Studio Ghibli's first foreign co-production The Red Turtle makes a splash in Cannes

Record ID: 102866

  • Title: Studio Ghibli's first foreign co-production The Red Turtle makes a splash in Cannes
  • Date: 19th May 2016
  • Summary: CANNES, FRANCE (MAY 19, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DUDOK DE WIT TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'THE RED TURTLE' DIRECTOR, MICHAEL DUDOK DE WIT, SAYING: "I felt I had to rise to their level, and I really wanted to. I didn't feel from my side or from their side that I should make another Studio Ghibli film, it was very clear for them and for me that I'm definitely a European, I'm going to make a film with my sensitivities, but above the cultural differences we feel a deep sensitivity, say for nature for instance."
  • Embargoed: 3rd June 2016 13:12
  • Keywords: Red Turtle Cannes Studio Ghibli Anime
  • Location: CANNES, FRANCE / UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
  • City: CANNES, FRANCE / UNIDENTIFIED FILMING LOCATIONS
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Film
  • Reuters ID: LVA0044IH2ATP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Nine years in the making, Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli's first foreign co-production 'The Red Turtle' premiered in Cannes with a splash on Wednesday (May 19).
    The film's director, Dutch animator Michael Dudok De Wit, is in many ways an unlikely choice for the respected animation studio. Known for his short films, Dudok De Wit had never produced a feature, and said he was stunned when he received a letter from the studio.
    "That was a big shock, and immediately I answered oh yes, absolutely, definitely. But I want to make sure that I've understood what you've asked me because it sounds so incredible," he said, adding that it was his short film 'Father and Daughter', that had got the studio's attention.
    For Dudok De Wit, creating 'The Red Turtle' was a huge learning curve, and something that did not come without a certain amount of pressure.
    "I felt I had to rise to their level, and I really wanted to. I didn't feel from my side or from their side that I should make another Studio Ghibli film, it was very clear for them and for me that I'm definitely a European, I'm going to make a film with my sensitivities, but above the cultural differences we feel a deep sensitivity, say for nature for instance," he said.
    Though Dudok De Wit is known for his dialogue-free films, leaving 'The Red Turtle' without speech was not his original intention. Along with writer Pascale Ferran, Dudok de Wit produced several scripts with varying amounts of lines for the characters, before deciding that the story was strongest without any conversation.
    "Paradoxically by doing more dialogue we realised we had to take out a lot of dialogue. We tried one extreme to realise we wanted to go in another extreme and gradually it became clearer that the film was stronger if it was dialogue free, but then also totally, you will never hear if the characters belong to a particular country," he said.
    The Red Turtle is competing in the 'Un Certain Regard' category at the Cannes Film Festival.
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