Laurence Anyways, a much-anticipated film that received high praise at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, will be released in September at Shinjuku Cinema Qualite and other theaters nationwide.

The director is Canadian-born Xavier Dolan, born in 1989 and just 23 years old. He made his debut as a child actor at the age of six, and directed The Mother (2009) at the age of 18 and Heartbeats (2010) at the age of 19. Both of these films, like this one, were officially selected for the Cannes Film Festival.

In addition, when Laurence Anyways was released in the United States, director Gus Van Sant, who was so impressed by the director's talent, personally served as presenter.

This film is a love story depicting the long journey of Laurent, a man who wants to become a woman, and his lover Fred. The protagonist Laurent is played by Melvil Poupaud, an actor known for his roles in François Ozon's Bury Me and Zoe Cassavetes's Broken English. Fred is played by Suzanne Clement, who also appeared in Mother, and won the Queer Palm Award for Best Actress in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Dolan also directed the music video for the French band Indochine's single "College Boy," which is currently in the spotlight after being banned for being too violent.