Masanao Kawajiri's original animated feature Cherry and Virgin has picked up a "Special Mention of the Jury" honor in the Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation section at the 30th annual Fantasia International Film Festival, as reported by Variety.
About the Win
The festival hosted the world premiere of Cherry and Virgin in its Animation Plus Section on July 18. While the top prize in the category, the Satoshi Kon Award for Best Animated Feature, went to Jean-Paul Guigue and Dimitri Planchon's Blaise, the jury singled out Cherry and Virgin for special recognition. In its statement, the jury praised the film for how effortlessly it blends two completely different visual styles, calling it playful and seamless, and commending how beautifully it captures the feelings of insecurity, vulnerability, and human connection.
Elsewhere in the animation lineup, Jorj Abou Mhaya's Jeem 1983 took Best Short Film - Gold, Yeon-woo Kim's Fingerbang won Best Short Film - Silver, and Junar Kim's The End of the World earned Best Short Film - Bronze.
About Cherry and Virgin
Cherry and Virgin marks Kawajiri's feature directorial debut, following his acclaimed short A Japanese Boy Who Draws, which itself won the runner-up prize at the Pia Film Festival, an Excellence Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival, and the Noburo Ofuji Award at the Mainichi Film Awards.
The 86-minute film is a romantic dramedy centered on two people in their early thirties: Ryo Honda, a commercial erotic manga artist frustrated with his creative direction, and Ami Enomoto, an illustrator and Boys' Love manga fan who has grown disillusioned with men after giving up on her dream of becoming a professional manga artist. Both characters are inexperienced in love, self-critical, and drawn together in an awkward, endearing way.
Visually, the film is notable for its ambitious mixed-media approach: it combines rotoscoping based on footage performed by its voice cast with traditional animation, live-action footage, manga imagery, and multiple contrasting illustration styles — drawing each character in the visual style they themselves would use to draw.
Cherry and Virgin is produced by Gen Sato and written by Kawajiri and Misato Kaga. The film was originally announced back in 2021 and had initially been slated for a 2022 release before facing delays; it's now set to open theatrically in Japan in 2027.
About the Fantasia International Film Festival
The 30th Fantasia International Film Festival is running from July 16 through August 2 in Montreal. This year's edition also featured the North American premiere of the Sekiro: No Defeat anime, the international premiere of the live-action WIND BREAKER film, and the international premiere of The Origin of Ultraman documentary. The festival's top overall prize, the Cheval Noir Trophy for Best Film, went to Hanna Bergholm's Nightborn.
Are you looking forward to catching Cherry and Virgin when it opens in 2027? Let us know in the comments!
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