Kinotayo Festival Closing: Japanese Film ‘Planets’ Highlighted

The Kinotayo Festival, dedicated to contemporary Japanese cinema, concluded Sunday in Marly, France, with the presentation of awards including the Prix Paul Grimault to Momoko Seko’s animated film, Planètes.

Festival president Philippe Vincenot highlighted the event’s success, noting a strong public interest in the curated selection of films, according to reporting in Le Républicain Lorrain. The closing day featured the awards ceremony following morning screenings.

Planètes, described as a fable on the cycle of nature, follows the journey of four dandelion seeds propelled into space after a series of nuclear explosions devastate Earth. The seeds search for a habitable planet, facing numerous challenges in their quest for survival. The film is an experimental animation, blending scientific rigor with a poetic visual style.

The film garnered critical acclaim prior to the Kinotayo Festival, receiving recognition at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival. According to a synopsis from Kinotayo, Planètes features no dialogue.

Momoko Seto, the director of Planètes, studied at the Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains in France after attending the Lycée français de Tokyo. She also works as a scientific documentary filmmaker at the CNRS, where she received an excellence award in 2021. Her previous work includes the short film series Planet, which also received international awards.

Planètes is a co-production involving Miyu Production, Ecce Films, Umedia Production, ARTE France Cinéma, and the CNRS. The film’s cinematography is by Élie Levé, with sound design by Nicolas Becker, editing by Michel Klochendler, and music by Quentin Sirjacq and Nicolas Becker.

A screening of Planètes was held December 13, 2025, at the Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris (MCJP) as part of the festival’s closing ceremony, with the presence of several members of the film’s production team, including Chie HAYAKAWA, Koto NAGATA, Shingo OTA, Yuumi KAWAI, Yuta HAYASHI, and Momoko SETO.