Ghost Cat Anzu

Bakeneko Anzu-chan

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
11-year-old Karin, three years after the death of her mother, finds herself abandoned by her father at her grandfather’s house. Her grandfather is a Buddhist monk, and the temple where he lives is inhabited by the spirit of a cat; the cat is a charmingly peculiar creature - ironic, cynical, and a prankster, but ultimately kind-hearted and innocent – and when Karin sinks into a profound melancholy caused by her father’s abandonment and the loss of her mother, the cat follows her to the other side on a quest to bring her mother back to life. One of the most tender mangas of recent years, Ghost Cat Anzu tells an unforgettable tale of friendship between a lonely child and a larger-than-life character, striking the perfect balance between emotion and laughter, trauma and reconciliation, darkness and light - just like childhood itself. This metaphysical, surreal, captivating road movie beyond death offers the audience an invaluable life lesson; the affirmation of life itself.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Yôko Kuno, Nobuhiro Yamashita
Script: Shinji Imaoka
Cinematography: Masato Makino
Editing: Toshihiko Kojima
Music: Keiichi Suzuki
Actors: With the voices of: Mirai Moriyama, Noa Gotô, Munetaka Aoki, Miwako Ichikawa, Keiichi Suzuki, Shôhei Uno, Mutsuo Yoshioka, Wataru Sawabe, Shingo Mizusawa
Production: Shin-Ei Animation
Producers: Pierre Baussaron, Keiichi Kondo, Hiroyuki Neigishi, Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Shunsuke Yanagisawa
Co-production: Miyu Productions
Co-producers: Yukari Nishikawa
Executive producer: Carole Baraton, Eric Beckman, Yohann Comte, Dave Jesteadt, Pierre Mazars, Rodney Uhler
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Japan, France
Production Year: 2024
Duration: 95'
Contact: Charades
Animation

Yôko Kuno

Born in 1990 in the prefecture of Ibaraki, Yôko Kuno studied at Tama Art University, where she made her graduation film Airy Me, which won the First Film Prize at the Japan Media Art Festival (animation section), the Student Campus Genius Prize and the SKIP City International D Cinema Prize, among other awards. Recognized on the national and international festival circuit for her talent and technical mastery of animation, she has also been creating manga since secondary school. Her debut publication, The Horn and Love of Yuiko Amagi (2017), was featured in Monthly Comic Bearn and won second prize for a debut work at the Japan Media Art Festival (manga section). Her work in rotoscoping has brought her considerable international recognition, to the point where she is now considered one of the key figures in contemporary animation.

Filmography

2013 Airy Me (short)
2024 Ghost Cat Anzu (co-direction)

Nobuhiro Yamashita

Born in 1976 in Aichi prefecture, Nobuhiro Yamashita is a very popular director of live-action films in Japan. His first feature film, Hazy Life (1999), was selected for the International Film Festival of Rotterdam and brought him to the attention of the Japanese and international public. Self-produced, it won him the Grand Prize at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in the off-screen section, and was eventually released commercially in its country of origin, a rare occurrence at the time. In his early days, he was often compared to Aki Kaurismäki or Jim Jarmusch, for his penchant for young drifter characters. His first 35mm film, Linda Linda Linda (2005), about a group of high-school girls, was a popular success that brought him squarely into the realm of commercial cinema. Tennen-Koke-Cokko (2007) won the 62nd Mainichi Film Prize, Japan’s leading film award. In recent years, he has directed My Back Page (2011) with Hiroshi Tsumabuki and Kenichi Matsuyama, Kueki-Ressha (2012), and Moratorium Tamako (2013), which was shown at the Busan International Film Festival.

Filmography

2005 Linda Linda Linda
2007 A Gentle Breeze in the Village
2012 The Drudgery Train
2015 Misono Universe
2016 Over the Fence
2023 One Second Ahead, One Second Behind
2024 Ghost Cat Anzu (co-direction)