Mamoru Hosoda’s Mirai to receive world premiere at Cannes Festival

Back in February, we revealed the exciting news that we’ll be bringing the latest film from the renowned director Mamoru Hosoda to the UK, with his new film Mirai set to screen in cinemas right across the UK during the final quarter of 2018.

Yesterday saw even more exciting news emerge around the film, as the iconic Cannes Film Festival revealed that it will be hosting Mirai’s world premiere during their prestigious Director’s Fortnight (aka Quinzaine) during the month of May. This is the first time any Japanese animated work has received a world premiere at the event, which is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the quality of the film.

For more details, you can read the full press release below from Fetch Publicity.

Mirai – the first Japanese animation to receive a world premiere at Cannes Film Festival

Wednesday 18th April 2018, London – Following the official Festival du Cannes announcement, Anime Ltd. is pleased to confirm that Mirai will receive its World Premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and screen as part of the prestigious Director’s Fortnight (Quinzaine) sidebar in May. Mirai will be the first Japanese animation ever to receive a world premiere on the Croisette.

Mirai is created, written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda (The Boy and the Beast, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars) and comes from Hosoda’s own production company Studio Chizu and will be released by Toho in Japan. The UK release is set for later in 2018 from Anime Ltd. and National Amusements.

Synopsis
The birth of a sibling is a joyous time for many, but not for Kun. Four years old and spoiled rotten, he sees baby sister Mirai as competition for his parents’ love. Amidst the luscious leaves of a mysterious garden, a magical encounter with his little sister from the future will send the siblings on an intimate journey through time and space, to confront the boy’s uncertain feelings and prepare him to be the big brother he needs to be.

Following the announcement, Anime Ltd. president Andrew Partridge commented:

“Working on Mamoru Hosoda’s Mirai is a dream come true for the whole team here at Anime Limited in the UK and France. To see it come to Cannes and be the first ever world premiere of an anime there, as well as only the second ever anime in Director’s Fortnight, is a huge honour and a great starting point for people to see the film. We can’t wait to see what people think of it!”

You can find the original announcement of our acquisition elsewhere on our blog. You can also check out an initial teaser trailer (with English subtitles) for the film below.

We’ll have plenty more to say about Mirai over the coming months as we move towards its release in UK cinemas, so keep a close eye on all of our usual channels as we hope to have no shortage of exciting news to share!

Until next time, take care folks.

~Andy H