The revered Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away) joined forces with London-based artist Michaël Dudok de Wit to create this stunning, dialogue-free, animated fable set on a desert island.

A shipwrecked sailor washes ashore and explores his new home. He finds a sandy beach fringed by palm trees, a swaying bamboo forest, limpid freshwater pools and a rocky incline. It’s an earthly paradise that our lanky castaway is desperate to leave, but his escape plans are mysteriously thwarted. It’s a simple story, akin to fairy tales or myths, illustrated in exquisite line and colour, with spectacular dream sequences.

Dudok de Wit has won prizes the world over for his lyrical short films and commercials, including an Oscar for his 2001 short film Father and Daughter. The outstanding creative team for The Red Turtle also includes Isao Takahata (The Tale of Princess Kaguya, SFF 2014) as creative producer, Jean-Christophe Lie (The Triplets of Belleville) as supervising animator, French director Pascale Ferran (Bird People) as co-screenwriter, and Studio Ghibli’s revered Toshio Suzuki (Howl’s Moving Castle, SFF 2015) as producer.

The visuals are mesmerising, symbolic, and charming – look out for the cute sand crabs – and invite the audience to interpret this timeless cycle of life story at their own pace. This unique feature, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes last month, demands to be seen on the big screen.

A quiet little masterpiece – Eric Kohn, Indiewire

This is, quite simply, thoughtful and ultimately moving animation at its best. – Lisa Nesselson, ScreenDaily

Director Michael Dudok de Wit

Country France, Belgium
Language No dialogue

Winner of the Un Certain Regard Special Prize Cannes Film Festival 2016