''Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman'' () is a 2022

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written, produced, directed and composed by Pierre Földes.Ben Croll
"Miyu Adapts Haruki Murakami Stories With Novel Animation Technique in ‘Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman’"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', June 19, 2022. An

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint vent ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, the film, set in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

shortly after the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

, adapts six

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

from three collections by Japanese author

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for hi ...

, '' Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman'', ''

The Elephant Vanishes is a collection of 17 short stories by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The stories were written between 1980 and 1991, and published in Japan in various magazines, then collections. The contents of this compilation were selected by Gary Fisket ...

'' and '' After the Quake'' (including "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman", “Birthday Girl”, "The Wind-up Bird and Tuesday's Women", "UFO in Kushiro", and "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo"), focusing on a bank employee who is enlisted by a talking frog to assist him in saving the city from destruction by a giant subterranean worm. To create a version of 3D

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

animation within a 2D film, Földes filmed his entire screenplay as a live-action "reference" performance, following which the animators replaced the actors' heads with 3D models and then traced and animated their facial expressions. The voice cast includes Marcello Arroyo, Michael Czyz, Zag Dorison, Földes,

Jesse Noah Gruman Jesse Noah Gruman (born August 29, 2005) is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in '' The Kid Detective,'' after he first gained recognition when playing the role of young Harold Jenkins in the Netflix original, ''The Umbrella Academy''. G ...

, Katharine King So, John Vamvas, Nadia Verrucci and Shoshana Wilder. ''Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman'' premiered in the feature film competition at the 2022

Annecy International Animation Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...

, where it was awarded a Jury Distinction, and was later screened at the

2022 Toronto International Film Festival The 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 8 to 18, 2022. The 2022 festival was staged primarily in-person; a small selection of films were offered on the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform, but this represente ...

as part of the festival's Contemporary World Cinema section.

Reception

The review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported an approval rating of 77% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The film was nominated for

Best Animated Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

at the 29th Lumière Awards in 2024.Scott Roxborough
"‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Leads France’s Lumiere Award Nominations"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', 14 December 2023.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 9320184 2022 films 2022 animated films Canadian animated feature films French animated feature films Animated films set in Tokyo Films based on works by Haruki Murakami Animated films based on short fiction 2020s Canadian animated films 2020s French animated films Animated films set in the 2010s