Makoto Shinkai in London

Date: 2005 July 27 11:57

Posted by Azure

Makoto Shinkai will be in London on August 12th to attend a screening of Voices of a Distant Star and She and Her cat at the NFT, which will be followed by a talk by the creator himself. VODS was animated, written and directed by Shinkai himself. We highly recommend it. For those who can’t make it the DVD is still available from ADV UK.

More information on the screening can be found on the NFT website . As we previously reported the NFT are screening several other anime as part of an anime season. For more information on the film click read more for the ADV Films UK press release.

Full Story

Press release as follows:

ADV FILMS ANNOUNCES SPECIAL SCREENING OF AWARD-WINNING SHORT VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR IN CONJUNCTION WITH FLP AND THE bfi NATIONAL FILM THEATRE (NFT)

GROUND-BREAKING JAPANESE CREATOR PRESENTS HIS WORK 12th AUGUST 2005

LONDON, UK, 25th JULY 2005 - ADV Films, the leading producer-distributor of anime in the U.K., is pleased to announce a very special event: in conjunction with CoMix Wave, FLP London Ltd and the bfi National FilmTheatre (NFT), ground-breaking auteur and Mac user Makoto Shinkai will be in London to attend a screening of his short features Voices Of A Distant Star and She And Her Cat from 6.20pm on Friday 12th August 2005, followed by a talk with the creator himself.

A Japanese animated short film created by animation prodigy Makoto Shinkai using a spectacular blend of traditional cel and lush computer-generated (CG) animation, Voices of a Distant Star is, independent of its creation, an extraordinarily beautiful film, telling in deft strokes a tale of two lovers torn apart by tides of war and millions of miles of interstellar space. The fact that the film was written, directed and animated by Shinkai, using only a Macintosh G4/400 computer and assorted consumer- and professional-level design and animation programs, makes Voices of A Distant Star an even greater achievement. Only the music (composed by Tenmon) and voice acting were not performed by Shinkai.

On the strength of Voices of a Distant Star, Shinkai won the prestigious "Most Valuable Newcomer" award at the 2002 Tokyo International Anime Fair. Voices made its UK theatrical debut at Sci-Fi-London 3, the 2004 London Fantastic Film Festival, and was extremely well received by the public. It also screened at the prestigious industry event SAND in 2003 (Swansea Animation Days), to great interest from attendees. Further information on this latest screening, and the mini-festival it forms part of, can be found on the bfi website at:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/incinemas/nft/film/5773

The Story:
When a mysterious alien force begins their annihilation of the human race, a young pilot feels called to join the resistance. But the danger of an interstellar battle is not Mikako’s greatest concern. For she has left behind the one young man she loves. And as Mikako flies further into deep space, her only way to connect with Noboru is by cell-phone text messages. While Mikako risks her life to save mankind, Noboru waits. At first days, then months, then years for each new message that will let him know whether Mikako is still alive. And while she barely grows older in the timelessness of space, Noboru ages.

How can the love of two young people, torn apart by war, survive?

To what distance would you go...for your one, true love?

Voices Of A Distant Star (RRP £15.99) is available as a DVD-only release, including both English- and Japanese-language versions, and English subtitles. Extras include three versions of Shinkai’s award-winning animated short She and Her Cat; an interview with Makoto Shinkai; Voices of a Distant Star Director’s Cut, with alternate vocals; original production animatics; four original Japanese trailers; reversible cover; and ADV previews.

About CoMix Wave, Inc.
CoMix Wave, Inc. is a leading manager of anime and manga talent, and a production manager-in Japan and overseas-of anime projects, including Koji Morimoto and Studio 4oC’s Clio Award-winning anime-style television advertisements for "La Saunda," a Hong Kong shoe franchise. CoMix Wave also produced Voices of a Distant Star by Makoto Shinkai, winner of the award for "Most Valuable Newcomer" at Tokyo Anime Fair 21, in February 2002. In addition, CoMix Wave recently provided production support services in Japan for The Animatrix. Shinkai’s latest, a full-length feature entitled The Place Promised, is being released in Europe at the start of 2006, following theatrical runs in Japan and the USA this year.

About ADV Films:
ADV Films is the leading producer-distributor of Japanese animation ("anime") in the United Kingdom, with the firm’s holdings including such premier titles as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Spriggan, Samurai X, RahXephon, Hellsing, Martian Successor Nadesico and Full Metal Panic! In addition, ADV Films distributes select fine programming in other genres, including live-action science-fiction titles such as the legendary updated Gamera trilogy. Aside from moving-picture content production and distribution, ADV Films’ U.S. parent company, A.D. Vision, Inc., is the publisher of Newtype USA, the premier anime and manga monthly in the English-speaking world, and is the operator of North America’s Anime Network cable channel. In addition to the London office, A.D. Vision, Inc. maintains world headquarters in Houston, Texas, USA with additional studios in Austin, Texas and offices in Tokyo. For more information, please visit ADV Films on the web at http://www.advfilms.co.uk.

VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR featuring SHE AND HER CAT
Running Time: 30 minutes (+75m extras)
BBFC Classification: PG
Released: 17/11/03
Cat#: DVDS/001
Format: DVD
RRP: £15.99