MAQUIA: WHEN THE PROMISED FLOWER BLOOMS

Maquia is from a clan where all the members stop aging in their mid teens. She has no parents and, although her days are peaceful, she feels lonely. The clan leads an isolated life on an island, passing their days weaving their lives into beautiful cloth. Their peace is shattered when an army invades, seeking the secret to her people’s immortality. Leilia, the most beautiful girl in her clan, is taken away, and the boy Maquia has secret feelings for disappears. Maquia is able to escape, but she loses her friends and her home. Wandering alone in the forest, she finds a dead woman who clasps a newborn baby firmly in her arms. Maquia decided to save the child and raise him as her own son. She names him Erial. Years later, the baby has become a boy and he starts to ask questions about his mother’s eternal youth. Mari Okada is one of the most famous screenwriters of Japanese anime: from SF to horror and live adaptations, she is a true genius who masters all genres, infusing them with a subtle analysis of human relationships. After the scripts for The Anthem of the Heart (2015), The Dark Maidens (2017) and My Teacher (2017), Okada finally debuts as a director with the magical, enchanting and very moving fantastic tale Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms. The score is courtesy of legendary composer Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Avalon, Ip Man).