But I also have a daughter who is 17 whom I don't live with because I separated from her mother. She was 12 when I started the project and you can feel things changing." This appears to mirror the regret of a broken paternal relationship that Tati had with his own daughter Helga Marie-Jeanne Schiel. Of the story, Chomet commented that he "fully understood why [Tati] had not brought ["The Illusionist]" to the screen. It was too close to him, and spoke of things he knew only too well, preferring to hide behind the figure of Monsieur Hulot". Having corresponded with Tati's grandson, former Tati colleague and "Chicago Reader" film reviewer Jonathan Rosenbaum published an article entitled "Why I can't write about "The Illusionist"" in which he wrote, "Even after acknowledging that Chomet does have a poetic flair for composing in long shot that's somewhat Tatiesque, I remain skeptical about the sentimental watering-down of his art that Chomet is clearly involved with, which invariably gives short shrift to the more radical aspects of his vision". With McDonald being quoted saying "My grandmother and all his stage acquaintances during the 1930's/40's always maintained that [Tati] was a great colleague as a friend and artist; he unfortunately just made a massive mistake that because of the time and circumstances he was never able to correctly address. I am sure his remorse hung heavy within him and it is for this reason that I believe Chomet's adaptation of "l'Illusionniste" does a great discredit to the artist that was Tati." The first footage from the film was shown at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. The film premiered at the Berlinale festival in February 2010. The film opened the 2010 Edinburgh International Film Festival on 16 June. Pathé Pictures managed distribution for France and the UK via Warner Bros., and distribution deals were secured for Lithuania (ACME Film), Japan (Klockworx), Italy (Cinema 11), Greece (Nutopia), the United States (Sony Pictures Classics), Benelux (Paradiso), Russia and the Middle East (Phars Film). The first official trailer for the film was Russian and was released on 13 March 2010. The film was released in France on 16 May 2010. The film opened in 84 French cinemas. According to Box Office Mojo, the film released in France on 16 June 2010 entered the box office chart at #8, with a revenue of €485,030 ($600,099) in the first weekend.