News

Montreal's Fantasia Fest to Screen Shin Ultraman, 'Goodbye, Don Glees!' Films

Montreal's 26th Fantasia International Film Festival announced on Wednesday it will host the North American premiere of Studio Khara's new Shin Ultraman (New Ultraman) film and the Canadian premiere of Atsuko Ishizuka and Madhouse's Goodbye, Don Glees! original anime film. The festival will take place from July 14 - August 3.

Shin Ultraman opened in Japan on May 13. The film debuted at #1 at the box office and sold 641,802 tickets to earn 993,410,050 yen (about US$7.68 million) in its first three days.

The film has the highest-earning debut weekend for a live-action Japanese film in 2022 so far.

Shin Ultraman earned 17% more in its first three days than Shin Godzilla did when it opened in August 2016. Shin Godzilla sold 564,332 tickets to earn 845,675,500 yen in its first three days.

Shin Ultraman was delayed from its previously planned early summer 2021 timeframe due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Takumi Saitō plays the film's main character, the man who can transform into Ultraman. Masami Nagasawa is the partner of the main character. Hidetoshi Nishijima also stars in the film.

Shin Godzilla director Shinji Higuchi and his Higuchi-Gumi team helmed the project, and Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno was in charge of planning and scripts. Kenshi Yonezu performs the film's theme song "M87."

Goodbye, Don Glees! opened on February 18. The film is also screening at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which will run from June 13-18 in France. GKIDS is distributing the film in North America.

Ayano Okamoto was the art director of the film, while Eiko Tsunadō and Akihiro Hirasawa were credited for art setting. Saho Yamane collaborated on the art board production. Harue Ono was the color key artist. Yūki Kawashita was the compositing director of photography. Shigenori Hirozumi and Kana Imagaki were the 3D directors. Kashiko Kimura was the editor. Yoshiaki Fujisawa (No Game, No Life Zero, A Place Further Than the Universe, Revue Starlight) composed the music. Jin Aketagawa was the audio director, while Tsutomu Ueno handled the sound effects.

Ishizuka (A Place Further Than the Universe, No Game, No Life Zero, The Pet Girl of Sakurasou) directed the anime and penned the script, and Takahiro Yoshimatsu (A Place Further Than the Universe, Hunter × Hunter, Trigun) designed the characters. Kadokawa is distributing the film.

The festival will also screen the Canadian premiere the feature-length anime for Nagabe's The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún manga and the Quebec premiere of Masaaki Yuasa's INU-OH, the musical anime feature film of Hideo Furukawa's Heike Monogatari: INU-OH no Maki (Tales of the Heike: Inu-Oh) novel.

Other Japanese films screening at the event include Satoshi Miki's Convenience Story and What to do With the Dead Kaiju?, Daigo Matsui's Just Remembering, Yūgo Sakamoto's Baby Assassins, Shinichirō Ueda's Popran: Dicks on the Run, Shinzo Katayama's Missing, Nao Yoshigai's SHARI, and Takashi Koizumi's The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai.

Last year's festival screened such films as The Deer King anime film, the Tokyo Revengers live-action film, the "Fire Craft" ("Hizukuri") short anime film, Poupelle of Chimney Town, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, Pompo: The Cinéphile, the Satoshi Kon, The Illusionist documentary, and the live-action Kakegurui 2: Ultimate Russian Roulette (Kakegurui: Zettai Zetsumei Russian Roulette) sequel film.

Source: Email correspondence