Charades Boards ‘Your Name’ Artist Yoshitoshi Shinomiya’s Feature Debut ‘A New Dawn’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Charades, a successful sales company known for hits like “Flow” and “Memoir of a Snail,” which were both Oscar-nominated, is now working on “A New Dawn,” the highly anticipated first feature film by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya, renowned Japanese anime artist behind the blockbuster movie “Your Name.

Sparked by the transformation of Japan’s landscape following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the story unfolds within an abandoned fireworks factory that is on the verge of administrative closure. For the past four years, a young man named Keitaro has dwelled inside this dilapidated building, yearning for the return of his long-lost father. Originally set in a dense forest, the area around the factory has been modernized by the city with solar panels, leaving only a small patch of greenery near the factory amidst the vast expanse of solar energy installations.

As the edge of his temporary shelter was nearly in sight, Keitaro decided it was time to ignite the firework that his father had saved for later, before their house was taken away. He enlisted the aid of his brother and an old friend from childhood to help him put this phase of his life to rest and welcome a fresh start.

The film titled ‘A New Dawn’ is a joint production by Asmik Ace, based in Tokyo (known for ‘Inu-Oh’ and ‘Tekkonkinkreet’), and Miyu Productions from France (‘Chicken for Linda’, ‘Dozens of Norths’). Previously, these two companies worked together on the film ‘Chicken For Linda’, which was distributed globally by Charades.

Shinomiya is a well-known anime artist who has recently contributed to the success of “Your Name,” a teenage fantasy movie directed by Makoto Shinkai, which was launched last year and earned the position as the second highest-grossing Japanese film ever made with a global box office revenue of approximately $357 million.

During an interview with EbMaster, Shinomiya shared that the concept for “A New Dawn” originated in 2016. As he drove to his workshop, his child exclaimed, “I see the sea!” upon spotting something through the car window. The director reminisced, “What I initially thought were solar panels, appeared like the surface of water to my child.” This realization struck him as a unique Japanese landscape that the next generation might perceive with sensitivity, even though he had previously considered it negative. He felt this moment was profoundly significant and believed it marked the inception of the project.

Charades, a renowned figure in independent animation, has worked with Japanese masters previously, such as Mamoru Hosoda on “Mirai.” This year, this Paris-based company is managing two out of the five nominees for the Best Animated Feature at the Oscars: Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow” and Adam Elliot’s “Memoir of a Snail.” Interestingly, “Flow” is making history by being the first animated feature to be nominated in both the Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature Film categories.

Charades will introduce the project to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin.

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2025-02-03 17:48