Tree of Hope Anime Film in Development

Veteran Studio Ghibli art director Nizo Yamamoto is now developing an anime film based on Man Arai’s photo book Kibou no Ki (The Tree of Hope). The photo book revolved around the single tree from the roughly 70,000 in the Takata-Matsubara grove in Iwate prefecture that survived the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and subsequently became a national Japanese symbol of perseverence and hope. The film is in development for a tentative 2014 release to support the ravaged Tohoku region. The film production is presently accepting donations toward production costs. 25 individuals have so far donated 60,450 yen.

Source: Anime News Network