CANNES (France) - The official film of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has premiered at the Festival de Cannes and award-winning director Naomi Kawase has ensured basketball has taken its place in the movie.

Kawase caught up with FIBA during the event last year to explain her passion for the project and love of the sport. She was joined on the red carpet by Canadian Olympian Kim Gaucher, her partner and her 14-month old daughter.

​She  features strongly in the production, with her and her family playing a central role in the film’s narrative of female athletes who participated in the Japanese capital.

"I am delighted that the film brought to light the challenges inherent in balancing being a professional female athlete and a mother with a young child," Gaucher told the IOC.

“It was lovely to be in Cannes for the world premiere of the film and to share this moment with my family, who supported me on my journey to the Tokyo Games.

"The film presents the best in me as both an athlete and a parent,” she added.

Meanwhile the revered Kawase explain that the stories and experiences of Gaucher inspired her vision for the film.

She said: "There are Olympian mums like Kim Gaucher, performing the perpetual balancing act of competing at the highest levels of their sport while also being mothers.

"I find strength through the tenacity and grace of these women. I watch the connection between these mothers and their babies, and I have to wonder: how will these young children see this film, years from now?

"They are the future, the renewed bright energy propelling us forth. And, it is with this hope that I tell such stories.”

The Official Film by Kawase has been produced in two parts: one depicting the Games through the eyes of the athletes (Side A), and the other from the perspective of staff and volunteers (Side B). While 'Side A' was screened as part of the Cannes Classics selection, 'Side B' will be released during June.

Since the early 20th century, films have been produced for each edition of the Games, with fikmmakers inspired by the Olympic Movement to push the boundaries of the Olympic documentary tradition and create powerful cinema to fuel a vibrant cultural legacy. The Olympic Film Collection is now composed of more than 50 feature-length films that offer a cinematic window into defining moments in the history of the modern Games.

FIBA