Daft Punk anime Interstella 5555 to hit theatres globally for the first time

Daft Punk’s anime film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem is set to hit cinemas worldwide for the first time ever.

The 65-minute movie, which has only ever been screened at film festivals or via home cinema, will be coming to 800 cinemas in 40 countries across the world for one night only on December 12, in partnership with Trafalgar Releasing.

Interstella 5555 was originally released in 2003 as a visualiser to the duo’s 2001 album ‘Discovery’.

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A manga science fiction musical, the film was directed by Kazuhisa Takenouchi, under the supervision of illustrator Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Toei Animation in collaboration with Daft Punk and Cédric Hervet.

It contains no dialogue, soundtracked instead by the entire full-length album, which includes tracks like ‘One More Time’, ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’ and ‘Veridis Quo’.

The story follows the abduction of an alien band by an evil human character who subsequently exploits them as musicians on Earth. Luckily, a space pilot called Shep orchestrates a rescue mission.

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Earlier this year, the film received a 4k remastering, which was shown at the UGC Normandie in Paris, as well as at Tribeca Film Festival in New York, and is set to be the version screened this December.

Prior to that, the original version received a short theatrical run in 2003 after its Cannes Film Festival premiere, and was released as on Blu-ray in 2011. It was also streamed via Twitch in February this year, to commemorate the third anniversary of Daft Punk’s break-up following a 28-year-long career.

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Marc Allenby, CEO of Trafalgar Releasing, says: "We're excited to bring Daft Punk's iconic Interstella 5555, now fully remastered in stunning 4K, to cinemas for this one-night-only global event."

"This is a rare opportunity to experience the film on the big screen, along with accompanying Daft Punk music videos, and we can't wait to share it with audiences everywhere.”

To celebrate the global event, Daft Punk have reissued limited editions of the ‘Discovery’ album on gold vinyl and CDs, as well as launching a merch collection containing t-shirts, hoodies, and turntable slipmats.

Read this next: Daft Punk to feature in Pharrell Williams’ LEGO biopic ‘Piece by Piece’

This month, a fan proposed that LEGO turn Daft Punk’s ‘Alive’ 2007 concert into an official product. Submitted to LEGO’s ideas board for consideration, the design has 4,218 supporters at the time of writing (October 31).

Daft Punk are also set to feature in Pharrell Williams’ forthcoming LEGO biopic Piece by Piece alongside Kendrick Lamar, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, and Snoop Dogg.

Tickets for the screening come out November 13.

Find them here, with cinema details

Meena Sears is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Instagram