Brussels-based sales company Best Friend Forever has closed a string of distribution deals on Japanese animated feature “Chimney Town: Frozen in Time,” with French distributor Arthouse Films acquiring rights for France, HBO Max taking Eastern European rights and Serbian MegaCom Film picking up Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia.
The sales announcement comes ahead of the film’s screening in the Annecy Presents section of the Annecy Animation Film Festival, following its world premiere in the Generation Kplus strand of the Berlinale earlier this year.
Directed by Yusuke Hirota and produced by Studio4°C, “Chimney Town: Frozen in Time” brings the audience back to the rich settings of 2020 animated feature “Poupelle of Chimney Town,” based on the work of Japanese creator Akihiro Nishino.
Set one year after the events of the original film, the story follows Lubicchi as he ventures into the mysterious Millennium Fortress, a realm where time has stopped and a giant clock has remained frozen at 11:59 for a century. Determined to uncover the truth behind the phenomenon and reunite with his lost friend Poupelle, he embarks on a fantastical adventure exploring courage, friendship and the power of belief.
Hirota, who directed both films, shared his excitement of going back to this world with Variety during the Berlinale. “Being able to explore this universe beyond Chimney Town, which was the setting of the first film, is a real pleasure to me,” he said. “The world of the Millenium Fortress, in which Lubicchi navigates, reflects the inner world of the witch character. The town, the buildings, everything relates to this idea, and that’s what interested me about this new story.”
Expanding on the character designs, Hirota underlined the quirky looks and the singularity of his artistic direction, directly inspired by child’s play and faulty craft. “On the other hand, the cat that accompanies Lubicchi is very fluffy, an almost watery body that can shapeshift in awkward ways. And I think we managed to achieve this. Lubicchi remains innocent, a very traditional Japanese comedy figure, while encountering strange yet relatable characters.”
Production-wise, “Chimney Town” followed the same workflow that led “Poupelle” to come to life, albeit with more experience from both Hirota and his team. “I had been working with Studio4°C for a long time when we launched ‘Poupelle’ — 20 years to be precise. For me, it was always about finding the good balance between CG and more classical analog animation. This time, we used both 3D and 2D animation, and I wanted to dive deeper into the actual directing process of this animated feature.”
Compared to “Poupelle,” “Chimney Town” is more colorful, more diverse in terms of backgrounds. A playground for Hirota, who wanted to bring more warmth to this fantasy world. Animators and rigging artists also went beyond themselves to add feelings to the characters, bringing “Chimney Town” to emotional heights more than once.
With music composed by acclaimed Japanese piano player Harumi Fuki, “Chimney Town” is a very unique proposition in this year’s Annecy selection, packed with proposals from all over Asia. “It’s a family-friendly film, but to me it also had a slightly more dramatic scale,” concluded Hirota. “Blending this story, Harumi Fuki’s music and the team’s impressive art was an impressive experience.”
Following its Berlinale world premiere, Best Friend Forever kicked off sales on the film and has ongoing negotiations across additional territories.
Beyond “Chimney Town,” Best Friend Forever also brings French quirky cut-out feature “Blaise” to the Annecy Contrechamp selection after premiering the film as part of the Cannes ACID selection.
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