] Sirocco received various screenings at American film festivals prior to its theatrical release in the United States.[3] [5] [6] Its U.S. debut came at the 2023 Animation is Film Festival.[8] The film was theatrically released in Hungary and Russia in June 2024.[1] Through GKIDS, the film received its limited theatrical release in the United States on 11 August 2024.[4]
The film has grossed $834,642 worldwide.[1] Much of its gross comes from its home market of France, where it has grossed $827,680.[1]
Sirocco received positive critical reception. Due to its plot and psychedelic visual style, critics likened the film to Alice in Wonderland, Yellow Submarine, and Studio Ghibli films. Writing for Variety, Peter Debruge wrote that Sirocco "suggests France's answer to a film like Spirited Away, by way of all the other aforementioned references — and yet, there's an originality to it that keeps things surprising." Debruge opined that the film would be most appreciated by "the oddity-seeking art-house crowd".[9] Hannah Baek, writing for the Seattle International Film Festival praised Siroccos "portrayals of empathy, unapologetic confidence, and enduring sisterly love", as well as its style. Both Baek and Debruge also added praise for French-Cameroonian jazz vocalist Célia Kameni's contributions to the film's soundtrack.[3] [9]
Sirocco won the award for best animated film at the 2024 Stuttgart Festival for Animated Film.[10]