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Belle Screening in Greenwich on Friday Including Q&A With Film's Designer

There will be a subtitled screening of Mamoru Hosoda's 2021 film BELLE in Greenwich on Friday March 27 (5 p.m.), followed by a Q&A with the film's designer Eric Wong. Tickets are available through the QR code at this X/Twitter post. The venue will be the Greenwich Picturehouse.

Eric Wong, a London-based architect and designer, created the concept artwork for the film's online world of U. According to Studio Chizu, "Hosoda personally found and commissioned Eric to come up with this universal and international "internet space" from both an architectural and design perspective."

Wong is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Greenwich, which is supporting this event. The BELLE screening will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed by the Q&A with Wong from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The BFI previously described the story:

"Mamoru Hosoda is one of contemporary cinema's great chroniclers of the digital age. From Digimon to Summer Wars, he dramatised the growing presence of the internet in our daily lives and explored themes of isolation, connection and the division between our online avatars and our real selves. BELLE forms the third part of this informal ‘online’ trilogy, and looks at the impact of social media on young people today: the spectacular online world of “U” is a space for freedom and expression, but one that can soon turn toxic and troubling.

"Suzu is a 17-year-old high school student living in a rural village with her father. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. One day, she enters “U”, a virtual world of 5 billion members on the internet. There, she is not Suzu anymore but BELLE, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious creature. Together, they embark on a journey of adventures, challenges and love, in their quest of becoming who they truly are."

Singer-songwriter Kaho Nakamura played the protagonist Suzu/Belle. Nakamura also sings in the film.

Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars,The Boy and The Beast, Mirai) directed and scripted the film, and is also credited for the original work. The film marks Studio Chizu's 10th anniversary. Taisei Iwasaki (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan, The Naked Director) was the film's music director and composer.

Jin Kim (Frozen, Tangled, Big Hero 6, Moana) designed the titular protagonist Belle.

Via Jonathan Wroot's X/Twitter feed.