Animated film ‘Long Long Night’ invited to Toronto film festival

The Korean animation "Long Long Night," an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same title, has been invited to screen at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the film's distributor said Thursday.

The 3-D animation, the directorial debut by Youm Kyu-bock, will have its world premiere at TIFF's Centrepiece section, according to The Contents On.

It marks the first time in 13 years that a Korean animation feature has been invited to screen at TIFF since "Colony" director Yeon Sang-ho's animation "The Fake" (2013).

"Long Long Night," written by Ru Ri, is a children's story that has sold more than 800,000 copies in Korea and has been adapted into a musical and pansori, or traditional Korean opera.

It tenderly portrays the bond between two animals — the last remaining white rhinoceros on Earth and a baby penguin born from an abandoned egg — as they set on a journey to find the ocean.

Youm is a seasoned producer who has worked in the local advertising industry for about 20 years and has authored a picture book.

The date for the release of "Long Long Night" in Korea is yet to be set.

Yonhap