Studio Ghibli Honorary Palme d’or of the 77th Cannes Film Festival APRIL 17, 2024 The Festival de Cannes is honoring a cinema legend, awarding its Honorary Palme d’or for the first time to a group: Studio Ghibli.

Alongside the Hollywood greats, the Japanese studio embodied by two superb storytellers, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and a host of cult characters, has unleashed a fresh wind on animated film over the past four decades.

I am truly honored and delighted that the studio is awarded the Honorary Palme d’or,” declares Toshio Suzuki, co-founder of the Studio Ghibli. “I would like to thank the Festival de Cannes from the bottom of my heart. Forty years ago, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and I established Studio Ghibli with the desire to bring high-level, high-quality animation to children and adults of all ages. Today, our films are watched by people all over the world, and many visitors come to the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka and Ghibli Park to experience the world of our films for themselves. We have truly come a long way for Studio Ghibli to become such a big organization. Although Miyazaki and I have aged considerably, I am sure that Studio Ghibli will continue to take on new challenges, led by the staff who will carry on the spirit of the company. It would be my greatest pleasure if you look forward to what’s next.”

With this Honorary Palme d’or, Studio Ghibli joins those who have inspired cinematography, whom the Festival de Cannes celebrates every year. “For the first time in our history, it’s not a person but an institution that we have chosen to celebrate,” said Iris Knobloch, President of the Festival de Cannes, and Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate. “Like all the icons of the Seventh Art, these characters populate our imaginations with prolific, colorful universes and sensitive, engaging narrations. With Ghibli, Japanese animation stands as one of the great adventures of cinephilia, between tradition and modernity”.

The Festival de Cannes was an early explorer of the animated film adventure. In the early years, Walt Disney productions presented short films (1946) and the feature Dumbo (1947). In 1953, Walt Disney himself took Peter Pan to the Croisette, where René Laloux won a special Jury Prize in 1973 for his first feature, Fantastic Planet. After a long absence, animation returned to Cannes in force with Shrek (2001) and Shrek 2 (2004), Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004), Persepolis (2007), Waltz with Bashir (2008), which all received awards in the Competition, or even Up, which opened the Festival in 2009. Many other films, such as Kirikou and the Wild Beasts, Inside Out, The Summit of the Gods and more recently, Elemental, and Robot Dreams have also left their mark. Moreover, Un Certain Regard welcomed The Red Turtle (2016), Studios Ghibli’s first collaboration with a European production company.

It all began 40 years ago. The success of Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984 enabled him to establish Studio Ghibli with Isao Takahata in 1985. They achieved what seemed to be an impossible feat: independently producing pure masterpieces and conquering the mass market. Producer Toshio Suzuki, a key studio member from the start and soon assuming a full time role, he managed the studio with formidable efficiency, establishing perfect complementarity between the projects of Miyazaki and Takahata, by turns producers and directors.

In 1988, with the simultaneous release of Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro, these outstanding creative artists achieved a double success. In 1992, Studio Ghibli was able to begin financing its own feature films with Porco Rosso. In the early years, only the two founders directed their films, but gradually young auteurs such as Goro Miyazaki and Hiromasa Yonebayashi distinguished themselves and joined the Studio.

In four decades and over twenty feature films, Studio Ghibli won over its audiences with works imbued with poetry and with humanistic and environmental commitments. With Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbors the Yamadas, The Wind Rises and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, Studio Ghibli has delivered stories that are as personal as they are universal. They have won prestigious awards, including both the Golden Bear and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away, and more recently another Oscar for The Boy and the Heron.

In Europe as in the United States, these films are among the animators’ most acclaimed work, between art for art and the commercial challenges of the industry. They are true models, as much for the quality of their writing, directing and animation as for their commitment to extensive aesthetic aspirations. In 2001, the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka opened on the outskirts of Tokyo to showcase the animators’ work and rich heritage, as well as to show short films created for the museum, thus asserting the Studio’s cultural importance. In 2022, the Ghibli Park, a hybrid park facility expressing the world of Studio Ghibli, opened in Aichi Prefecture. Goro Miyazaki, the first Director of the Ghibli Museum, was appointed the Creative Development Director to oversee the park construction.

The Official Selection for the 77th Festival de Cannes was unveiled on 11 April at 11a.m., during the annual meeting with the French and international press, in the presence of Iris Knobloch, President of the Festival de Cannes, and Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate.

Discover the list of feature films selected in Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Midnight Screenings, Cannes Premiere and Special Screenings.

IN COMPETITION

Film d’ouverture

LE DEUXIÈME ACTE by Quentin DUPIEUX – Out of Competition
(THE SECOND ACT)

THE APPRENTICE by Ali ABBASI

MOTEL DESTINO by Karim AÏNOUZ

BIRD by Andrea ARNOLD

EMILIA PEREZ by Jacques AUDIARD

ANORA by Sean BAKER

MEGALOPOLIS by Francis Ford COPPOLA

THE SHROUDS by David CRONENBERG

THE SUBSTANCE by Coralie FARGEAT

GRAND TOUR by Miguel GOMES

MARCELLO MIO by Christophe HONORÉ

FENG LIU YI DAI by JIA Zhang-Ke
(CAUGHT BY THE TIDES)

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT by Payal KAPADIA

KINDS OF KINDNESS by Yórgos LÁNTHIMOS

L’AMOUR OUF by Gilles LELLOUCHE

DIAMANT BRUT by Agathe RIEDINGER |  1er film
(WILD DIAMOND)

OH CANADA by Paul SCHRADER

LIMONOV – THE BALLAD by Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV

PARTHENOPE by Paolo SORRENTINO

PIGEN MED NÅLEN by Magnus VON HORN
(THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE)

UN CERTAIN REGARD

OUT OF COMPETITION

Because there are now original works that are pushing the boundaries of storytelling, the Cannes film festival  will introduce a new competition, the “Immersive Competition” for its 77th edition.

In 2017, Alejandro González Iñárritu made history at the 70th edition of the Cannes film festival with his groundbreaking virtual reality piece, Carne y Arena (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible) marking the first immersive work ever presented as an official selection at a major film festival. Recognized for his pioneering vision, Iñárritu received a special Academy Award for the project and continues to be a prominent figure at the Cannes film festival (even serving as President of the Jury in 2019).

Seven years since its first immersive selection and in line with the Marché du Film’s commitment to exploring new technologies and art forms through its innovative-focused programs, the Cannes film festival is thrilled to announce the creation of the new Immersive Competition for its upcoming 77th edition. The competition aims to spotlight the next generation of international artists who are redefining storytelling and inventing new narrative-driven experiences that move beyond the traditional two-dimensional cinema screen.

With the support of the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the moving image), the competition will feature immersive, collective and interactive works that utilize virtual reality, augmented reality and other cutting-edge technologies to transcend conventional storytelling and transport audiences to other worlds, narratives and eras.

For its inaugural edition, a committee of industry experts and Cannes film festival representatives, under the supervision of the General Delegate of the Cannes film festival, will select eight immersive works in competition. Additionally, a curated selection of non-competitive works, illustrating the synergy between immersive experiences and cinema, will complement the program.

The selected works will be accessible to Cannes film festival and Marché du Film attendees throughout the Festival, from May 15 to 24. The works will be displayed in a 1300m2 exhibition space at the Cannes Cineum – the cinema complex of Cannes La Bocca – and the Georges Méliès Campus, a university institution dedicated to creative writing and film.

The in-competition works will compete for the Best Immersive Work prize. An international jury composed of notable figures from cinema and immersive art will present the award at a special closing ceremony, celebrating the creativity and innovation of immersive artists.

Alongside the Immersive Competition, the Marché du Film will continue to explore the commercial and technical aspects of the immersive sector through a lineup of conferences, expert panels, demonstrations and professional networking events.

In what promises to be already a significant year, the City of Cannes is also set to announce the launch of Cannes Immersive, patronised by artist Jean-Michel Jarre and supported by the CNC. This new program aims to position Cannes as a global hub for immersive creations and the emerging artistic domain of artificial intelligence (AI). Cannes Immersive will unfold through the launch of innovative events, strategically designed to elevate Cannes’ status as a premier destination for immersive cultural experiences, which will be seamlessly integrated into both existing and future Cannes events. Furthermore, it will establish a permanent immersive venue in Cannes, serving as a showcase for the most exceptional immersive creations, whether assisted or generated by AI.