A few days ago on the Toronto International Film Festival Twitter page, it was announced that Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki would be returning to the festival with their latest film The Boy And The Heron.
This will be the official opening night screening for the film. It will also be the film's international premiere. The screening will take place during this year's Toronto International Film Festival at the Roy Thomson Hall on September 7th. The 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival will be held in Toronto, Canada from September 7th to the 13th this fall. Here is the official tweet confirming the premiere date and location.
This is the first time a Japanese film or an animated film has done an opening screening at the festival, according to the festival's announcement. But this is not the first that Studio Ghibli has screened a film at the festival, they have had quite a few of their most popular films screen there as well. Namely, The Red Turtle, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, The Wind Rises, From Up on Poppy Hill, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke.
In regards to the film The Boy And The Heron and the plot or what it is about, there is not very much known. Other than what Miyazaki has revealed to us in interviews. Miyazaki has told the media that the latest film was made as a farewell letter to his grandson and that it is based on a 1937 coming-of-age novel of the same title by Genzaburo Yoshino.
One of the most notable things about this film is that it is Miyazaki's first feature film in ten years. The Boy And The Heron opened in Japan on July 14th and has done fairly well for itself at the Japanese box office, raking in a little over 4 billion yen (almost 29 million USD) with over 2.61 million admissions in Japan alone. The film will come to North American audiences later this year and will be distributed by GKIDS.
What are your thoughts on the announcement? Are you going to watch this film when it comes out? What's your favorite Studio Ghibli film? Sound off with your answers in the comments below! And as always, stay tuned to Animemojo.com for more anime news!