Mamoru Hosoda receiving a huge standing ovation following the premiere of the director’s newest film, Belle, at the Cannes Film Festival! Mamoru Hosoda is one of the most prominent directors and creators among anime fans for his previous films such as Mirai, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and more, and now the creator has branched out with a brand new effort as part of the celebration for Studio Chizu’s tenth anniversary. This newest film is not only premiering in Japan this week, but had a special debut as part of the Cannes Film Festival. And it went smashingly.
Following Belle’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, director Mamoru Hosoda received a several minutes long standing ovation. Some reports have indicated as much as 14 minutes, while the main video released from Cannes on YouTube clocks it in around five. Either way, this was a hugely positive response to what is likely another strong film given Hosoda’s track record. You can check out the standing ovation in the video above!
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Belle is now hitting theaters in Japan, but unfortunately has yet to reveal any international release date information as of this writing. Mamoru Hosoda is credited with the original story for the film and serves as director while the cast includes the likes of Kaho Nakamura as the titular Belle. Ryo Narita as Shinobu Hisatake, Shota Sometani as Shinjiro Chikami, Tina Tamashiro as Ruka Watanabe, Rira Ikuta as Hiroka Betsuyaku, Toshiyuki Morikawa as Justian, Kenjiro Tsuda as Jelinek, Mami Koyama as Swan, and Mamoru Miyano as both Muitaro Hitokawa and Tokoraemaru.
Studio Chizu officially describes Belle as such, “Our protagonist, Suzu, is a 17-year old high school girl, who lives in the countryside of Kochi Prefecture with her father, after losing her mother at a young age. She loves singing with her mother more than anything else, but as a result of her mother’s death was no longer able to sing. It wasn’t long before she and her father grew more and more distant from each other, and Suzu closed her heart to the rest of the world.
When Suzu felt that writing music was her only purpose left in life, she then discovers the massive online space known as ‘U,’ where she takes on her persona, Belle. Another me. Another reality. We are no longer limited to a single world. Suzu quickly realizes that when she is inside ‘U’ as her avatar, Belle, she can sing quite naturally. As she continues to showcase her own music in the virtual world, she fast becomes the rising star of ‘U.’ Nonetheless, that surprise is short-lived. Suddenly, a mysterious dragon-shaped creature appears before her…”
What do you think of Mamoru Hosoda’s newest film getting a response like this at the Cannes Film Festival? Will you be checking out Belle when given the opportunity? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!
