"Your Name." And Director Makoto Shinkai Receive Nominations For 44th Annual Annie Awards

FLOWER MOUND, Texas, Nov. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced today the nominations for its 44^th Annual Annie Awards™ which recognize the best in the field of animation. "Your Name.," the hit film from Toho Co. Ltd. which is being distributed in North America by Funimation Films, picked up a nomination for Best Animated Feature - Independent as well as a nomination for Directing in an Animated Feature Production for the film's director Makoto Shinkai. ASIFA - Hollywood voting members will begin voting on January 2, 2017. Winners will be announced on February 4, 2017 at a black tie ceremony in Royce Hall at UCLA.

"Your Name." has earned in excess of $19.4 Billion Yen (~$172 Million USD) at the box office in Japan since opening on August 26, 2016 – making it the #1 highest grossing film of 2016. It now has the singular distinction of being the first anime film to gross more than $10 Billion Yen (~$96 Million USD) at the Japanese box office that was not directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the world's most prominent anime director.  "Your Name." has already surpassed Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" (1997), "Ponyo" (2008) and "The Wind Rises" (2013) and is currently ranked as the #6 highest grossing film of all time in Japan.

The film is a beautiful story about time, fate and the hearts of two young souls. The day the stars fell, two lives changed forever. High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers, living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki's body and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly and the two must adjust their lives around each other. Yet somehow, it works. They build a connection and communicate by leaving notes, messages, and more importantly, an imprint. Tugging at the string of fate, they try to find a way to each other. But distance isn't the only thing keeping them apart. Is their bond strong enough to face the cruel irony of time? Or is their meeting nothing more than a wish upon the stars?

"Your Name." opens this Friday, December 2, for a one-week limited engagement at the Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills. Director Makoto Shinkai will be in Los Angeles from December 3 – 5 to attend a number of events associated with the engagement including a special Q&A screening on December 3. "Your Name." will open in theaters across the U.S. and Canada in early 2017.  

About Funimation Films
Funimation Films, the theatrical division of Funimation Entertainment, acquires both anime and live action movies from prominent international filmmakers that appeal to the interests and passion of all types of fans and distributes them throughout North America. The division was launched in December 2014 following the box office success of "Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods" earlier that year. Its debut release, "Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'," was an instant blockbuster and became the #9 highest-grossing anime movie of all time in North America. Funimation Films has gone on to release numerous movies including most recently "Shin Godzilla." Funimation Entertainment is a subsidiary of Group 1200 Media, a fully integrated, next-generation, independent entertainment studio based in Dallas. For more information on Funimation Films, visit funimationfilms.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161107/436739

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161107/436740

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161107/436732

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161107/436736

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150622/224840LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/your-name-and-director-makoto-shinkai-receive-nominations-for-44th-annual-annie-awards-300369195.html

SOURCE Funimation Films