Co-presented by La diperie,Japan Foundation

International Premiere
Axis

Penguin Highway

Directed by Hiroyasu Ishida

Sun July 29, 2018
12:15 PM

Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)

Credits  

Director

Hiroyasu Ishida

Writer

Makoto Ueda

Cast

Kana Kita, Yû Aoi

contact

Fuji Creative Corporation (FCC)

Official website

Japan 2018 120 mins OV Japanese Subtitles : English

Schoolboy Aoyama is bright, inquisitive and a bit headstrong. He has a lot of brainwork to get busy with – after all, he’ll be an adult in just a few thousand days. For the moment, though, he’ll have to live life as a fourth-grader. Not that it’s a bad life. Summer has arrived and school’s nearly out. He has a crush on an intriguing older woman he’s met at his dentist’s office, who’s coaching him in his chess game. And a colony of penguins has materialized in the middle of Aoyama’s sleepy little town. Where on Earth – or elsewhere – did these waddling interlopers come from? Aoyama and his friends embark on a research mission, applying rigorous scientific methods and principles. Their discoveries, however, only lead to ever more puzzling wonders…

A effusive outpouring of imagination and charm, the sentimental, surrealist science fiction gem PENGUIN HIGHWAY is the first feature film from director Hiroyasu Ishida, creator of the 2009 indie online sensation FUMIKO’S CONFESSION, and his colleagues at Studio Colorido. Founded in 2011, this rising anime production house has been turning heads with its impressive short films, including Ishida’s SONNY BOY & DEWDROP GIRL (a Fantasia 2013 selection), and now – with a big helping hand from character designer Yojiro Arai, a veteran of Studio Ghibli – they go full-feature with Ishida’s adaptation of a novel by Tomihiko Morimi (TATAMI GALAXY, last year’s NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL). It’s a clever, thoughtful and original tale, and Ishida’s deft and inventive direction makes it a delight for the mind, eye and heart. – Rupert Bottenberg

Showings

Sun July 29, 2018
12:15 PM

Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall)