French-Vietnamese director Phuong Mai Nguyen’s animated feature In Waves, set against the backdrop of California’s surfing world, has been selected as the opening film of the 30th edition of The American French Film Festival (TAFFF) in L.A.
The feature, which world premiered as the opening film of Cannes Critics’ Week in May, is adapted from L.A. illustrator AJ Dungo’s eponymous cult 2019 graphic novel.
Inspired by Dungo’s real-life love story, it follows two young lovers, a skateboarder and a surfer, whose relationship rises above the test of serious illness.
The English-language voice features Will Sharpe (White Lotus) and Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once) in the roles of AJ, a reserved high school student who spends his days drawing and skateboarding, and Kristen, an energetic surfer who draws him into the ocean.
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The touching animated drama charts the highs and lows of their love story, from its early days to their courageous determination to live life together to the full after Kristen is diagnosed with cancer.
The opening night screening is presented in association with Netflix, which acquired global rights to the film outside of France following its Cannes debut.
“AJ Dungo, a Californian surfer and self-taught artist, spent years drawing his own graphic novel as a way of processing the loss of his girlfriend. That intimate, autobiographical work found its second life across the Atlantic, where French-Vietnamese director Phuong Mai Nguyen and Silex Films optioned it, assembled a French production, and spent years translating Dungo’s fine work into a fully animated feature,” said Cécile Rap-Veber, President of the Franco-American Cultural Fund and CEO of SACEM.
“Netflix has now brought the finished film back to American audiences as U.S. distributor, closing a circle that began on a California beach and passed through French animation studios before returning home. It is precisely this kind of journey — an American story reimagined through French artistry and craft, then returned to its origins, that sits at the heart of what TAFFF exists to celebrate.”
TAFFF is produced by the Franco-American Cultural Fund (FACF), collaboration between the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), France’s Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers of Music (SACEM), and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW).
In 2024, TAFFF and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) presented “Bringing Graphic Worlds to Life,” a workshop with Dungo andIn Waves producer Priscilla Bertin exploring the film’s journey from page to screen.
“I’m thrilled that In Waves will open The American French Film Festival’s 30th anniversary edition, a first for an animated feature film, ” said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix. “As the ultimate stateside destination for French films and series, it’s an honor to have TAFFF’s support and I look forward to audiences around the world discovering this special film.”
