©2025「ChaO」製作委員会The mermaid x human anime romance film ChaO has received the Jury Award in the Feature Film category at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2025.
Other winners from Japan include Ryo Orikasa‘s The Graffiti (Off-Limits Award, Short Film category) and Masataka Kihara‘s Q (Lotte Reiniger Award, Graduation Films category).
ChaO is set in a realm where humans and mermaids coexist, focusing on male protagonist Stephan, who works at a shipbuilding company as an office employee. A proposal from the mermaid princess Chao transforms his life dramatically.
The film is scheduled to debut in Japan on August 15 JST and will be distributed in North America by GKIDS.
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ChaO is a Studio 4°C production directed by Yasuhiro Aoki (Psycho-Pass: The Movie co-character designer, SAMURAI NOODLES “THE ORIGINATOR” unit director, etc.). Additional team members include Hirokazu Kojima (Shoka, More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers ending design and animation) as character designer and animation director, along with Hiroshi Takiguchi (Weathering With You) as background art director.
Source: Annecy website (via @animationbiz_jp)
