He Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced that it will host the North American premiere from the long-awaited anime film scarletdirected by Mamoru Hosoda and produced by Studio Chizu. The film will be screened as a Special Presentation during the 50th edition of the festival, which will be held from September 4 to 14 (local time). The complete event schedule will be published on August 12.
Scarlet: a princess, revenge and the journey to the afterlife
With a premiere scheduled for November 21 in Japan and the December 12 in the United States, scarlet It is emerging as one of Hosoda's most ambitious works. The story follows scarleta brave princess who, after failing to avenge her father's death, awakens in the enigmatic Land of the Dead. In this place, those who fail to fulfill their purpose are condemned to become “nothing” and disappear.
From that dark setting full of madness, Scarlet's journey to demand justice begins. With elements of action, romance and an aesthetic never seen before in the director's filmography, the film promises a unique experience.
A stellar cast for a fantastic epic
The voice cast is led by Mana Ashida like Scarlet and Masaki Okada as Hijiri, a nurse in modern Japan. Also participating:
- Yutaka Matsushige like cornelius
- Kōtarō Yoshida like Voltemand
- Kōji Yakusho like Claudius
- Masachika Ichimura as Amulet, Scarlet's father
- Yuki Saitō as Gertrude, Scarlet's mother
- Shota Sometani like Guildenstern
- Munetaka Aoki as Rosencrantz
- Kazuhiro Yamaji like Polonius
- Tokyo Emoto like Laertes
- Kayoko Shiraishi like a mysterious old woman
- Noa Shiroyama like a girl Scarlet finds in the Land of the Dead
Many of these characters share names with those of Hamletthe iconic tragedy of William Shakespearesuggesting that the film is inspired by this universal classic.
A completely new visual proposal
Hosoda has stated that scarlet It will not be animated in traditional 2D or in Hollywood-style CGI, but is betting on a completely original aesthetic. He also indicated that this work will be different from his previous projects, with a strong presence of global themes, action and romance.
The film will feature international distribution. TOHO will handle the Japanese premiere, while Sony Pictures will distribute the film in the rest of the world, also participating as an investor in the project.
With this unusual change of premiering in winter instead of the classic summer – as was the case of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and other works by the director—, scarlet marks a new stage in Hosoda's career.
