Overview

• The film adapts Amélie Nothomb’s autobiographical novel by portraying her early 1960s childhood in Japan through themes of identity, loss and cultural displacement.
• Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han make their feature-length animation debut with a film that screened at Cannes and won the Public Prize at Annecy.
• Produced entirely in France by Haut et Court with more than 170 technicians, the project benefited from Nothomb’s decision to grant the directors complete creative freedom.
• Critics have highlighted the animation’s fusion of Japanese artistic influences, from explosive colors to refined line work inspired by manga and traditional woodblock aesthetics.
• The 1 hour 17 minute feature hits French cinemas on June 25 following its triumph at major festivals.