The Cannes Film Festival organization announced last Wednesday that our beloved Studio Ghibli will be awarded the Honorary Palme d’Or during the 77th edition of this cinematic event, which will take place from May 14 to 25 in Cannes, France. As a historical note, this is the first time that this award is given to a group instead of an individual.
The president of the Cannes Film Festival organization, Iris Knobloch, and the general delegate of the event, Thierry Frémaux, have stated that “with Ghibli, Japanese animation stands as one of the great adventures of film lovers, bridging tradition and modernity”. Toshio Suzuki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, expressed that he feels “truly honored and delighted that the studio is receiving the Honorary Palme d’Or”, also thanking the festival organization for this recognition.
We are all capable of recognizing the immense contributions of Studio Ghibli to the world of animation and even to cinema in general. After nearly forty years since its foundation, this is the first time the animation studio has received an award at the Cannes Film Festival, which positively supports both the art and the very industry of Japanese animation in terms of its image to the rest of the world.
Following the success of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata founded Studio Ghibli along with Toshio Suzuki in 1985, and just a year later, Castle in the Sky, the studio’s first feature film, premiered in Japan, firmly declaring that Studio Ghibli was here to stay. A couple of years later, iconic productions such as Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro were released in Japan, becoming two of the best and most recognized films, not only of the studio but of Japanese animation, especially considering that we are talking about the 1980s.
Today, Studio Ghibli has produced just over 20 films, which have been recognized both domestically and internationally, even winning two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, for Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron, the studio’s most recent film to date.
Now tell us, what do you think of this news? It is not new for Studio Ghibli to be awarded and honored, but it is new at the Cannes Film Festival, which can only make us happier, as the group has established itself as a unique presence on the international stage. So, go ahead, the comments are yours. And you know, we’ll be reading! 🙂
Sources: Studio Ghibli Official Website, X (Twitter)
