Los Angeles, Calif. – May 18, 2017 – Shout! Factory, a multi-platform media company, has tapped Funimation® Films as its theatrical partner to jointly launch acclaimed animated feature IN THIS CORNER OF THE WORLD across U.S. cinemas on Friday, August 11, 2017. Based on the Japanese award-winning manga by Fumiyo Kouno, the film is written and directed by Sunao Katabuchi. Produced by GENCO and Japanese animation studio MAPPA, IN THIS CORNER OF THE WORLD, bolstered by emotionally resonant storytelling and exquisite hand-drawn animation, is an empowering coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of WWII and captures the resilience and triumph of the human spirit. This highly-anticipated movie recently won the coveted Animation of the Year award at this year’s 40^th Japan Academy Prize and has been selected to premiere in competition at the LA Film Festival in June.  The announcement was made today by Melissa Boag, Shout’s Senior Vice President of Kids & Family Entertainment at Shout! Factory and Mike DuBoise Executive Vice President and COO of Funimation.

“In This Corner of the World is an incredibly exquisite, artful and socially relevant film that will impact everyone who sees it. We’re really proud in presenting this remarkable, hand-drawn animated film to North American movie audience,” said Melissa Boag, Shout’s Senior Vice President of Kids & Family Entertainment. “Funimation Films has a great track record in launching prominent international animated movies across cinemas in North America. We couldn’t find a more committed and perfect company to join us on the theatrical launch of In This Corner of the World.”

We’re thrilled to be joining together with Shout Factory for the North American release of the award-winning animated film In This Corner of the World,” said Mike DuBoise, Executive Vice President and COO of Funimation. “It is a stunning work of traditional (hand drawn) animation which has helped shine a bright light of Japanese animation in 2017 – transcending the genre and creating a whole new audience for anime unlike ever before. We look forward to bringing In This Corner of the World to theaters very soon.”

The award-winning story of IN THIS CORNER OF THE WORLD follows a young lady named Suzu Urano, who in 1944 moves to the small town of Kure in Hiroshima to live with her husband’s family. Suzu’s life is thrown into chaos when her town is bombed during World War II. Her perseverance and courage underpin this heart-warming and inspirational tale of the everyday challenges faced by the Japanese in the midst of a violent, war-torn country. This beautiful yet poignant tale shows that even in the face of adversity and loss, people can come together and rebuild their lives.

Film director Sunao Katabuchi began his career working closely with Hayao Miyazaki before directing his own animated films, including Katabuchi’s acclaimed animated features Mai Mai Miracle and Princess Arete.

IN THIS CORNER OF THE WORLD
Shout! Factory Films and Funimation Films
Movie opening date: August 11, 2017
Director: Sunao Katabuchi
Voice Cast: Non, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Natsuki Inaba, Minori Omi, Daisuke Ono

Written by:  Sunao Katabuchi
Based on the award-winning manga by Fumiyo Kouno
Produced by: Taro Maki and Masao Maruyama
Genre: Animated Feature
*Japanese with English subtitles
*English
MPAA Rating: PG-13

About Shout! Factory

Shout! Factory, LLC is a diversified multi-platform media company devoted to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their entire careers sharing their music, television and film favorites with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s entertainment offerings serve up feature films, classic and contemporary TV series, animation, live music and comedy specials. In addition, Shout! Factory maintains a vast entertainment distribution network which delivers culturally relevant programming, movie and audio content to all the leading digital service providers in North America and across multiple platforms. Shout! Factory owns and operates Shout! Factory Productions, Scream Factory, Shout! Factory Kids, Shout! Factory Films, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory TV. These riches are the result of a creative acquisition mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Los Angeles, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com.