Studio Ponoc, the Japanese animation house based in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan, and founded by Yoshiaki Nishimura in April 2015, is gearing up for a unique one-night-only event in celebration of their debut feature film MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER. On January 18, 2018, Studio Ponoc will team with Fathom Events and Gkids for a special screening of the feature-length anime as a part of its national premiere, prior to its wide theatrical release.
The premiere will be organized into a nationwide event, with the new film showing at 7 PM (dubbed in English) and 8 PM (subtitled in English) local time. As a part of the effort to make the occasion something truly special, the screenings will feature additional content of which includes an exclusive interview with Academy Award-winning filmmakers Hiromasa Yonebayashi (THE SECRET WORLD OF ARIETTY) and Yoshiaki Nishimura (THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA) as well as a special commemorative item for fans to bring home.
Along with the announcement of the event, President of GKIDS, David Jesteadt, stated “Studio Ponoc has created a remarkable debut with Mary and The Witch’s Flower, full of the beauty and adventure we have come to expect from such an accomplished filmmaking team. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the filmmakers, as well as Fathom Events, to create a very special night for fans that have been anticipating this film for as long as we have.”
MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER, which finds both Yonebayashi and Nishimura collaborating for the second time in their careers, follows Mary, an ordinary twelve-year-old girl who is bored and lonely during a summer holiday. She follows an odd cat into the nearby woods where she stumbles upon a flower and then a little broomstick. Together the flower and broomstick whisk her above the clouds, far away to a school of magic called Endor College. While there, Mary tells a lie that leads to peril, and then a promise, while discovering that all is not as it seems at the school – there are experiments that horrify. Soon she confronts great danger and a test of her resolve.
Wow! This sounds fantastic and I can't wait to check it out. Plus, I'd love to show my support for a new studio who looks to offer films on-par with the likes of Studio Ghibli, Funimation and other top-tier animation houses. For those of you who cannot attend the special event, but are still looking forward to the film, you can catch MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER starring the voices of Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent when it opens nationwide on January 19, 2018.
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