The Skip City International D-Cinema Festival 2024 will celebrate its 21st edition from July 13th (Sat) to 21st (Sun), 2024 for 9 days at Skip City, which is an integrated institution for digital cinema production.
(See: https://www.skipcity-dcf.jp/en/)
Submission period: January 31st, 2024 (Wed) – March 1st, 2024 (Fri)
Skip City International D-Cinema Festival remains committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, with the aim of helping these filmmakers seize new business opportunities that have arisen in the changing landscape of the film industry. Now calling for works (60 min. or longer) that have been shot digitally and must be the director's 1st, 2nd, or 3rd feature film from all over the world for the International Competition section.
Call for entries for the International Competition!!
Entry Deadline: Must be received by March 1st, 2024 (Fri)
Submit via FilmFreeway
https://filmfreeway.com/Skipcityinternationald-CinemaFESTIVAL (Online registration / Free)
All nominated films in competition categories are eligible for the Festival Organizers awards.
(See: https://www.skipcity-dcf.jp/en/)
Submission period: January 31st, 2024 (Wed) – March 1st, 2024 (Fri)
Skip City International D-Cinema Festival remains committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, with the aim of helping these filmmakers seize new business opportunities that have arisen in the changing landscape of the film industry. Now calling for works (60 min. or longer) that have been shot digitally and must be the director's 1st, 2nd, or 3rd feature film from all over the world for the International Competition section.
Call for entries for the International Competition!!
Entry Deadline: Must be received by March 1st, 2024 (Fri)
Submit via FilmFreeway
https://filmfreeway.com/Skipcityinternationald-CinemaFESTIVAL (Online registration / Free)
All nominated films in competition categories are eligible for the Festival Organizers awards.
- 2/2/2024
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
On one hand, while a number of animators and staff members from the anime industry have sternly spoken against the use of AI, anime directors Keiichi Hara and Tomohisa Taguchi, who are veterans in their own right, had an entirely different opinion regarding it.
As reported by Full Frontal, both Hara and Taguchi, who were talking at a panel at this year’s Annecy Festival, believed that AI, which doesn’t complain, get tired or sleep, could be a good tool to replace “lazy animators” and do the work in their place.
This opinion has stirred various sections of fandom, who believed that the directors shouldn’t have made such a comment in light of the recent developments.
Hara was talking about the difficulties of making animated feature films, when the topic shifted to lazy animators “who are being paid without putting in the work that’s expected of them.
As reported by Full Frontal, both Hara and Taguchi, who were talking at a panel at this year’s Annecy Festival, believed that AI, which doesn’t complain, get tired or sleep, could be a good tool to replace “lazy animators” and do the work in their place.
This opinion has stirred various sections of fandom, who believed that the directors shouldn’t have made such a comment in light of the recent developments.
Hara was talking about the difficulties of making animated feature films, when the topic shifted to lazy animators “who are being paid without putting in the work that’s expected of them.
- 12/13/2023
- by A.R. Madillo
- AnimeHunch
Playing games can be educational and otherwise beneficial. It is not necessarily about winning, whatever and however it might be, but more of something more long-term, even permanent, such as lessons learnt and friends made. And some, maybe even most of the in-game stuff, could be translated to the outer, real world that tends to be more cruel than the usual product of human imagination. That could serve as the point of Mizuki Tsujimura's novel and Keiichi Hara's animated feature “Lonely Castle in the Mirror”. The source novel achieved bestseller status in Japan, while the film entered distribution in the East Asian cinemas before its festival showing.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror is screening at Nippon Connection
Our protagonist Kokori lives a life of the middle school's outsider and bottom-feeder. She is bullied by the clique of the school's popular “alpha-bitch”, she does not have many friends and...
Lonely Castle in the Mirror is screening at Nippon Connection
Our protagonist Kokori lives a life of the middle school's outsider and bottom-feeder. She is bullied by the clique of the school's popular “alpha-bitch”, she does not have many friends and...
- 6/9/2023
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
Leading animation festival will open with Benoît Chieux’s Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Winds.
French director Benoît Chieux’s Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Wind is to open the Annecy International Animation Film Festival which runs from June 11-17.
The film – about two young sisters who discover a passage between this world and the extraordinary universe of The Kingdom of the Winds - is one of 11 titles selected for the festival’s official competition, where it will compete for the Crystal award.
Scroll down for full list
Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry’s Kensuke’s Kingdom – which is...
French director Benoît Chieux’s Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Wind is to open the Annecy International Animation Film Festival which runs from June 11-17.
The film – about two young sisters who discover a passage between this world and the extraordinary universe of The Kingdom of the Winds - is one of 11 titles selected for the festival’s official competition, where it will compete for the Crystal award.
Scroll down for full list
Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry’s Kensuke’s Kingdom – which is...
- 4/28/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Celebrating six decades as the animation industry’s premier international showcase and cementing a growing position as Hollywood’s preferred French getaway, the Annecy Intl. Animation Festival revealed its 2023 program in Paris on Thursday, unveiling a formidable selection of world premieres and industry debuts.
If only for the breadth of this year’s official selection, Annecy looks set to for its most fulsome and abundant edition.
Among the 11 titles competing for this year’s Cristal – Annecy’s top prize – Jérémie Périn’s sci-fi drama “Mars Express” and Jim Capobianco & Pierre-Luc Granjon stop-motion Leonardo da Vinci epic “The Inventor” will make their world premieres. Other eagerly anticipated titles include “Chicken for Linda!” from Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, “Four Souls of Coyote” from by Áron Gauder, and “The Inseparables” by Jérémie Degruson.
Titles like Liu Jian’s “Art College 1994” and Sepideh Farsi’s “The Siren” will arrive in the idyllic French...
If only for the breadth of this year’s official selection, Annecy looks set to for its most fulsome and abundant edition.
Among the 11 titles competing for this year’s Cristal – Annecy’s top prize – Jérémie Périn’s sci-fi drama “Mars Express” and Jim Capobianco & Pierre-Luc Granjon stop-motion Leonardo da Vinci epic “The Inventor” will make their world premieres. Other eagerly anticipated titles include “Chicken for Linda!” from Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, “Four Souls of Coyote” from by Áron Gauder, and “The Inseparables” by Jérémie Degruson.
Titles like Liu Jian’s “Art College 1994” and Sepideh Farsi’s “The Siren” will arrive in the idyllic French...
- 4/27/2023
- by Ben Croll and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 2023 edition, running from June 11 to 17.
More than 13,000 animation professionals are set to descend on the French festival’s lakeside setting for its traditional mix of screenings programs across all formats, Work-in-Progress and First-Look sneak peeks, and presentations going behind the scenes of upcoming animation productions.
Competition title Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Winds by French director Benoît Chieux opens the festival. The fantasy follows the adventures of two young sisters as they try to make their way home after getting trapped in the world of their favorite book.
A Cat In Paris and Phantom Boy director Alain Gagnol co-wrote the screenplay for the feature lead produced by Paris-based Sacrebleu Productions.
The film, which world premieres in Annecy, is among 11 titles competing for the festival’s Crystal award.
Another three French productions debut in Competition: Chiara Malta and...
More than 13,000 animation professionals are set to descend on the French festival’s lakeside setting for its traditional mix of screenings programs across all formats, Work-in-Progress and First-Look sneak peeks, and presentations going behind the scenes of upcoming animation productions.
Competition title Sirocco And The Kingdom Of The Winds by French director Benoît Chieux opens the festival. The fantasy follows the adventures of two young sisters as they try to make their way home after getting trapped in the world of their favorite book.
A Cat In Paris and Phantom Boy director Alain Gagnol co-wrote the screenplay for the feature lead produced by Paris-based Sacrebleu Productions.
The film, which world premieres in Annecy, is among 11 titles competing for the festival’s Crystal award.
Another three French productions debut in Competition: Chiara Malta and...
- 4/27/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
"Maybe we're supposed to help each other." GKids has revealed an official US trailer for a Japanese anime film titled Lonely Castle in the Mirror, set to play in US theaters this summer. More and more Japanese films are getting a proper theatrical release, as they're noticed there is a good audience for this and they can actually bring people out to the cinema. From acclaimed director Keiichi Hara and based on the bestselling novel by Mizuki Tsujimura, Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a heartfelt drama about the pains of growing up and the unlikely bonds that can bring people together. Seven teens wake to find their bedroom mirrors are shining. They are pulled from their lonely lives to a wondrous castle. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish. But...
- 4/14/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Summer theatrical release lined up.
GKids has acquired all North American rights to Keiichi Hara’s Rotterdam selection Lonely Castle In The Mirror.
The film was the first Japanese animation to premiere at Rotterdam International Film Festival and recently received its US premiere at New York International Children’s Film Festival.
Lonely Castle In The Mirror follows shy school student Kokoro who enters a castle through a portal in her bedroom mirror where she and six other students must accept a challenge by a girl wearing a wolf mask.
The youngsters work together to uncover the mysterious connection that unites them,...
GKids has acquired all North American rights to Keiichi Hara’s Rotterdam selection Lonely Castle In The Mirror.
The film was the first Japanese animation to premiere at Rotterdam International Film Festival and recently received its US premiere at New York International Children’s Film Festival.
Lonely Castle In The Mirror follows shy school student Kokoro who enters a castle through a portal in her bedroom mirror where she and six other students must accept a challenge by a girl wearing a wolf mask.
The youngsters work together to uncover the mysterious connection that unites them,...
- 4/13/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Gkids has picked up the North American distribution rights to the Lonely Castle in the Mirror anime pic from Japanese director Keiichi Hara.
The film, adapted from the novel of the same name by Mizuki Tsujimura, is set for a summer release theatrically in its original Japanese language and a new English-dubbed version.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror portrays a shy outcast teen, voiced by Ami Touma, who is avoiding school when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and is transported to an enchanting castle with six other students who are together invited by a girl in a wolf mask to play a game to uncover the mysterious connection that unites them — and anyone breaking the rules will be eaten by a wolf.
The film, with animation from the A-1 Pictures, has a Japanese voice cast that includes Takumi Kitamura, Sakura Kiryu, Rihito Itagaki, Naho Yokomizo,...
The film, adapted from the novel of the same name by Mizuki Tsujimura, is set for a summer release theatrically in its original Japanese language and a new English-dubbed version.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror portrays a shy outcast teen, voiced by Ami Touma, who is avoiding school when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and is transported to an enchanting castle with six other students who are together invited by a girl in a wolf mask to play a game to uncover the mysterious connection that unites them — and anyone breaking the rules will be eaten by a wolf.
The film, with animation from the A-1 Pictures, has a Japanese voice cast that includes Takumi Kitamura, Sakura Kiryu, Rihito Itagaki, Naho Yokomizo,...
- 4/13/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Gkids has snapped up North American rights to Keiichi Hara’s Lonely Castle in the Mirror, after serving as the distributor in the territory for his past animated features Summer Days with Coo and Miss Hokusai. The film based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Mizuki Tsujimura, featuring animation from A-1 Pictures, is slated for a theatrical release in both its original Japanese language and an all-new English dub this summer.
Reuniting Hara with collaborators including screenwriter Miho Maruo, composer Harumi Fuuki and artist Ilya Kuvshinov, Lonely Castle in the Mirror follows shy outcast Kokoro, who has been avoiding school for weeks when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and finds herself transported to an enchanting castle where she is joined by six other students. And when a girl in a wolf mask explains that they have been invited to play a game,...
Reuniting Hara with collaborators including screenwriter Miho Maruo, composer Harumi Fuuki and artist Ilya Kuvshinov, Lonely Castle in the Mirror follows shy outcast Kokoro, who has been avoiding school for weeks when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and finds herself transported to an enchanting castle where she is joined by six other students. And when a girl in a wolf mask explains that they have been invited to play a game,...
- 4/13/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
We are happy to announce that the Skip City International D-Cinema Festival 2023 will celebrate its 20th anniversary edition from July 15th (Sat) to 23th (Sun), 2023 for 9 days at Skip City, which is an integrated institution for digital cinema production
(See: https://www.skipcity-dcf.jp/en/)
Submission period: January 25th, 2023 (Wed) – March 1st, 2023 (Wed)
We remain committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, with the aim of helping these filmmakers seize new business opportunities that have arisen in the changing landscape of the film industry. Now we call for works (60 min. or longer) that have been shot digitally and must be the director’s 1st, 2nd, or 3rd feature film from all over the world for the International Competition section.
Call for entries for the International Competition!!
Entry Deadline: Must be received by March 1st, 2023 (Wed)
Submit via FilmFreeway
https://filmfreeway.com/Skipcityinternationald-CinemaFESTIVAL (Online registration / Free)
Our International Competition welcomes you!
(See: https://www.skipcity-dcf.jp/en/)
Submission period: January 25th, 2023 (Wed) – March 1st, 2023 (Wed)
We remain committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, with the aim of helping these filmmakers seize new business opportunities that have arisen in the changing landscape of the film industry. Now we call for works (60 min. or longer) that have been shot digitally and must be the director’s 1st, 2nd, or 3rd feature film from all over the world for the International Competition section.
Call for entries for the International Competition!!
Entry Deadline: Must be received by March 1st, 2023 (Wed)
Submit via FilmFreeway
https://filmfreeway.com/Skipcityinternationald-CinemaFESTIVAL (Online registration / Free)
Our International Competition welcomes you!
- 1/25/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Cinematography retrospectives are the way to go—more than a thorough display of talent, it exposes the vast expanse a Dp will travel, like an education in form and business all the same. Accordingly I’m happy to see the Criterion Channel give a 25-film tribute to James Wong Howe, whose career spanned silent cinema to the ’70s, populated with work by Howard Hawks, Michael Curtz, Samuel Fuller, Alexander Mackendrick, Sydney Pollack, John Frankenheimer, and Raoul Walsh.
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
- 8/22/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
You've heard me, scornful, harsh, and discontented,Mocking and loathing War: you've asked me whyOf my old, silly sweetness I've repented—My ecstasies changed to an ugly cry. You are aware that once I sought the Grail,Riding in armour bright, serene and strong;And it was told that through my infant wailThere rose immortal semblances of song. But now I've said good-bye to Galahad,And am no more the knight of dreams and show:For lust and senseless hatred make me glad,And my killed friends are with me where I go.Wound for red wound I burn to smite their wrongs;And there is absolution in my songs.—Siegfried Sassoon, “The Poet as Hero”Films about art and artists face different obstacles in making the art itself cinematic. A movie about a painter, like Pollock (2000) or My Left Foot (1989), can simply observe them at work. Keiichi Hara’s animated...
- 6/14/2022
- MUBI
Sink Your Teeth Into Tokyo Ghoul On Screen Anime
Live-action adaptation of hit manga heads line-up that challenges limits of animation.
Expand the realms of possibility for animation this month with the Screen Anime channel’s latest line-up that celebrates experimental techniques, and anime’s rising influence in other mediums. Leading this latest curated roster of films is Tokyo Ghoul, the Japanese live-action adaptation of Sui Ishida’s internationally bestselling horror manga, that previously inspired the beloved anime franchise.
Screen Anime also invites you to experience new techniques and ideas in anime with The Case of Hana & Alice, a coming-of-age mystery celebrated for its use of rotoscoping, a technique of tracing live-action footage to create realistic motion seen in later films like 2017’s Loving Vincent. Director Masaaki Yuasa has proven himself to be a favourite among Screen Anime fans, and there’s no better showcase of why that is than...
Live-action adaptation of hit manga heads line-up that challenges limits of animation.
Expand the realms of possibility for animation this month with the Screen Anime channel’s latest line-up that celebrates experimental techniques, and anime’s rising influence in other mediums. Leading this latest curated roster of films is Tokyo Ghoul, the Japanese live-action adaptation of Sui Ishida’s internationally bestselling horror manga, that previously inspired the beloved anime franchise.
Screen Anime also invites you to experience new techniques and ideas in anime with The Case of Hana & Alice, a coming-of-age mystery celebrated for its use of rotoscoping, a technique of tracing live-action footage to create realistic motion seen in later films like 2017’s Loving Vincent. Director Masaaki Yuasa has proven himself to be a favourite among Screen Anime fans, and there’s no better showcase of why that is than...
- 2/24/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
With each New Year bringing feelings of new beginnings and vows to explore new talents (at least until we slip just once from our gym routine!), the Screen Anime channel is excited to head into 2021 with a line-up themed around new beginnings, led by Keiichi Hara’s Annecy Award-nominated biopic Miss Hokusai, as well as The Place Promised in Our Early Days, the feature film debut of the now world-famous director Makoto Shinkai, and more!
Joining them later this month are the intense and action-packed thriller Jin-Roh (written by Mamoru Oshii of Ghost in the Shellfame), and the eclectic short-film anthology follow-up Genius Party Beyond. These four great films are also joined by this month’s binge-worthy TV series The Tatami Galaxy, the acclaimed eccentric romantic comedy from Masaaki Yuasa.
All titles will be available on Screen Anime from 27 December 2020 until 25 January 2021. The four feature films will be available in...
Joining them later this month are the intense and action-packed thriller Jin-Roh (written by Mamoru Oshii of Ghost in the Shellfame), and the eclectic short-film anthology follow-up Genius Party Beyond. These four great films are also joined by this month’s binge-worthy TV series The Tatami Galaxy, the acclaimed eccentric romantic comedy from Masaaki Yuasa.
All titles will be available on Screen Anime from 27 December 2020 until 25 January 2021. The four feature films will be available in...
- 12/23/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
From a charming fantasy, the darkest timeline, and even the intimate comfort of a bar, the Screen Anime channel invites you to experience stories only possible in animation with their most imaginative line-up to date. From 25th September 2020, embark on a journey to save a magical kingdom with the first wide release of Birthday Wonderland in the UK & Ireland, celebrate an iconic franchise with the bloody battle for the Holy Grail in Fate/stay night Heaven’s Feel 1: presage flower, and more!
Joining them this month are classics from now-renowned directors who have proven themselves Screen Anime favourites: 5 Centimeters Per Second, a romance anthology from Makoto Shinkai, and the eclectic anthology Genius Party, featuring short films by Masaaki Yuasa (Ride Your Wave) and Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop). This month’s bingeable series also sees the English-language digital debut of Bartender, a personal favourite of Anime Limited President Andrew Partridge!
Joining them this month are classics from now-renowned directors who have proven themselves Screen Anime favourites: 5 Centimeters Per Second, a romance anthology from Makoto Shinkai, and the eclectic anthology Genius Party, featuring short films by Masaaki Yuasa (Ride Your Wave) and Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop). This month’s bingeable series also sees the English-language digital debut of Bartender, a personal favourite of Anime Limited President Andrew Partridge!
- 9/25/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
An Jae-hoon’s Contrechamps Jury Prize-winning film “Shaman Sorceress” premiered at Annecy 2020. Originally planned for the silver screen but instead splashed across computer monitors, the film’s reception has been severely muted — which is a shame, considering the its unprecedented qualities. In this animated musical about a sexually promiscuous medium in the Joseon era, “Shaman Sorceress” tests the boundaries of Korean culture wars.
The film begins with Nang-yi, a deaf daughter with an eye for ink painting. She and her beautiful mother, Mowha (Sonya) live in disgrace. Mowha scrapes a living between her alcoholic tendencies and sexual escapades by serving as the local exorcist. One day, Nang-yi’s long-lost, handsome brother, Woo-kyi (Kim Dae-hyun) — originally sent away to study at a Buddhist temple — returns many years later as a Jesuit pastor-in-training. Armed with the Bible and the power of prayer, he devotes his days to convert his heathen mother. The...
The film begins with Nang-yi, a deaf daughter with an eye for ink painting. She and her beautiful mother, Mowha (Sonya) live in disgrace. Mowha scrapes a living between her alcoholic tendencies and sexual escapades by serving as the local exorcist. One day, Nang-yi’s long-lost, handsome brother, Woo-kyi (Kim Dae-hyun) — originally sent away to study at a Buddhist temple — returns many years later as a Jesuit pastor-in-training. Armed with the Bible and the power of prayer, he devotes his days to convert his heathen mother. The...
- 7/20/2020
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The third edition of the Japannual Film Festival takes place from 1st to 6th of October in Vienna. This year, the festival celebrates the 150th anniversary of Austrian-Japanese diplomatic relations with an excellent selection of films, showing the highlights of the bygone year. Besides the modern cinema, Japannual features two movies of the infamous director Koji Wakamatsu accompanied by the short films of video artist Yuri Muraoka.
The opening film “Blue Hour” (2019), a multi-layered comedy about a sudden family visit, is the first feature by female director Yuko Hakota and was already celebrated at the Nippon Connection Festival for its portrayal of strong female characters.
Strong female characters can also be seen in Kosai Sekine’s “Love at Least” (2018) and Momoko Fukuda’s “My Father, My Bride” (2019). Both directors will be present at the festival and so it the actress Shuri, who gives an intriguing performance of a mentally ill...
The opening film “Blue Hour” (2019), a multi-layered comedy about a sudden family visit, is the first feature by female director Yuko Hakota and was already celebrated at the Nippon Connection Festival for its portrayal of strong female characters.
Strong female characters can also be seen in Kosai Sekine’s “Love at Least” (2018) and Momoko Fukuda’s “My Father, My Bride” (2019). Both directors will be present at the festival and so it the actress Shuri, who gives an intriguing performance of a mentally ill...
- 9/28/2019
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
Keiichi Hara, known for “Summer Days with Coo” (2007) and his more recent anime hit “Miss Hokusai” (2015), delivers “Birthday Wonderland” – an ecological road movie about friendship.
“Birthday Wonderland” is now screening at /slash film festival.
The story centers around the young girl Akane and her family friend Chii, who is the owner of a curiosity shop. Her shop is the setting for a strange encounter with the Alchemist Mr. Hippocrates and his little helper, Pipo. As they enter through a portal in the cellar of the shop in search of the so-called “Goddess of the Green Wind”, they seem to have found their chosen one in Akane. From now on she is determined to follow them into their world to solve the imminent water shortage crisis.
“Birthday Wonderland” is a big-budget anime production by Warner Brother Japan, Aniplex and Fuji TV. In a “Ferris Bueller”- like manner, the schoolgirl Akane...
“Birthday Wonderland” is now screening at /slash film festival.
The story centers around the young girl Akane and her family friend Chii, who is the owner of a curiosity shop. Her shop is the setting for a strange encounter with the Alchemist Mr. Hippocrates and his little helper, Pipo. As they enter through a portal in the cellar of the shop in search of the so-called “Goddess of the Green Wind”, they seem to have found their chosen one in Akane. From now on she is determined to follow them into their world to solve the imminent water shortage crisis.
“Birthday Wonderland” is a big-budget anime production by Warner Brother Japan, Aniplex and Fuji TV. In a “Ferris Bueller”- like manner, the schoolgirl Akane...
- 9/24/2019
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
This week, the /slash Film Festival, Austria’s biggest Fantastic Film Festival, starts its projectors in Vienna to screen a broad catalog of dark and twisted treats. From September 19 until September 29, the 10th edition of the Festival will also present a promising Asian selection.
Six Asian feature films and four animations are among the total number of 70 movies that can be seen in two charming old-town cinemas. The so-called “/asian” selection starts with “The Scoundrels” (2018), the debut of Taiwanese director Hung Tzu-Hsuan. From the Philippines comes Erik Matti’s “The Entity” (2019). An elegant horror-thriller about a secretive family history that is packed with suspense. In cooperation with the Japannual Film Festival, /slash presents the Japanese entry for the selection – “The Fable” (2019) by Kan Eguchi. The Manga adaption is a mixture of over the top action sequences and utterly disarming humor. Highly anticipated is also Won-Tae Lee’s “The Gangster, The Cop,...
Six Asian feature films and four animations are among the total number of 70 movies that can be seen in two charming old-town cinemas. The so-called “/asian” selection starts with “The Scoundrels” (2018), the debut of Taiwanese director Hung Tzu-Hsuan. From the Philippines comes Erik Matti’s “The Entity” (2019). An elegant horror-thriller about a secretive family history that is packed with suspense. In cooperation with the Japannual Film Festival, /slash presents the Japanese entry for the selection – “The Fable” (2019) by Kan Eguchi. The Manga adaption is a mixture of over the top action sequences and utterly disarming humor. Highly anticipated is also Won-Tae Lee’s “The Gangster, The Cop,...
- 9/19/2019
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
Features the voices of: Mayu Matsuoka, Anne Watanabe, Kumiko Asô, Nao Tôyama, Keiji Fujiwara, Akiko Yajima, Masachika Ichimura | Written by Miho Maruo | Directed by Keiichi Hara
Outside of literally three or four movies, my viewing of Japanese animated movies is completely reliant on Studio Ghibili. That said, I adore the studio and every one of its movies, with Spirited Away being one of my all time favourites. So it was about time I checked out the output from other animation filmmakers in Japan.
As the title would suggest, The Wonderland does have a few influences from Alice in Wonderland. But to be honest, there’s nothing too obvious and it definitely does not feel like a retread of that story. The day before her birthday, a young girl, Akane, meets an alchemist named Hippocrates and his student Pipo. Along with an antique shop owner, Chii, who she is kind of friends with,...
Outside of literally three or four movies, my viewing of Japanese animated movies is completely reliant on Studio Ghibili. That said, I adore the studio and every one of its movies, with Spirited Away being one of my all time favourites. So it was about time I checked out the output from other animation filmmakers in Japan.
As the title would suggest, The Wonderland does have a few influences from Alice in Wonderland. But to be honest, there’s nothing too obvious and it definitely does not feel like a retread of that story. The day before her birthday, a young girl, Akane, meets an alchemist named Hippocrates and his student Pipo. Along with an antique shop owner, Chii, who she is kind of friends with,...
- 7/16/2019
- by Alain Elliott
- Nerdly
Days away from her birthday, teenage girl Akane feels listless as she comes up with excuses to stay in bed rather than attending school or going outside. She is even less thrilled as her mother tells her to visit her aunt Chii, the owner of a little bric-a-brac store, in order to receive her birthday present. However, as Chii is looking for her present and Akane browses the store, out of the blue a hidden trap door to the basement opens and a tall man appears accompanied by a small apprentice called Pipo.
As the man introduces himself as Hippocrates, a world-famous alchemist, he tells Akane that she is the Goddess of the Green Wind and he has been looking all over for her. Eventually the girl and her aunt accompany the two men to the world beyond, a world on the brink of chaos, a world which only Akane may be able to save.
As the man introduces himself as Hippocrates, a world-famous alchemist, he tells Akane that she is the Goddess of the Green Wind and he has been looking all over for her. Eventually the girl and her aunt accompany the two men to the world beyond, a world on the brink of chaos, a world which only Akane may be able to save.
- 7/15/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival has shared the best in anime since its very first edition, and as its 23rd edition (11 July – 1 August) approaches, Fantasia’s Axis section, home to the festival’s animated films, proudly announces an extraordinary array of anime titles — all in competition for Fantasia’s prestigious Satoshi Kon Award for Achievement in Animation!
Fantasia has just announced its Closing Film, and anime fans will agree — extreme heat never looked so cool! In the embers of the globe-engulfing great flame war, the maverick firefighters of Burning Rescue confront the fiery terrorists of Burnish Mad. Director Hiroyuki Imaishi and writer Kazuki Nakashima, who’ve together previously on Gurren Lagann and Kill La Kill, are at the wheel for the first feature film from edgy anime studio Trigger, Promare. A raging riot of bright colours, daring design, crazy characters and whiplash action, Promare isn’t just the most...
Fantasia has just announced its Closing Film, and anime fans will agree — extreme heat never looked so cool! In the embers of the globe-engulfing great flame war, the maverick firefighters of Burning Rescue confront the fiery terrorists of Burnish Mad. Director Hiroyuki Imaishi and writer Kazuki Nakashima, who’ve together previously on Gurren Lagann and Kill La Kill, are at the wheel for the first feature film from edgy anime studio Trigger, Promare. A raging riot of bright colours, daring design, crazy characters and whiplash action, Promare isn’t just the most...
- 7/6/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
With a final wave of programming, the 2019 edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival has now released its full lineup, featuring over 130 incredible features from across the globe.
Fantasia International Film Festival
Montreal, Quebec – July 11 to August 1
In addition, the festival is also very proud to announce a record number of repertory titles, its esteemed 2019 jury, a horror film location bus tour through Montreal, and exciting, one-of-a-kind live events with producer Edward R. Pressman, “First Blood” director Ted Kotcheff, and iconic horror host Joe Bob Briggs.
Japanese horror icon ”Sadako” will open fantasia 2019!
Sadako
Twenty years ago, Fantasia celebrated the North American Premiere of Hideo Nakata’s “Ringu” and its sequel, which led to Dreamworks acquiring the franchise and is largely seen as having been the birth of J-Horror in the West. This Summer, the festival is proud to open its 23rd edition with the series’ latest sequel, “Sadako” (North...
Fantasia International Film Festival
Montreal, Quebec – July 11 to August 1
In addition, the festival is also very proud to announce a record number of repertory titles, its esteemed 2019 jury, a horror film location bus tour through Montreal, and exciting, one-of-a-kind live events with producer Edward R. Pressman, “First Blood” director Ted Kotcheff, and iconic horror host Joe Bob Briggs.
Japanese horror icon ”Sadako” will open fantasia 2019!
Sadako
Twenty years ago, Fantasia celebrated the North American Premiere of Hideo Nakata’s “Ringu” and its sequel, which led to Dreamworks acquiring the franchise and is largely seen as having been the birth of J-Horror in the West. This Summer, the festival is proud to open its 23rd edition with the series’ latest sequel, “Sadako” (North...
- 6/28/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The animation festival has also launched the Contrechamp competition.
Anders Matthesen and Thorbjørn Christoffersen’s Checkered Ninja, which has taken the Danish box office by storm, will be one of eight features showcased in the Annecy Festival’s new-look Features competition section for animated films later this year (June 10-15).
The Features line-up also includes three titles from Japan – Masaaki Yuasa’s Ride Your Wave, Yuhei Sakuragi’s The Relative Worlds and Keiichi Hara’s The Wonderland.
Annecy has also introduced a parallel competition called Contrechamp, ’for the most unique feature films, as well as those that create more challenges...
Anders Matthesen and Thorbjørn Christoffersen’s Checkered Ninja, which has taken the Danish box office by storm, will be one of eight features showcased in the Annecy Festival’s new-look Features competition section for animated films later this year (June 10-15).
The Features line-up also includes three titles from Japan – Masaaki Yuasa’s Ride Your Wave, Yuhei Sakuragi’s The Relative Worlds and Keiichi Hara’s The Wonderland.
Annecy has also introduced a parallel competition called Contrechamp, ’for the most unique feature films, as well as those that create more challenges...
- 4/16/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The animation festival has also launched the Contrechamp competition.
Anders Matthesen and Thorbjørn Christoffersen’s Checkered Ninja, which has taken the Danish box office by storm, will be one of eight features showcased in the Annecy Festival’s new-look Features competition section for animated films later this year (June 10-15).
The Features line-up also includes three titles from Japan – Masaaki Yuasa’s Ride Your Wave, Yuhei Sakuragi’s The Relative Worlds and Keiichi Hara’s The Wonderland.
Annecy has also introduced a parallel competition called Contrechamp, ’for the most unique feature films, as well as those that create more challenges...
Anders Matthesen and Thorbjørn Christoffersen’s Checkered Ninja, which has taken the Danish box office by storm, will be one of eight features showcased in the Annecy Festival’s new-look Features competition section for animated films later this year (June 10-15).
The Features line-up also includes three titles from Japan – Masaaki Yuasa’s Ride Your Wave, Yuhei Sakuragi’s The Relative Worlds and Keiichi Hara’s The Wonderland.
Annecy has also introduced a parallel competition called Contrechamp, ’for the most unique feature films, as well as those that create more challenges...
- 4/16/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story 4,” Nickelodeon’s “Spongebob’s Big Birthday Blowout,” work-in progress sneak peeks at Netflix’s “Klaus” and Warner Animation Group’s “Scoob” look set to be some of the highlights at this year’s Annecy Intl. Animation Festival whose lineup was announced in Paris on Monday.
Opening, as already announced, with the world premieres of an episode from Warner Bros. Animation’s “Looney Tunes Cartoons” and Lino Disalvo’s “Playmobil: The Movie,” the biggest French production of 2019, and taking in the first screening of DreamWorks Animation’s short “Marooned,” the 2019 Annecy Festival also features Gaumont/Amazon Studios’ “Do Ré & Me.”
Running June 10-15 in a picturesque lakeside town in the French Alps, Annecy has grown year-on-year for near two decades, driven by the resurgence of animation worldwide.
This year’s event, at first glance, looks to underscore two growth drivers. A larger platform on the lake,...
Opening, as already announced, with the world premieres of an episode from Warner Bros. Animation’s “Looney Tunes Cartoons” and Lino Disalvo’s “Playmobil: The Movie,” the biggest French production of 2019, and taking in the first screening of DreamWorks Animation’s short “Marooned,” the 2019 Annecy Festival also features Gaumont/Amazon Studios’ “Do Ré & Me.”
Running June 10-15 in a picturesque lakeside town in the French Alps, Annecy has grown year-on-year for near two decades, driven by the resurgence of animation worldwide.
This year’s event, at first glance, looks to underscore two growth drivers. A larger platform on the lake,...
- 4/15/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The Tokyo International Film Festival is this year putting the spotlight on anime veteran Keiichi Hara.
Beginning his directing career in the early 1980s on TV and movie productions of the mega-hit anime franchise Doraemon, Hara continued into the 1990s and early 2000s working on another major kids' anime franchise, Crayon Shin-chan.
His award-winning feature Summer Days With Coo in 2007 was followed in 2010 by Colorful, a complex examination of teenage suicide. But it was 2015's Miss Hokusai, about the daughter and collaborator of a famous woodblock print artist, which garnered Hara international recognition.
This year marks the 100th anniversary...
Beginning his directing career in the early 1980s on TV and movie productions of the mega-hit anime franchise Doraemon, Hara continued into the 1990s and early 2000s working on another major kids' anime franchise, Crayon Shin-chan.
His award-winning feature Summer Days With Coo in 2007 was followed in 2010 by Colorful, a complex examination of teenage suicide. But it was 2015's Miss Hokusai, about the daughter and collaborator of a famous woodblock print artist, which garnered Hara international recognition.
This year marks the 100th anniversary...
- 10/26/2017
- by Gavin J. Blair
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director of Colorful and Miss Hokusai selected for Tiff’s annual Animation Focus section.
This year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff, Oct 25-Nov 3) will highlight the work of Miss Hokusai director Keiichi Hara in its Animation Focus section.
Tiff said Hara had been chosen due to his “increased international recognition” as well as “his ability to combine a strong auteurist approach with commercial appeal”. The festival, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, also observed that this year marks the 100th anniversary of Japanese animation.
Full details of the titles selected for ‘The World of Keiichi Hara’ will be announced at the same time as the Tiff line-up in September. The animation focus will include screenings of Hara’s animated films and TV works, along with live action films. Screenings will be followed by panel sessions with special guests.
Following his early work on hit series such as Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan, Hara started...
This year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff, Oct 25-Nov 3) will highlight the work of Miss Hokusai director Keiichi Hara in its Animation Focus section.
Tiff said Hara had been chosen due to his “increased international recognition” as well as “his ability to combine a strong auteurist approach with commercial appeal”. The festival, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, also observed that this year marks the 100th anniversary of Japanese animation.
Full details of the titles selected for ‘The World of Keiichi Hara’ will be announced at the same time as the Tiff line-up in September. The animation focus will include screenings of Hara’s animated films and TV works, along with live action films. Screenings will be followed by panel sessions with special guests.
Following his early work on hit series such as Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan, Hara started...
- 6/14/2017
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Tokyo International Film Festival is to showcase the work of Keiichi Hara in this year’s Animation Focus section.
Hara worked on anime TV hits including Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan, before switching to anime features. His films Summer Days With Coo (2007) and Colorful (2010) both won awards internationally as well as the Japan Academy Prize. His 2015 period anime Miss Hokusai garnered both commercial success and critical praise.
In addition to the screenings, there will be talk shows and other events, with more details to be announced by the festival.
Previous editions of the Special Focus on Japanese Animation...
Hara worked on anime TV hits including Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan, before switching to anime features. His films Summer Days With Coo (2007) and Colorful (2010) both won awards internationally as well as the Japan Academy Prize. His 2015 period anime Miss Hokusai garnered both commercial success and critical praise.
In addition to the screenings, there will be talk shows and other events, with more details to be announced by the festival.
Previous editions of the Special Focus on Japanese Animation...
- 6/14/2017
- by Gavin J. Blair
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“In its ruminations on artistic tradition, creation, and vision, Miss Hokusai is something close to a minor masterpiece,” we said in our review last fall. With Keiichi Hara‘s animation now arriving on Blu-ray this week, we’ve teamed with Gkids to give away a prize pack to our readers, including Great wave socks, folding fan, bookmark, journal, green tea chocolate bar, and a Blu-ray/DVD of the film. All entries must be received by 11:59 Pm Est on Sunday, March 12th.
To enter, do the first two steps and then each additional one counts as another entry into the contest.
1. Like The Film Stage on Facebook.
2. Follow The Film Stage on Twitter.
Follow @TheFilmStage
3. Follow The Film Stage on Instagram.
4. Comment in the box on Facebook with your favorite animation produced in Japan.
5. Retweet the following tweet:
We're giving away this #MissHokusai prize pack! Follow us & Rt to enter.
To enter, do the first two steps and then each additional one counts as another entry into the contest.
1. Like The Film Stage on Facebook.
2. Follow The Film Stage on Twitter.
Follow @TheFilmStage
3. Follow The Film Stage on Instagram.
4. Comment in the box on Facebook with your favorite animation produced in Japan.
5. Retweet the following tweet:
We're giving away this #MissHokusai prize pack! Follow us & Rt to enter.
- 3/6/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
In many ways, it’s been the year of the self-reliant female in animation, headlined by”Zootopia’s” Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), Ellen DeGeneres’ forgetful but streetwise Blue Tang from “Finding Dory,” the eponymous teenage Polynesian in “Moana” (Auli’i Cravalho), the eternally optimistic Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) from “Trolls” and the trio of gals from “Sing.”
Read More: How Gkids Doubled Down to Compete in the Most Crowded Animation Oscar Race
They reflect hopes and dreams and empowerment in both individual and universal ways. What’s more, their journeys are so relatable and inspiring that they’ve been embraced by audiences around the world.
“Zootopia”
It made total sense to switch protagonists from cynical, hustling fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to idealistic bunny cop Judy Hopps in Disney’s zeitgeist-grabbing, Oscar frontrunner. You not only have more of a rooting interest in saving and healing Zootopia but it also...
Read More: How Gkids Doubled Down to Compete in the Most Crowded Animation Oscar Race
They reflect hopes and dreams and empowerment in both individual and universal ways. What’s more, their journeys are so relatable and inspiring that they’ve been embraced by audiences around the world.
“Zootopia”
It made total sense to switch protagonists from cynical, hustling fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to idealistic bunny cop Judy Hopps in Disney’s zeitgeist-grabbing, Oscar frontrunner. You not only have more of a rooting interest in saving and healing Zootopia but it also...
- 12/14/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
In what has turned out to be the most competitive animated Oscar race since the Academy instituted the category 15 years ago, we have a record 27 entries — most of them indies — and the greatest range of diversity ever on display in terms of themes and techniques.
Read More: Annie Awards: ‘Zootopia’ with 11 Nominations Takes Lead in Oscar Race
From talking and singing animals to female empowerment, to both extraordinary and ordinary rites of passage, to cycle of life exploration, animation speaks with relevance and urgency about and how we must grow closer together in these divisive times.
In terms of the race itself, the animation committee remains dedicated to nominating two or three indies, so look for that trend to continue. Which means no more than one or two big studio CG movies, along with significant representation of 2D and stop-motion. But while Gkids has dominated the indie field the last several years,...
Read More: Annie Awards: ‘Zootopia’ with 11 Nominations Takes Lead in Oscar Race
From talking and singing animals to female empowerment, to both extraordinary and ordinary rites of passage, to cycle of life exploration, animation speaks with relevance and urgency about and how we must grow closer together in these divisive times.
In terms of the race itself, the animation committee remains dedicated to nominating two or three indies, so look for that trend to continue. Which means no more than one or two big studio CG movies, along with significant representation of 2D and stop-motion. But while Gkids has dominated the indie field the last several years,...
- 12/7/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
In the most competitive animated Oscar race ever (with a record 27 entries), indie powerhouse Gkids (with eight nominations since 2009) entered the fray with five contenders for the first time. And, on Monday, its two strongest — the stop-motion “My Life as a Zucchini” and the hand-drawn “Miss Hokusai” — grabbed two Annie nominations for best indie feature and a third for “Zucchini” director Claude Barras.
Read More: How Gkids Shook the Oscar Animated Race with First Latin American Nominee and a New Ghibli Hit
“It’s a feast of animation and the timing was just the luck of the draw,” Gkids co-founder and president Eric Beckman told IndieWire. “The really rich landscape that we see this year is part of a trend and a shift [toward indies] that we’re happy to see exist and take pride in helping propagate it.”
Beckman also prides himself on smart taste and filling a need to help...
Read More: How Gkids Shook the Oscar Animated Race with First Latin American Nominee and a New Ghibli Hit
“It’s a feast of animation and the timing was just the luck of the draw,” Gkids co-founder and president Eric Beckman told IndieWire. “The really rich landscape that we see this year is part of a trend and a shift [toward indies] that we’re happy to see exist and take pride in helping propagate it.”
Beckman also prides himself on smart taste and filling a need to help...
- 11/29/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Miss Hokusai, opened to more than 80 theaters in the U.S. last week. Since its opening, AnimeNewsNetwork reports that the film has racked in $105,459 in U.S. box office gross.
Distribution company GKids and production company Production I.G are hopeful that the critically acclaimed animated gem can reach more audiences outside Japan.
Miss Hokusai boasts historical themes, emotional arcs, and stunning animation. Since it premiered in Japan last May 2015, the film has bagged the Best Animated Feature award in several illustrious festivals including the Asian Pacific Screen Awards, the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, as well as the Fantasia International Film Festival. Miss Hokusai was also nominated for Animation of the Year by the Japan Academy Prize Association.
Miss Hokusai is directed by Keiichi Hara (from Summer Days with Coo and Colorful) and is inspired by Hinako Sugiura’s manga Sarusuberi. Yutaka Matsushige (from Last Life in the Universe...
Distribution company GKids and production company Production I.G are hopeful that the critically acclaimed animated gem can reach more audiences outside Japan.
Miss Hokusai boasts historical themes, emotional arcs, and stunning animation. Since it premiered in Japan last May 2015, the film has bagged the Best Animated Feature award in several illustrious festivals including the Asian Pacific Screen Awards, the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, as well as the Fantasia International Film Festival. Miss Hokusai was also nominated for Animation of the Year by the Japan Academy Prize Association.
Miss Hokusai is directed by Keiichi Hara (from Summer Days with Coo and Colorful) and is inspired by Hinako Sugiura’s manga Sarusuberi. Yutaka Matsushige (from Last Life in the Universe...
- 10/26/2016
- by Ella Palileo
- AsianMoviePulse
One of the biggest reasons why 2D animation is still alive and well in other parts of the world is that some countries never got the memo that all animated films needed to be about talking animals or singing princesses. Only in America do we seem to believe that animation should exclusively be used to capture things that cannot be placed in front of a camera — this, even at a time when the dominant live-action films are basically cartoons with celebrity stand-ins. Hollywood has completely resigned itself to the idea that seeing is inherently better than imagining, each newly announced “live-action” remake a reaffirmation of the idea that every drawing wants to be a photograph.
That isn’t (and has never been) the case in Japan, however, where animated movies are so often about people — not the secret lives of their pets, or their action figures, or their sex-crazed foodstuffs,...
That isn’t (and has never been) the case in Japan, however, where animated movies are so often about people — not the secret lives of their pets, or their action figures, or their sex-crazed foodstuffs,...
- 10/14/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
You don’t need to work hard to make Keiichi Hara’s newest film, “Miss Hokusai,” sound dry on paper: Simply throw out the phrase “movie based on an historical manga series,”and you’ve positioned the movie right at the intersection where “arid” crosses “boring,” except that “Miss Hokusai” defies geography by being neither of these. An animated semi-biographical film about the daughter-cum-apprentice of the great Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai sounds like a snore, but Hara marries biography to observational and slapstick humor, plus a healthy dose of supernatural rumblings, and in so doing produces something altogether fascinating and endlessly entertaining.
Continue reading Keiichi Hara’s ‘Miss Hokusai’ Is A Fascinating & Endlessly Entertaining Animated Tale [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading Keiichi Hara’s ‘Miss Hokusai’ Is A Fascinating & Endlessly Entertaining Animated Tale [Review] at The Playlist.
- 10/13/2016
- by Andrew Crump
- The Playlist
From the moment an electric guitar’s riff introduces heroine and painter Katsushika Ōi (Anne Watanabe) in 1814 Edo, Japan, Keiichi Hara‘s Miss Hokusai clearly wants us to know that this girl is beyond her time. The musical anachronism tells us as much, but so does the haughty way in which Ōi dismisses the gauche advances of a would-be suitor and the way her voice-over narration signals a self-assuredness not typically attributed to women of her time. The film’s final scene suggests it again, reintroducing the guitar leitmotif while the same, confident narration tells us that Ōi married once but lived her final days untethered to men. As her voice subsides, Edo transforms, via time-lapse, into the Tokyo that we know today, showcasing the modernization of which the real-life Ōi was one of the early figures.
Taken together, these narrative bookends pronounce the spirited independence of this young woman...
Taken together, these narrative bookends pronounce the spirited independence of this young woman...
- 10/13/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
It’s difficult at first to reckon with the jarring opening minutes of Miss Hokusai, Keiichi Hara’s anime adaptation of the Hinako Sugiura manga series. Named for the daughter of famed Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, the film starts with with O-Ei Hokusai narrating a brief scene illustrating her father’s manic creativity. She recalls how he’d dazzle his patrons with paintings the size of a wall, and then would follow that up by spending days etching onto grains of rice, just on a whim. As O-Ei finishes her anecdote, the soundtrack fills with slashing hard rock. The animator’s “camera” pulls back from her striding confidently down the street to reveal a bustling seaside metropolis, then a caption: “Edo, Summer 1814.”
The sudden eruption of electric guitar is a relative anomaly in Miss Hokusai, happening only once more. But as the film plays out, the reasons for framing ...
The sudden eruption of electric guitar is a relative anomaly in Miss Hokusai, happening only once more. But as the film plays out, the reasons for framing ...
- 10/12/2016
- by Noel Murray
- avclub.com
Based on the Japanese historical manga series by Hinako Sugiura, the gorgeous, hand-drawn “Miss Hokusai,” from director Keiichi Hara (“Colorful”) and Production I.G (“Ghost in the Shell”), tells the poignant story of real-life painter O-Ei, who worked in the shadow of her famous father Hokusai. He was a master of ukiyo-e, a school of Japanese art depicting subjects from everyday life in the 17th–19th centuries.
While O-Ei dutifully finishes her father’s work (including dragons and erotic sketches), she experiences a dangerous rite of passage as both woman and artist, trying to find her own individuality and artistic style. Ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) therefore becomes the perfect expression for animation: both realistic in its depiction of bustling pre-Tokyo Edo and supernatural with its intrusion of demons and goblins.
“I first discovered Sugiura’s work in my late 20s, and fell in love with her talent instantly,...
While O-Ei dutifully finishes her father’s work (including dragons and erotic sketches), she experiences a dangerous rite of passage as both woman and artist, trying to find her own individuality and artistic style. Ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) therefore becomes the perfect expression for animation: both realistic in its depiction of bustling pre-Tokyo Edo and supernatural with its intrusion of demons and goblins.
“I first discovered Sugiura’s work in my late 20s, and fell in love with her talent instantly,...
- 10/4/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Adding to what is already an extremely crowded animation season— at least 26 entries are vying for the five Oscar slots— a few strong indie contenders will arrive this fall.
Ever since Cannes, leading the indie pack is Studio Ghibli’s “The Red Turtle” (November 18, Sony Pictures Classics), the exquisite and compelling 2D castaway drama from Michael Dudok De Wit, director of the Oscar-winning “Father and Daughter” short. It starts screening September 8 at the Toronto Film Festival.
A man shipwrecked on a lush tropical island inhabited by crabs, turtles and birds tries to escape by building and rebuilding a raft, continually wrecked by a mysterious red turtle, which transforms into a beautiful red-headed woman who becomes his companion and soul mate. The two have a son and live happily together as a family.
“The film tells the story in a both linear and circular manner,” De Wit said in an interview with “Positif’s” Bernard Genin.
Ever since Cannes, leading the indie pack is Studio Ghibli’s “The Red Turtle” (November 18, Sony Pictures Classics), the exquisite and compelling 2D castaway drama from Michael Dudok De Wit, director of the Oscar-winning “Father and Daughter” short. It starts screening September 8 at the Toronto Film Festival.
A man shipwrecked on a lush tropical island inhabited by crabs, turtles and birds tries to escape by building and rebuilding a raft, continually wrecked by a mysterious red turtle, which transforms into a beautiful red-headed woman who becomes his companion and soul mate. The two have a son and live happily together as a family.
“The film tells the story in a both linear and circular manner,” De Wit said in an interview with “Positif’s” Bernard Genin.
- 9/8/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Recently picked up by Gkids for a release here, a U.S. trailer has arrived for Miss Hokusai, the latest feature from Keiichi Hara, which chronicles the life and work of Katsushika Hokusai, an artist and ukiyo-e painter, through the eyes of his daughter, Katsushika O-Ei.
Toying with scales of massive ground drawings and tiny stone sketchings, the trailer nicely parallels the work of a giant’s art (the father) with that of someone living in their shadow, and trying to create art of their own (the daughter). Still, it is not with jealousy or anger that the daughter creates, instead paying tribute to her father as much as she pushes for her own standing in the artistic world.
As the daughter beautifully sums up, “with two brushes and four chopsticks, we’ll get by anywhere.” See a poster and the trailer below, with a tip of the hat to Screen Anarchy.
Toying with scales of massive ground drawings and tiny stone sketchings, the trailer nicely parallels the work of a giant’s art (the father) with that of someone living in their shadow, and trying to create art of their own (the daughter). Still, it is not with jealousy or anger that the daughter creates, instead paying tribute to her father as much as she pushes for her own standing in the artistic world.
As the daughter beautifully sums up, “with two brushes and four chopsticks, we’ll get by anywhere.” See a poster and the trailer below, with a tip of the hat to Screen Anarchy.
- 9/5/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
New Japanese feature animation ‘Miss Hokusai’ is hitting the theatres in Los Angeles, New York and various North American cities starting from October 14.
Film distributer Gkids has released an list of currently confirmed theatres here.
Award-winning director Keiichi Hara and creators of Ghost in the Shell Production I.G produced a remarkable story of O-Ei, the coming-of-age daughter of Japanese legendary illustrator Hokusai.
Synopsis:
When all of Edo swarm to see the works of famous painter Hokusai, his daughter O-Ei strives inside his studio, unknown to the public. Her masterful portraits, dragons and erotic sketches, sold under her father’s name, are popular among the upper class. Totally different from her image in public, O-Ei is as brash and uninhibited as her father when she is at home. But despite her talent and fiercely independent spirit, O-Ei struggles under the domineering influence of her father and is ridiculed for lacking...
Film distributer Gkids has released an list of currently confirmed theatres here.
Award-winning director Keiichi Hara and creators of Ghost in the Shell Production I.G produced a remarkable story of O-Ei, the coming-of-age daughter of Japanese legendary illustrator Hokusai.
Synopsis:
When all of Edo swarm to see the works of famous painter Hokusai, his daughter O-Ei strives inside his studio, unknown to the public. Her masterful portraits, dragons and erotic sketches, sold under her father’s name, are popular among the upper class. Totally different from her image in public, O-Ei is as brash and uninhibited as her father when she is at home. But despite her talent and fiercely independent spirit, O-Ei struggles under the domineering influence of her father and is ridiculed for lacking...
- 9/1/2016
- by Ruiting W
- AsianMoviePulse
If you’ve seen James Franco’s take on Cormac McCarthy’s “Child of God and/or William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury,” you’ll surely have a strong opinion about the prospect of his next literary adaptation: John Steinbeck’s “In Dubious Battle.” Ahead of its Venice premiere next weekend, the film has just debuted its first trailer courtesy of Deadline.
Read More: James Franco’s Movie Column: What Werner Herzog’s Documentaries Teach Us About Humanity
Part of the Dustbowl Trilogy along with “Of Mice and Men” and “The Grapes of Wrath,” Steinbeck’s novel was first published in 1936; the plot concerns a California labor dispute during the Great Depression. Franco also stars in the film, which boasts an ensemble cast including Nat Wolff, Selena Gomez, Vincent D’Onofrio, Robert Duvall, Ed Harris, Bryan Cranston, Sam Shepard, Josh Hutcherson, Ashley Greene, John Savage and Zach Braff.
Read More: James Franco’s Movie Column: What Werner Herzog’s Documentaries Teach Us About Humanity
Part of the Dustbowl Trilogy along with “Of Mice and Men” and “The Grapes of Wrath,” Steinbeck’s novel was first published in 1936; the plot concerns a California labor dispute during the Great Depression. Franco also stars in the film, which boasts an ensemble cast including Nat Wolff, Selena Gomez, Vincent D’Onofrio, Robert Duvall, Ed Harris, Bryan Cranston, Sam Shepard, Josh Hutcherson, Ashley Greene, John Savage and Zach Braff.
- 8/29/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
"That nutty old man is my father." GKids has debuted a trailer for the animated film called Miss Hokusai, which opened in Japan in 2015 and played at numerous film festivals last year. The film is about the life and works of Japanese artist and ukiyo-e painter Katsushika Hokusai, also known as Tetsuzo, as seen from the eyes of his daughter, Katsushika O-Ei. You all know his work because Hokusai painted the very famous piece known as "The Great Wave off Kanagawa". The voice cast includes Anne Watanabe as O-Ei, Yutaka Matsushige as Hokusai, plus Kumiko Asô, Gaku Hamada and Kengo Kôra. Not only is it cool to see a story about Hokusai, but it's lovely to see it told from the perspective of his daughter, who was dedicated to making sure her father could produce this art. I love catching up with animated films like this. Take a look. Here's...
- 8/27/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Everyone struggles at some point in life and tries to navigate it as best as they can. For best friends Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji), on the new HBO comedy “Insecure,” their own real-life flaws lead them to endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences, but thank goodness they have each other.
“Just when things are going good in your relationship, exes always have a way of popping back up,” says Issa in the first promo for the upcoming series.
Created by Rae and Larry Wilmore, the eight-episode first season explores the black female experience in an unclichéd and authentic way. Issa, like many of us, tries to figure out what – and who – she wants in life, and how to take control of it. Meanwhile, Molly is a successful corporate attorney who appears to have it all but struggles inside as she looks for external ways to fix her life.
“Just when things are going good in your relationship, exes always have a way of popping back up,” says Issa in the first promo for the upcoming series.
Created by Rae and Larry Wilmore, the eight-episode first season explores the black female experience in an unclichéd and authentic way. Issa, like many of us, tries to figure out what – and who – she wants in life, and how to take control of it. Meanwhile, Molly is a successful corporate attorney who appears to have it all but struggles inside as she looks for external ways to fix her life.
- 8/26/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Gkids has amassed eight Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature since 2009 including two last year — but no wins — and here is the first trailer for its latest pic. Set in 1814 Edo (now Tokyo), Miss Hokusai tells the story of O-Ei, the daughter behind one of the most famous artists in Japanese history. Director Keiichi Hara’s coming-of-age film sees people coming from throughout the city to see the work of the revered painter Hokusai — while his daughter toils inside…...
- 8/26/2016
- Deadline
There’s this nutty old man who painted a huge Dharma on a huge sheet of paper and draws sparrows on tiny rice grains. Some may know him as Hokusai the painter, but his daughter, O-Ei, knows him as Tetsuzo.
A new trailer for Keiichi Hara’s animated coming-of-age tale, “Miss Hokusai,” has just been released, courtesy of Gkids and Japanese powerhouse Production I.G. The film follows the remarkable story of the daughter behind one of history’s most famous artists.
As all of Edo flocks to see the work of the revered painter Hokusai (voiced by Yutaka Matsushige), his daughter O-Ei (Anne Watanabe) toils diligently inside his studio. The latest trailer shows her as she begins to work on her own masterful portraits – sold under the name of her father – which are coveted by upper crust Lords and journeyman print makers alike.
Read More: ‘Kubo and the Two Strings...
A new trailer for Keiichi Hara’s animated coming-of-age tale, “Miss Hokusai,” has just been released, courtesy of Gkids and Japanese powerhouse Production I.G. The film follows the remarkable story of the daughter behind one of history’s most famous artists.
As all of Edo flocks to see the work of the revered painter Hokusai (voiced by Yutaka Matsushige), his daughter O-Ei (Anne Watanabe) toils diligently inside his studio. The latest trailer shows her as she begins to work on her own masterful portraits – sold under the name of her father – which are coveted by upper crust Lords and journeyman print makers alike.
Read More: ‘Kubo and the Two Strings...
- 8/26/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Exclusive: Zeitgeist Films has acquired Anna Muylaert’s (“The Second Mother”) newest feature, “Don’t Call Me Son,” which premiered at this year’s Berlinale. The film is a fact-based drama that follows “17-year-old Pierre [who] is informed that he was kidnapped at birth and that the working-class woman who raised him is not his mother. He is obliged to take up a new life with the middle-class family who has spent 17 years obsessed by his disappearance. His tentative explorations of sexual identity, barely remarked upon by the mother he knew, prove deeply unsettling to the mother he didn’t.
The film will open in New York City at Film Forum on November 2, with a national rollout to follow.
– Exclusive: Zeitgeist Films has acquired Anna Muylaert’s (“The Second Mother”) newest feature, “Don’t Call Me Son,” which premiered at this year’s Berlinale. The film is a fact-based drama that follows “17-year-old Pierre [who] is informed that he was kidnapped at birth and that the working-class woman who raised him is not his mother. He is obliged to take up a new life with the middle-class family who has spent 17 years obsessed by his disappearance. His tentative explorations of sexual identity, barely remarked upon by the mother he knew, prove deeply unsettling to the mother he didn’t.
The film will open in New York City at Film Forum on November 2, with a national rollout to follow.
- 7/8/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The New York distributor has bought North American rights to Keiichi Hara’s award-winning animated coming-of-age tale.
New York-based Gkids has bought North American distribution rights to Keiichi Hara’s Miss Hokusai and has set the award-winning animated coming-of-age tale for an October release.
The film, the latest feature from Japanese animation house Production I.G (whose A Letter To Momo was also handled by Gkids), will open in New York and Los Angeles on October 14, with a North American expansion to follow.
Miss Hokusai, adapted from Hinako Sugiura’s manga Sarusuberi by Miho Maruo, won the Jury Prize at last year’s Annecy festival and was named best animated feature at the Sitges festival. Set in Edo period Japan, the film tells the story of O-Ei, daughter and artistic collaborator of renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, as she struggles with her identity as an artist and her emerging sexuality.
Gkids is set...
New York-based Gkids has bought North American distribution rights to Keiichi Hara’s Miss Hokusai and has set the award-winning animated coming-of-age tale for an October release.
The film, the latest feature from Japanese animation house Production I.G (whose A Letter To Momo was also handled by Gkids), will open in New York and Los Angeles on October 14, with a North American expansion to follow.
Miss Hokusai, adapted from Hinako Sugiura’s manga Sarusuberi by Miho Maruo, won the Jury Prize at last year’s Annecy festival and was named best animated feature at the Sitges festival. Set in Edo period Japan, the film tells the story of O-Ei, daughter and artistic collaborator of renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, as she struggles with her identity as an artist and her emerging sexuality.
Gkids is set...
- 7/7/2016
- ScreenDaily
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.