Japanese Animated Film Honored at French Animation Festival

Jun 17 (NHK) - The Japanese film "Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window" has won one of the top awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.

Japanese film wins award at international animation film festival in France

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The Japanese film "Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window" has won one of the top awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.

The festival attracts many participants who present works including features and short animated films to compete for the top prize, the Crystal Award.

The Japanese film earned the Paul Grimault Award in the feature category on Saturday. It was written and directed by Yakuwa Shinnosuke.

It is based on an autobiographical novel by renowned Japanese actor and television presenter Kuroyanagi Tetsuko.

The novel, published in 1981, became a bestseller and has been translated into many languages.

The film depicts the childhood of little girl named Totto-chan before and during World War Two in Tokyo. It shows how a happy childhood is affected by war.

The film focuses on a period when the girl has been expelled from an elementary school because she could not sit still in the classroom and is sent to a new school named Tomoe, where she makes friends.

The Tomoe School is unique, in that a train carriage is used as a classroom.

The principal of the school warmly watches over his pupils with love.

Actor Yakusho Koji, who won Best Actor Award at Cannes International Film Festival in 2023 for his role in the movie "Perfect Days", performed the voice of the school principal in the film.

Last year, another Japanese animated feature "The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes" directed by Taguchi Tomohisa, won the Paul Grimault Award at the festival.

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