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A film several years in the making (about seven) which is typical for work of its kind – animated features – is finally complete I’ve learned and will be presented at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival later this month. Ahead of the premiere, a first full trailer has been released and is embedded below.

Titled “Mutafukaz,” the French comic book has been developed into an animated feature-length film by French publishing powerhouse Ankama and STUDIO4°C, directed by RUN (aka Guillaume Renard, the comic book creator) and Shojiro Nishimi, with Shinji Kimura serving as artistic director, and is set to be released in French theaters in 2017.

An official description of the work calls it “a 2D urban sci-fi spoof,” set in a “pre-apocalyptic American urban jungle” that’s called… drum-roll… Dark Meat City… and centers on a “twenty-something ghetto-dweller who develops supernatural powers after a motorcycle accident,” turning him into a superhero, who saves humanity, as he fights off an alien invasion.

The 20-something “ghetto-dweller” lives with his best friend in a hotel room, in Dark Meat City. He earns his living by doing odd jobs until, one day, while delivering a pizza on his scooter, he’s hit by a van and survives, but is suddenly blessed with the power to see into the future, which he originally believes are simple hallucinations, brought on by the accident. This puts him in the sights of governmental agents, known as the Men in Black, who are out to destroy an extraterrestrial force.

The creator of the series – Guillaume Renard – actually directed a short film in 2002 based on the comic. It screened at several film festivals, including Sundance.

The feature film is budgeted at between $11 million-$14 million; the original score blends hip-hop and reggaeton.

If any of our French readers is familiar with the comic the film is based on, please enlighten the rest of us in terms of what to expect here.

A France release is expected later this year, but it’ll make its first stop at Annecy 2017 (in southeastern France), which runs from June 12-17.

The production company has released a first full trailer for “Mutafukaz” (although it’s in French without English subtitles; but it doesn’t come with a lot of dialogue). Underneath the trailer is the previously released poster.

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