The film has received a certificate of release and classification from the General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM).
Manga Productions, a subsidiary under Saudi Arabia’s MiSK Foundation, has announced that it is bringing the first-ever Saudi-Japanese anime The Journey to cinemas across Saudi Arabia on June 17.
It has received a certificate of release and classification from the General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM).
The film will be the first release to benefit from the new rules on ticket sales designed to help Saudi filmmakers. In April, the commission’s board of directors decided that local films would no longer have to pay a portion of ticket sales to the commission in an effort to support Saudi producers, artists and content makers.
Inspired by Arabian folklore, The Journey tells the story of Aws, a potter with a secret past, who is caught up in an epic battle to defend his city. The anime is a co-production with major Japanese studio Toei Animation and is directed by animation director Shizuno Kobun, whose credits include Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle. Japanese dubbing artists include well-renowned names in the Japanese region such as Toru Furuya, Takaya Kuroda and Hiroshi Kimiya, while the Arabic version has been dubbed by artists such as Abdu Shaheen, Rasha Rizq and Nassar AlNassar.
Directed by Shizuno Kobun, “The Journey” was shot using anime-style animation and took two-and-a-half years to make.
