Cannes 2024: Studio Ghibli to become first studio to receive honorary Palme d’Or
Since its inception, Studio Ghibli has been responsible for several iconic films, including My Neighbor Totoro and The Boy and the Heron, which recently won an Academy Award for ‘Best Animated Feature’. As a result, at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, the studio will be awarded an honorary Palme d’Or. This marks the first time the award will be presented to a group.
Introduced in 1955, the Palme d’Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival; it is also considered by many to be one of the most prestigious awards in all of film. Usually, it goes to an individual; however, because of Studio Ghibli’s tireless efforts as a collective, the prize will be awarded to the entire studio.
“For the first time in our history, it’s not a person but an institution that we have chosen to celebrate,” said Cannes president Iris Knobloch and general delegate Thierry Fremaux.
“Like all the icons of the Seventh Art, these characters populate our imaginations with prolific, colourful universes and sensitive, engaging narrations. With Ghibli, Japanese animation stands as one of the great adventures of cinephilia, between tradition and modernity,” they said.
Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 and is currently based in Koganei, Tokyo. It is one of the biggest names in the animation industry thanks to the beauty with which it injects its movies and the captivating storylines present in everything it puts together. Their impact can be seen in the fact that five of their films are among Japan’s top ten highest-grossing anime features.
One of the studio’s co-founders, Toshio Suzuki, commented on the news that the studio was being awarded a Palme d’Or. “I am truly honoured and delighted that the studio is awarded the Honorary Palme d’Or,” he said, “I would like to thank the Festival de Cannes from the bottom of my heart.”
Suzuki also touched on how he finds the subsequent success of his studio, “Forty years ago, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and I established Studio Ghibli with the desire to bring high-level, high-quality animation to children and adults of all ages,” he said, “Today, our films are watched by people all over the world, and many visitors come to the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka and Ghibli Paro to experience the world of our films for themselves.”
The Cannes Film Festival will take place between May 14th and May 25th, where Studio Ghibli will be presented with the award.
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