The Colors Within

Three «outsiders» at a Japanese high school come together and start a band in this beautiful and colorful anime film.

Totsuko is a high school student with synesthesia: She can see other people as colors. Kimi, one of her classmates, gives off the most beautiful colors of all.

Even though Totsuko doesn’t play any instruments, she starts a band with Kimi and Rui, a quiet music lover they meet in a used book store. While the trio rehearses in an old church on a remote island, the music brings them together, and they experience freedom, joy and love. 

The Colors Within is a beautiful coming of age film about friendship, self-discovery and creativity as a tool for self-expression. 

The film had its premiere in the competition program at Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June, and it won the Golden Goblet Award for Best Animation Film at Shanghai International Film Festival, the biggest film festival in Asia.

Amalie Tilset

Director

Naoko Yamada (b. 1984) is a Japanese director and animator, often referred to as one of Japan’s best female animation directors. She has, among other things, directed the critically acclaimed anime features A Silent Voice (2016) and Liz and the Blue Bird (2018), as well as the popular anime series K-On! (2009).

This film is part of