THE WIND RISES Begins Australian/New Zealand Theatrical Run on February 27th

Source: Madman Entertainment Official Movie Site: kazetachinu.jp (Japan), thewindrises.com.au (Aus) Special Thanks to Ben Pollock

THE WIND RISES (????, Kaze Tachinu, 2013), the latest feature from Oscar-winning Japanese filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki, and the renowned Studio Ghibli, will begin its theatrical run in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on February 27, 2014, courtesy of distributor Madman Entertainment. Miyazaki brings together the engineer Jiro Horikoshi and the author Tatsuo Hori (The Wind Has Risen, Naoko), who lived during the time of the story of THE WIND RISES, to create Jiro, a fictional character (voiced by famed EVANGELION director Hideaki Anno) at the center of an epic tale of love, perseverance, and the challenges of living and making choices in a turbulent world. Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni (Mansai Nomura). Nearsighted from a young age and thus unable to become a pilot, Jiro joins the aircraft division of a major Japanese engineering company in 1927. His genius is soon recognized, and he grows to become one of the world’s most accomplished airplane designers. THE WIND RISES chronicles much of his life, and depicts key historical events that affected deeply the course of Jiro’s life, including The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, The Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic, and Japan’s plunge into war. He meets and falls in love with Nahoko (Miori Takimoto), grows and cherishes his friendship with his colleague Honjo (Hidetoshi Nishijima), and innovates tremendously, leading the aviation world into the future. For a list of Australian and New Zealand theaters screening THE WIND RISES, visit madman.com.au/cinemaLocations.

About Madman Entertainment

Madman is a leading independent film and television distribution and rights management company, with offices in Australia and New Zealand. Madman is renowned for its commitment to quality Australian and foreign film, factual content, as well as highly collectable categories such as Japanese anime, genre film, animation and cult television. Madman`s capabilities encompass end to end acquisition, marketing, creative, sales and distribution in all mediums and formats, from the silver screen to the digital realm. Madman is also a proud producer of Australian film and television content. Put simply, Madman is mad for entertainment.

About Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by animated film directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, and has produced nineteen feature-length films. Most Studio Ghibli films ranked number one at the box office in Japan in the year in which they were released. SPIRITED AWAY, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and released in 2001, is the all-time highest grossing film in Japan, earning over 30 billion yen at the box office. The Studio’s PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997), SPIRITED AWAY (2001) and HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (2004) are among Japan’s top 5 grossing films. Studio Ghibli films have garnered numerous awards and critical acclaim from film critics and animation specialists around the world. SPIRITED AWAY was awarded the Golden Bear as the Best Feature Film at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 2003 U.S. Academy Awards. In October 2001, Studio Ghibli, in conjunction with The Tokuma Memorial Cultural Foundation for Animation, founded the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, designed by Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli’s THE WIND RISES, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, was released on July 20, 2013 in Japan. THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA, directed by Isao Takahata, opened in Japan on November 23, 2013.

For more information on THE WIND RISES, please see the previous coverage here on SciFi Japan: