After select fan and festival screenings this year, the 4K remastered version of Daft Punk & Leiji Matsumoto’s 2003 anime masterpiece Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem will be screened in cinemas globally for one night only on December 12, 2024 in partnership with Trafalgar Releasing. Matsumoto, who passed away in early 2023, is known as the celebrated manga-ka who created Captain Harlock, Starzingers, Space Battleship Yamato, Star Blazers 2199 and Galaxy Express 999.
“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,” said Marc Allenby, CEO of Trafalgar Releasing. “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.”
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem was created by Daft Punk and Cédric Hervet in collaboration with Matsumoto and Toei Animation, and tells the story of the abduction of an alien music band by an evil human character who has dark plans. Essentially an anime visual album, Interstella features the entirety of Daft Punk’s seminal 2001 album Discovery as its soundtrack, including millennium anthems such as “One More Time,” “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and “Veridis Quo.” As a visual album, the film was cut into individual music videos, and until this year it has been very rare to see the film in its entirety in cinemas.
“‘One More Time’ was playing all over the town at that time! I felt so proud that I wanted to shout to people on the street, ‘We are making its animation now!’” recalls film producer Shinji Shimizu of Toei Animation.
To celebrate this global theatrical event, Discovery: Interstella 5555 Edition will be released in limited physical quantities. This physical edition of Discovery will contain the original Japanese edition artwork, stickers and Daft Club card, which became a true collectors’ item around its original release. The limited release will consist of 5555 gold vinyl, 5555 numbered CDs, and 25,000 black vinyl.
Along with this special album re-release and film screening comes a limited-edition merch run featuring the Crescendolls, the animated band at the center of Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. Albums and merchandise are available now through Daft Punk’s official shop.
“Veridis Quo,” a standout track from Discovery, was used widely over the summer in social content, and can now be heard in a global Chanel N°5 advertising campaign “A rendez-vous” directed by Luca Guadagnino, featuring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Since the track’s original release, it has also been widely sampled in music from artists all over the world including Maluma, G-Dragon and Jazmine Sullivan, and used in live sets from DJs including John Summit.
Earlier this year, Apple Music named Discovery as the #23 best album of all time. It has also landed on best album lists from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Rhapsody, Resident Advisory, BBC Radio 1 and British GQ. Guardian critic Alexis Petridis wrote in 2020 that “Daft Punk were incredibly prescient: play Discovery and it sounds utterly contemporary.” Discovery has been certified Gold in the US, Platinum in Japan, 2x Platinum in the U.K. and 3x Platinum in France.
The one night only global screening of Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem will be screened in 800-plus cinemas in more than 40 countries, and tickets will go on sale Wednesday, November 13.
Find more information at interstella5555film.com and check back at 6 a.m. PT on Nov. 13 to purchase ticktes to the Dec. 12 screening.