Nakamura's "Cheburashka Dōbutsuen e Iku" to screen alongside film

The official website of Makoto Nakamura 's ( Seitokai Yakuindomo , Starry Sky , Yuri Kuma Arashi ) puppet anime film Chieri to Cherry (Chieri and Cherry) announced on Tuesday that the film will premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival as part of the event's Panorama Section. The film will be shown alongside Nakamura's 2014 short "Cheburashka Dōbutsuen e Iku" (Cheburashka Goes to the Zoo). The website will update with the date, time, and location of the screening at a later date.



Chieri to Cherry marks Nakamura's directorial debut on an original work. He supervised the Cheburashka Arere? 2009 TV anime. Nakamura was inspired by ideas in Russian animator Roman Kachanov's 1967 The Mitten short (Kachanov also directed the 1971 Cheburashka films) in making Chieri to Cherry . The project ran a successful crowdfunding campaign in July.

The film's story centers around Chieri, a sixth grade girl. Her only friend is a stuffed toy named Cherry, which she found while hiding in the cellar during her father's funeral. Chieri and Cherry undertake a journey on the border between fantasy and reality.

The cast includes Natsumi Takamori , Gen Hoshino , Machiko Ono , Kanichi Kurita , Atsuko Tanaka , Mikio Date, Takeshi Tomizawa , Saya Kazuki , Rina Kitagawa , Uki Satake , and Ikuko Tani .

Source: Animate.tv