Cannes Hit 'Iron Boy' Set for North American Release by Sony

Iron Boy is a hand-painted animated drama about 11-year-old Christophe, whose iron back brace leads him toward music and friendship in rural France. Sony Pictures Classics will open the film in select

*Iron Boy* is a hand-painted animated feature directed solely by Louis Clichy. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in select U.S. cities on January 22, 2027. After premiering in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the North American and Latin American rights, as well as the television rights for India and Southeast Asia.

In the French countryside of the 1980s, 11-year-old Christophe tries to live up to the expectations of his strict and distant father on the farm. But when his body suddenly begins to tilt and collapse at school, at the dinner table, and even on the tractor, a doctor prescribes a metal brace to help him hold himself upright. The film begins with how this physical change alters the child’s daily life.

Forced to leave farm work and create a new rhythm of life, Christophe becomes absorbed in music, meets a friend, and experiences small acts of rebellion for the first time. If the brace is a device that physically holds his problems in check, music and friendship give him the opportunity to expand his world. The film depicts this period of growth through a hand-crafted style based on ink-line drawings.

Clichy previously worked as an animator on *WALL-E* and *Up*, and this film is his first solo feature directing project. The official U.S. page also records the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes and the Jury Award, Feature Audience Award, and Gan Foundation Distribution Award from the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.