GKIDS has announced that they have acquired the rights to the popular indie anime, and ode to filmmaking, Pompo the Cinephile (Eiga daisuki Pompo-san) and will be releasing both the original Japanese language and an all-new English dubbed version to North American theaters early next year (2022).
Pompo the Cinephile was an official selection at the 2021 Fantasia Film Festival and was domestically released June 4th, 2021. It has remained an indie hit and has been playing for 15 weeks and counting, with a current box office take of ¥200,000,000 (approx. $1.8 million USD) thus far. Thanks to the excitement from the film's release, a crowdfunding campaign was created to fund a 35mm print of the feature and it achieved its fundraising goal of ¥10,000,000 (approx. $91,000 USD) in only eleven days.
Known for his dynamic, maximalist animation sequences, Director Takayuki Hirao (God Eater, The Garden of Sinners) returns to the director’s chair with production from the all-new studio CLAP.
©2020 Shogo Sugitani/KADOKAWA/Pompo Project
Pompo is a talented and gutsy producer in “Nyallywood,” the movie-making capital of the world. Although she’s known for B-movies, one day Pompo tells her movie-loving but apprehensive assistant Gene that he will direct her next script: a delicate drama about an aging and tormented creative genius, starring the legendary and Brando-esque actor Martin Braddock, and a young actress seeking her first break. But when the production heads towards chaos, can Gene rise to Pompo’s challenge, and succeed as a first-time director?