Mana Ashida and Masaki Okada enjoy Venice

Actors Mana Ashida and Masaki Okada, and director Mamoru Hosoda visited Venice, the city of water, where the 82nd Venice International Film Festival is held, to participate in the festival. Hosoda's new animated feature film, Scarlet(released November 21st), has been selected for the festival's Out of Competition section.

Ashida, who plays the main character Princess Scarlett, toured Venice wearing a blue striped shirt with a ribbon and jeans. "If I could visit, I'd like to ride a gondola!" Ashida had said, and finally got to ride a gondola for the first time. "I was able to enjoy the blue sky and beautiful scenery, get a feel for the wonderful city, and it was very comfortable," she said, enjoying the view of the city from the water.

Okada also spoke about the charm of Venice, saying, "When I rode in a gondola, I felt that the way I saw the city changed."

The theme of the latest film is "living," with director Hosoda writing the original story and screenplay. After her father was killed and her revenge failed, Scarlett once again attempts to exact revenge on her nemesis in the Land of the Dead. The Land of the Dead is a place where if Scarlett does not achieve revenge on her nemesis and reach the "endless place," she will become nothing and her existence will disappear, and so she embarks on an endless journey of revenge. Ashida will voice Scarlett, and Okada will voice Hijiri, a modern-day Japanese nurse who travels with Scarlett.