A Cannes, San Sebastian, BFI London & Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection, and Annecy Audience Award Winner
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NEW YORK (September 3, 2025) – Academy Award®-winning producer and distributor GKIDS announced today it will bring LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN (original title in French: Amélie et la Métaphysique des tubes) to theaters nationwide starting November 7th. Prior to its nationwide expansion, the title will open in select markets starting October 31st.
The feature directorial debut of Maïlys Vallade (The Lighthouse Keeper; layout and storyboard artist on I Lost My Body and Calamity) and Liane-Cho Han (animation director on Calamity and Long Way North) made its World Premiere in the 2025 Cannes Film Festival as an official selection in the Special Screenings section. The film went on to premiere as an Official Selection in Competition at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Festival, where it took home the prestigious Audience Award. Next week, LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN will hold its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, before additionally screening as an Official Selection in the Perlak Section at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, and as an Official Selection at BFI London Film Festival.
The world is a perplexing, peaceful mystery to Amélie until a miraculous encounter with chocolate ignites her wild sense of curiosity. As she develops a deep attachment to her family’s housekeeper, Nishio-san, Amélie discovers the wonders of nature as well as the emotional truths hidden beneath the surface of her family’s idyllic life as foreigners in post-war Japan.
Adapted from the autobiographical novel by Amélie Nothomb and brought to life in the completely original animated style of directors Mailys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN tells a tender, poignant and visually stunning story about the healing power of human connection.
LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN
Directors: Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han
Producers: Nidia Santiago and Edwina Liard (for Ikki Films), Claire La Combe and Henri Magalon (for Maybe Movies)
Screenwriters: Liane-Cho Han, Aude Py, Maïlys Vallade, and Eddine Noël
Cast: Loïse Charpentier, Victoria Grobois, Laetitia Coryn, Yumi Fujimori, Marc Arnaud, and Emmylou Homs
Art Director: Eddine Noël
Editor: Ludovic Versace
About GKIDS
GKIDS is the Academy Award-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world. After an astounding 13 Best Animated Feature nominations, the company took home the Oscar in 2024 for Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed feature, The Boy and the Heron. The company’s previous nominations include The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, The Breadwinner in 2018, Mirai in 2019, Wolfwalkers in 2021, and The Boy and the Heron in 2024.
For more than a decade, GKIDS’ influence on cinema has redefined the perception of animation as an artistic medium on par with live-action film through its stewardship of the Studio Ghibli catalog and by introducing American audiences to the critically-acclaimed films of other master filmmakers from around the world such as Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai, Belle), Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells, Wolfwalkers), Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine), Makoto Shinkai (Weathering With You), Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner), Alberto Vázquez (Unicorn Wars) and Masaaki Yuasa (Inu-Oh, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl), among countless others. Also, GKIDS is the founder and host of ANIMATION IS FILM, the annual LA-based film festival which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium to its fullest range of artistic expressions.
