Source: GKIDS Inc. press release Official Site: gkids.com/ocean-waves GKIDS is excited to announce they are finally bringing Studio Ghibli`s OCEAN WAVES (??????, Umi ga Kikoeru, 1993) to North America. The film will play starting on December 28th at IFC Center in New York, and one night only in Los Angeles at the Egyptian Theatre, in a new 4K restoration.
Rarely seen outside of Japan, OCEAN WAVES is a subtle, poignant and wonderfully detailed story of adolescence and teenage isolation. Taku and his best friend Yutaka are headed back to school for what looks like another uneventful year. But they soon find their friendship tested by the arrival of Rikako, a beautiful new transfer student from Tokyo whose attitude vacillates wildly from flirty and flippant to melancholic. When Taku joins Rikako on a trip to Tokyo, the school erupts with rumors, and the three friends are forced to come to terms with their changing relationships. OCEAN WAVES was the first Studio Ghibli film directed by someone other than studio founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, as director Tomomi Mochizuki led a talented staff of younger employees in an adaptation of Saeko Himuro’s best-selling novel. Full of shots bathed in a palette of pleasingly soft pastel colors and rich in the unexpected visual details typical of Studio Ghibli’s most revered works, OCEAN WAVES is an accomplished teenage drama and a true discovery. Language: In Japanese with English subtitles Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 72 minutes Director: Tomomi Mochizuki Producer: Nozomu Takhashi New York, NY: IFC Center, December 28, 2016 Toronto, ON: TIFF, January 3, 2017 Albuquerque, NM: Guild Cinema, January 6, 2017 Fort Lauderdale, FL: Theater TBD, January 7, 2017 Kansas City, MO: Screenland Armour, January 9, 2017 Portland, OR: OMSI Empirical Theater, January 12, 2017 Los Angeles, CA: American Cinematheque - Egyptian Theater, January 12, 2017 Chicago, IL: Gene Siskel Film Center, January 13, 2017 Denver, CO: Denver Film Society, January 13, 2017 Santa Ana, CA: The Frida Cinema, January 13, 2017 Tempe, AZ: Harkins Valley Art, January 13, 2017 Waterloo, ON: Princess Cinema, January 13, 2017 Atlanta, GA: Plaza Theatre, January 13, 2017 San Francisco, CA: Roxie Theatre, January 16, 2017 Fairfax, VA: Angelika Mosaic, January 17, 2017 Washington, DC: Angelika Pop-Up, January 17, 2017 Dallas, TX: Angelika Dallas, January 17, 2017 Plano, TX: Angelika Plano, January 17, 2017 San Diego, CA: Angelika Carmel, January 17, 2017 Honolulu, HI: Consolidated Theatres Kahalas, January 17, 2017 Pittsburgh, PA: Row House Cinema, January 20, 2017 Vancouver, BC: Vancity Theatre, January 20, 2017 Columbus, OH: Gateway Film Center, February 9, 2017 Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Cinematheque, February 25, 2017 Port Orchard, WA: Dragonfly Cinema, March 10, 2017
About GKIDS
GKIDS is a distributor of award-winning animation for both adult and family audiences. Theatrical releases include Tomm Moore’s Oscar nominated THE SECRET OF KELLS, Michel Ocelot’s acclaimed AZUR & ASMAR, European Film Award Best Animated Feature winner MIA AND THE MIGOO, Nina Paley’s multiple-award-winning SITA SINGS THE BLUES, and Japan Academy Prize winner SUMMER WARS by Mamoru Hosoda. Upcoming GKIDS releases include 2011 Berlin official selection A CAT IN PARIS and Annecy winner ELEANOR`S SECRET. GKIDS is also producer of New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival, North America’s largest festival of film for children and teens. NYICFF is an Oscar-qualifying event and jury members include Uma Thurman, Susan Sarandon, Gus van Sant, Matthew Modine, James Schamus, Michel Ocelot, and Christine Vachon.
About Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by animation directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and is one of the most successful and well-respected animation studios in the world. Cultivating a creative force of talented directors, animators, and storytellers under the revered brilliance of Miyazaki and Takahata, Studio Ghibli’s films have been praised for their originality, dazzling animation, and epic storytelling. The films have become a beloved part of Japanese popular culture, and have garnered worldwide acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Hayao Miyazaki’s SPIRITED AWAY won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2002 and in 2005 Miyazaki was named one of "the most influential people" by Time Magazine.