Viz Pictures to open a movie theatre dedicated to Japanese films in San Francisco

by Chris MaGee

If you live in the San Francisco area and you're a fan of Japanese cinema then you are in for a very, very big treat this summer. According to a post at Hoga Central a movie theatre dedicated entirely to Japanese films will be opened at 1746 Post Street in San Francisco's Japantown on August 15th! The muscle behind the brand new theatre, dubbed New People, comes from Seiji Horibuchi, the founder and CEO of San Francisco-based distributor Viz Pictures, the same folks who've brought out Shusuke Kaneko's "Death Note", Katsuhito IUshii's "Funk Forest: The First Contact", Yukihiko Tsutsumi's "Happily Ever After", amongst many others on DVD here in North America. New People won't just be a a movie theatre though. The 20,000 square foot, $15 million facility will also house shops a restaurant and a gallery all with the goal in mind to have New People be "a dedicated platform to foster the appreciation, preservation and exposure of Japanese popular culture and to connect the public with its creators."

With Viz Pictures already having made their one and two night North American theatrical releases of their new DVD titles a huge success this new theatre seems like the next logical step in their evolution. Congratulations to Viz and the people of San Francisco on this wonderful new facility. It will certainly give us Japanese film fans even more impetus to make a trip to the City on the Bay.