GKIDS announced this morning it will distribute Takayuki Hirao’s award-winning 2021 anime feature film, Pompo the Cinephile, in partnership with Fathom Events in select U.S. theaters.
Fathom will host fan preview events ahead of the limited theatrical release on April 29, featuring a “special introduction from director Takayuki Hirao.” An April 27 preview will screen the film with English subtitles, while an April 28 preview will debut the film’s English-language dub. GKIDS has co-produced English dubs in the past for theatrical releases, including Belle. An English cast has not yet been announced.
The distributor also released a new teaser trailer for the theatrical release, below.
Pompo The Cinephile is based on Shogo Sugitani’s ongoing shōjo manga series of the same name, about the assistant to a B-movie producer in a fictionalized Hollywood (“Nyallywood”) tasked with directing a new dramatic film. The series has been serialized in pixiv Comic since 2017. The first two volumes were published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.
The film was released in Japanese theaters on June 4, 2021, following pandemic-related delays. The Japanese voice cast includes:
- Hiroya Shimizu as Gene Fini
- Konomi Kohara as Joelle Davidovich “Pompo” Pomponett
- Rinka Ōtani as Nathalie Woodward
- Ai Kakuma as Mystia
- Akio Ōtsuka as Martin Braddock
- Ryūichi Kijima as Alan Gardner
Tickets for the theatrical release of Pompo The Cinephile go on sale March 25.