Mamoru Hosoda’s ‘Scarlet’ To Screen At Venice And Toronto, Marking Prestigious Festival Double

The Venice Film Festival announced its lineup today, including an out-of-competition screening for Oscar-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda’s highly anticipated next feature, Scarlet. The film has been selected for both the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals later this year; it will get a Special Presentation screening at the latter.

The double selection marks a rare feat for an animated feature, with Scarlet joining Masaaki Yuasa’s Inu-Oh, Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee, and Gitanjali Rao’s Bombay Rose as recent titles to play at both events. This is the first time one of Hosoda’s films has been selected for each.

Scarlet, Hosoda’s first film since 2021’s Belle, centers on a mysterious princess capable of transcending time and space. After failing to avenge her father’s murder, Princess Scarlet wakes in the mysterious Land of the Dead, a realm where sanity frays and time twists. There, she faces a cruel fate: unless she hunts down her nemesis and reaches the fabled Endless Place, she’ll lose herself entirely and fade into nothingness.

Now, Scarlet must embark on a desperate journey through a world where reality bends and dangers lurk at every turn. Along the way, she encounters unlikely allies, timeless enemies, and the haunting question: Is there a way to survive the end of her story?

The film is produced by Hosoda’s Studio Chizu and co-produced by Nippon TV and Sony Pictures, which will also handle global distribution outside Japan. Toho will release the film domestically.

Sony Pictures has slated Scarlet for a U.S. theatrical release on December 12, 2025, positioning it for year-end awards consideration. The strategy draws clear comparisons to GKIDS’s rollout of Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, which dominated both the global box office and the 2024 awards season, culminating in an Oscar win.

Hosoda’s impressive filmography includes The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, and Mirai — the latter earning him an Oscar nomination in 2019.