A silent voice the latest anime film from director Naoko Yamada, Kimi No Irowon the Best Animated Feature Film award at the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 22, 2024.

This is the first time in five years that a Japanese film has received this award.

Yamada, who attended the awards ceremony, was pleasantly surprised and delighted to receive the award. She emphasized the powerful impact of animation, expressing her aspirations to continue creating compelling works that resonate globally.

“Thank you very much. I never thought I would receive an award, so I didn't have anything prepared. I believe that animation has a wonderful power. I hope to continue creating many animations for the world. I am grateful to all the staff who worked with me on this wonderful project. I look forward to working with all of you in the future.“

After the ceremony, Yamada expressed his desire to share the moment with his team.

“I just want to share this moment with everyone as soon as possible. Congratulations to everyone. I was a little stunned because I didn't understand what was being said.”, she said, reflecting on the overwhelming experience.

Speaking on the red carpet, she added: “I thought, this is exactly what I see on TV. I was completely blank and felt strange. I want everyone in Japan to see this as soon as possible. And I want to sing, dance and laugh together. Thank you very much.“

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France recently screened Kimi No Iro on June 13, 2024, where he received a standing ovation.

Kimi No Iroanimated by Science SARU, will be released in Japan on August 30, 2024.

The team working on the film includes:

• Director: Naoko Yamada
• Itinerary/Script: Reiko Ushida
• Music: Kensuke Ushio
• Original Character Designer: Daisuke Ricardo
• Character Designer/Animation Director: Takashi Kojima

The plot of Kimi no Iro is described as:

The story revolves around Totsuko, a high school student at a missionary school in Nagasaki City. She can see people’s hearts in colors. Happy colors, sad colors, peaceful colors, scared colors… In order not to darken the “colors” of her friends and family, she is careful, reads the room, and tells lies to fix the situation. Then, Totsuko meets a beautiful girl at a second-hand bookstore on a corner of the city. She ends up forming a band with a beautiful girl who radiates beautiful colors and a boy who loves music. These three overly sensitive people come together and start playing the music of their youth…

Source: Kimi No Iro's Official website