Belle

17-year-old Suzu Naito leads anything but the vibrant life of a high school student. Since her mother’s death, a dark, almost suffocating shadow hangs over her life. One day, she discovers the app ‘U’, an immensely popular multiplayer VR world where players receive an avatar that reflects their true personality, and everything changes.
This story offers a unique perspective on how social media give young people the opportunity to take their future into their own hands.

BELLE is an emotionally gripping animated film by director Mamoru Hosoda. He is known for his large-scale science fiction and fantasy films filled with deep and complex human emotions, and he continues to excel in this field.
Before founding his own animation studio, Studio Chizu, he worked at Toei Animation. Even prior to that, his talents were already recognized. After graduating, Hosoda applied to Studio Ghibli but was not accepted. Nonetheless, he received a personal letter from Hayao Miyazaki himself explaining that hiring him might cause his talents to go to waste.

All images: © 2021 “Belle”