Studio Ghibli’s first feature co-production directed by Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit to screen in New York and Los Angeles beginning November 18, followed by a national rollout in January 2017.
Here’s one to watch, Oscar-trackers: Sony Pictures Classics has set a one-week Academy Award qualifying run for Michael Dudok de Wit’s animated feature The Red Turtle.
An official selection of the Cannes, Annecy and Toronto film festivals, The Red Turtle will begin its qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles on November 18, to be followed by a national rollout in January 2017.
The 2D-animated, dialogue-free film is produced by France’s Wild Bunch and Japan’s Studio Ghibli in association with Why Not Productions. Studio Ghibli’s first-ever international co-production, The Red Turtle also marks Dudok de Wit’s directorial feature debut.
Written by the Oscar-winning de Wit in collaboration with director and writer Pascale Ferran (Lady Chatterly, Bird People), The Red Turtle tells the story of a sailor marooned on a deserted tropical island inhabited by turtles, crabs and birds. His desperate attempts to escape are thwarted by a giant turtle that sinks his makeshift raft, and he learns to live in isolation until he comes upon a woman lost at sea and begins a life with her.
If you haven’t already seen it, check out the trailer in the player below:
London-based Dutch animator Dudok de Wit previously directed the Oscar-winning short Father and Daughter, in 2000, and The Monk and the Fish before that, in 1994. The Red Turtle is produced by Toshio Suzuki, a longtime collaborator of Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki, with Isao Takahata (The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, Kiki's Delivery Service) serving as artistic producer.
Source: Sony Pictures Classics
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
