Shohoku High School’s basketball team is playing in the big leagues! Anime Ltd. and Toei Animation Europe are excited to announce that THE FIRST SLAM DUNK has been selected to have its UK premiere at the historic Edinburgh International Film Festival, which will be taking place between 18th-23rd August 2023. The film will then receive a wide release in cinemas across the UK & Ireland from 30th August 2023.
THE FIRST SLAM DUNK has already become the 5th highest grossing anime film worldwide, and has earned incredible accolades in Asia. The film was awarded the coveted “Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year” in a highly competitive year, as well the “Okawa-Fukiya Award” at the Niigata International Animation Festival.
Produced by Toei Animation, the heartfelt and intense basketball drama was written and directed by Takehiko Inoue, the creator of the original SLAM DUNK manga, a beloved series serialised in the pages of the world-renowned Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, that received countless awards and accolades, and is one of the best-selling comics of all time, with over 170 million copies in print. The film follows the underdog Shohoku High School’s basketball team through the eyes of point guard Ryota Miyagi as they face stunning rivals in the National High School Tournament and simultaneously explore the tumultuous pasts of its protagonists.
Director Inoue brings his creative vision 30 years in the making to the screen with a unique perspective rarely found in cinema, as both the original author and the filmmaker adapting what the South China Morning Post says features “some of the most exhilarating basketball sequences in the history of cinema” with its unique “hybrid animation” that combines the best of cutting-edge CGI and hand-drawn 2D animation, while still maintaining the heart of the larger story of the young men at its centre, delivering “both a sports film and a compelling character drama” that will excite new fans and lifelong SLAM DUNK diehards alike.
Synopsis:
Ryota Miyagi and basketball have always been one thing. His love for this sport was transmitted to him by his older brother Sota, who died in an accident at sea when Ryota was still very young. He is the point guard of Shohoku, a team from the Kanagawa prefecture which gained a spot at Inter-High despite being unknown. Ryota is ready, together with his teammates, to face the “unbeatable” Sannoh, the champion team of the local tournament.
Check out the trailer below:
The film will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles, with the wide release also being shown with an English language dub.
You can book tickets for Edinburgh Film Festival right here. If you can’t make it to the EIFF, don’t worry! Tickets for the nationwide release will be available soon via slamdunkfilm.co.uk
