Written by Kianna Best on Apr 17, 2024. Posted in Awards and Festivals

Studio Ghibli to be awarded Honorary Palme d’or at 77th Festival de Cannes

The Festival de Cannes have announced they will be awarding Studio Ghibli with their Honorary Palme d’or. The iconic Japanese studio known for films such as Spirited Away and Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron, will be the first group to receive the honour.

Image courtesy of Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli

“For the first time in our history, it’s not a person but an institution that we have chosen to celebrate," said Iris Knobloch, President of the Festival de Cannes, and Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate. “Like all the icons of the Seventh Art, these characters populate our imaginations with prolific, colorful universes and sensitive, engaging narrations. With Ghibli, Japanese animation stands as one of the great adventures of cinephilia, between tradition and modernity".

Led by storytellers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli’s signature animated stylings have contributed to over four decades of filmmaking. They join a long line of animated projects supported by the festival including Walt Disney productions Dumbo and Peter pan, Shrek 1 and Shrek 2, Kirikou and the Wild Beasts, Inside Out, The Summit of the Gods, Elemental, Robot Dreams, as well as the 2016 Studio Ghibli feature The Red Turtle the studio’s first collaboration with a European production company.

“I am truly honored and delighted that the studio is awarded the Honorary Palme d'or," declares Toshio Suzuki, co-founder of the Studio Ghibli. "I would like to thank the Festival de Cannes from the bottom of my heart. 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. Today, our films are watched by people all over the world, and many visitors come to the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka and Ghibli Park to experience the world of our films for themselves. We have truly come a long way for Studio Ghibli to become such a big organization. Although Miyazaki and I have aged considerably, I am sure that Studio Ghibli will continue to take on new challenges, led by the staff who will carry on the spirit of the company. It would be my greatest pleasure if you look forward to what’s next."