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The Red Turtle (La Tortue rouge)

Special Screening

Synopsis

Academy Award-winning Dutch animator Michaël Dudok de Wit’s first feature-length film is also the first international co-production to come from legendary Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, and the result is as beautiful and thrilling as we might expect from the collaboration of such celebrated figures. Unaided by dialogue and carried along by Laurent Perez Del Mar’s magical score, ‘The Red Turtle’ is a visually stunning tale that has all the deep feeling of a familiar myth.

When a violent storm shipwrecks a man on a remote, deserted island – one where the threat of catastrophe seems to lurk in every dark corner and on every bright beach – he does his level best to leave the threats behind him by building a raft to take him away. Yet on each attempt, his rafts are destroyed by a mysterious force, which is revealed to be the creature of the film’s title.

At first distraught and angered at the animal’s seeming refusal to let him escape, the man eventually finds that he has been led into harmony with Nature, and that the turtle is companion rather than adversary. As in any Ghibli film, themes of humanism and compassion are front and centre here; Dudok de Wit’s gorgeous animation makes ‘The Red Turtle’’s message all the more moving.

Official Film Website

About the Directors

Michaël Dudok de Wit was born in the Netherlands. An animator, director and illustrator, he is currrently based in London, where he directs and animates award-winning commercials for television and cinema. He graduated from the West Surrey College of Art with his first film ‘The Interview’ (1978), following that with ‘The Monk and the Fish’ (1994), which was nominated for an Academy Award and won numerous prizes, including the César Award for Best Short Film and the Cartoon d’Or. His most well-known film ‘Father and Daughter’ (2000) won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, the Grand Prix at Annecy, and dozens of other major awards. 'The Red Turtle' is his first feature-length film.

Credits

Director

Michaël Dudok de Wit

Screenwriter

Michaël Dudok de Wit, Pascale Ferran

Producer

Vincent Maraval, Isao Takahata

Editor

Céline Kélépikis

Music

Laurent Perez del Mar

Cinematographer

Michaël Dudok de Wit

Sales Company

Wild Bunch

Production Company

Wild Bunch, Why Not Productions, Belvision, Arte France Cinéma, Cn4 Productions, Studio Ghibli

Sound

Matthieu Michaux

Distributor

Four Star Films

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