Cannes Adds Mamoru Hosoda’s Animation ‘Belle’ To Premiere Section – Deadline

Ahead of raising the curtain on its 74th edition on Tuesday (July 6), Cannes has made a late addition to its program in the form of Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda’s feature animation Belle.

The pic marks the director’s return to Cannes following Mirai, which screened in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar in 2018. This marks his first time in official selection.

Belle is the third animation film presented this year at the festival following Ari Folman’s Where is Anne Frank and The Summit of the Gods by Patrick Imbert.

Belle tells the story of Suzu, an insecure teenager living in a small town in the mountains with her father, in real life. But in the virtual world of U, Suzu becomes Belle, a musical icon followed by more than 5 billion followers.

Pic will screen on July 15 and is scheduled for release in France on December 29.

“Belle is the film that I’ve always dreamt to create,” said Mamoru Hosoda, “And that I can make today thanks to the culmination of my previous films. In this one, I explore romance, action, and suspense as well as deeper themes such as life and death. I hope that it will be a big entertaining show.”