The future is now! Er… in June, actually.
Earlier today, the Annecy International Film Festival announced that upcoming film Mirai of the Future will be screened at this year’s event. The feature was voted as an Official Selection in Competition for the Feature Films category.
Mirai of the Future will make its global debut at the Cannes Film Festival. The feature will be shown during the Directors’ Fortnight, which will run from May 9 – 19. The film opens in Japanese theaters on July 20. GKIDS announced that they picked up the theatrical rights to the feature in the United States. The film was also licensed in international markets:
- Canada: MK2 Mile End
- United Kingdom: Anime Limited
- Australia: Madman Entertainment
- New Zealand: Madman Entertainment
Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) is directing the project at Studio Chizu. Hosoda is also credited with the scripts and original story. Other staffers include:
- Animation Director: Hiroyuki Aoyama
- Animation Director: Ayako Hata
- Art Director: Yohei Takamatsu
- Art Director: Takashi Omori
- Producer: Yuichiro Saito
All five staffers previously worked with Hosoda on other films.
The film will star the following:
- Kun-chan: Moka Kamishiraishi
- Mirai-chan: Haru Kuroki
- Grandmother: Yoshiko Miyazaki
- Father: Gen Hoshino
- Grandfather: Kōji Yakusho
- Mother: Kumiko Asou
- Mysterious Man: Mitsuo Yoshihara
According to Hosoda, he wrote the screenplay on his own, though he listened to “opinions and the experiences of the producers.”
Mirai of the Future revolves around a typical family living a typical life in a small house in a little-known corner of a non-specific city. This small family of three has a four-year-old boy named Kun-chan, who is admittedly pretty spoiled.
Kun-chan’s life is forever changed when a little sister named Mirai enters the picture. With the new baby, Kun-chan feels as if his new sister stole his parents’ affection from him. He’s quickly overwhelmed by the numerous experiences he goes through for the very first time.
As if a new family member wasn’t enough, Kun-chan encounters a second Mirai, an older version of his sister who hails from the future.
Mirai of the Future was first shown off in May 2017 at the Cannes Film Festival. Charades, a new international sales group headed by former Wild Bunch employee Carole Baraton, former StudioCanal member Pierre Mazars, and former Gaumont head of sales Yohann Comte, repped the film at the festival.
Comte handled sales for The Boy and the Beast while he was at Gaumont.
Sources: Comic Natalie
Mirai of the Future to be Screened in Competition at Annecy – Samantha Ferreira
