Studio Ponoc is pulling out all the stops for their debut feature Mary and the Witch’s Flower. On January 18, 2018, Studio Ponoc will team with Fathom Events and Gkids for a one-night special event for the film’s national premiere prior to its wide theatrical release.

The premiere event will be nationwide in select theaters with showings at 7 PM (dubbed in English) and 8 PM (subtitled in English) local time. The event will also feature additional content including an exclusive interview with Academy Award-winning filmmakers Hiromasa Yonebayashi (The Secret World of Arrietty) and Yoshiaki Nishimura (The Tale of The Princess Kaguya) as well as a special commemorative item. Mary and the Witch’s Flower is set for regular screenings on January 19.

“Studio Ponoc has created a remarkable debut with Mary and The Witch’s Flower, full of the beauty and adventure we have come to expect from such an accomplished filmmaking team,” said David Jesteadt, President of GKIDS. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with the filmmakers, as well as Fathom Events, to create a very special night for fans that have been anticipating this film for as long as we have.”

The animated feature marks the second collaboration between Yonebayashi and Nishimura. The two previously worked on Studio Ghibli’s When Marnie Was There. Mary and the Witch’s Flower follows Mary, an ordinary twelve-year-old girl who is bored and lonely during a summer holiday. She follows an odd cat into the nearby woods where she stumbles upon a flower and then a little broomstick. Together the flower and broomstick whisk her above the clouds, far away to a school of magic called Endor College. While there, Mary tells a lie that leads to peril, and then a promise, while discovering that all is not as it seems at the school – there are experiments that horrify. Soon she confronts great danger and a test of her resolve. The dubbed English version of the film features the voices of Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet and Jim Broadbent.