Japan Media Arts Festival – Film Programme

Thu 22/09
20:00   Ghost in the Shell

Sat 24/09
16:00   JMAF Short Film Special

17:00   Den-noh Coil / CyberCoil

18:00   Summer Wars

20:00   The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Sun 25/09
16:00   Crayon Shinchan: The Storm Called: The Battle of the

18:00   Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

20:00   Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Ghost in the Shell
Animation | Dir. OSHII Mamoru, 1995, 83 min.

The plot of the film is set in the year 2029. Many people are augmenting their bodies with artificial-technical elements, and a global electronic network connects the world. The specialised cyber-crimes section of the Public Safety Commission, Section 9, is responsible for the fight against criminal hacker attacks that the system is vulnerable to. The cyborg-agent Major Motoko Kusanagi and her partner Batou are on the hunt for the mysterious 'Puppet Master' who, like a computer virus, hacks into his victims' cybernetic brains. Major Kusanagi is also threatened by the 'Puppet Master'. While her mechanical body gives her superhuman strength, it makes her a potential target for manipulation. With a human core, she has only a 'ghost' that contains her personality, enclosed in a bio-cybernetic capsule.
Mamoru Oshii (b. 1951, Tokyo) began his career in the animation studios Tatsunoko Production and Studio Pierrot before becoming an independent director and writer. With films like Patlabor: The Movie (1989), Ghost in the Shell (1995), and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004) he has been instrumental in making the distinctive characteristics of anime widely known beyond the borders of Japan. In addition, he has also produced several live action films and works as a screen writer.

JMAF Short Film Special

ISHIDA Hiroyasu: Fumiko's Confession
ITO Naoki / Frank HAHN: Nike Music Shoe
MASHIMA Riichiro: Ski Jumping Pairs
MIZUGUCHI Tetsuya / TAMAI Kenji: make.believe / Genki Rockets
NAKAMURA Magico u.a.: Hibi No Neiro (Tone of everyday)
OKAMOTO Noriaki: Algol
OKAWARA Ryo: Animal Dance
SAKAMOTO Yusuke: the river
SEKI Kazuaki: arukuaround / sakanaction
TAKAHASHI Nobuo: Musashino Plateau
TAKEUCHI Taijin: a song like a fish
YAMAMURA Koji: A Child's Metaphysics
YKBX: natsu wo matteimashita / amazarashi

Den-noh Coil / CyberCoil
TV animation | Dir. ISO Mitsuo, 2007, 2 x 23 min.

Shortly before the summer holidays, Yuko Okonogi moves with her family to Daikoku, an important centre of computer-based extensions of reality: augmented reality (AR). Here, streets and temples of the past co-exist with the latest virtual infrastructure. As soon as special AR glasses are donned, a sophisticated cyber world is revealed. The glasses are a beloved toy, especially for children. They can look for valuable artefacts called metabugs, keep virtual pets and investigate unexplained traffic accidents. The virtual city is, however, plagued by dangerous illegal immigrants who are rumoured to be the key to another world. Yuko and her friends try to get to the bottom of these secrets.
Mitsuo Iso (b. 1966, Aichi) works primarily as a key-frame artist for animation films and series. As key animator, he has been responsible for, among other things, the battle scenes of Neon Genesis Evangelion and worked on the animation sequence in Quentin Tarantino's film, Kill Bill (2003). He wrote the screenplay, directed and also animated a few small scenes in Den-noh Coil.


Summer Wars
Animation | Dir. HOSODA Mamoru, 2009, 115 min.

In the not distant future, the virtual city of OZ acts as a mirror to the real world. People control their avatars in OZ to go shopping, pay their bills and have fun. Eleventh grade Kenji spends his summer break uselessly at a part-time job where he keeps the OZ system running. When he is asked by the pretty Natsuki if he will accompany her on a family visit, it's a dream come true for him. But Natsuki didn't tell him that he should pretend to be her fiancé in front of her large family. And, what's more, someone has used Kenji's internet access to create total chaos in OZ. Traffic control systems, government data and the entire public infrastructure collapse at the same time, threatening the real world as well. The innocent Kenji is maligned as a criminal and before he knows it, he is dragged into a battle in which the fate of the real world hangs in the balance.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Animation | Dir. HOSODA Mamoru, 2006, 100 min.

Makoto Konno is a very ordinary 17-year old who can't decide what to do with her life. She would prefer it if the summer never ended and she could continue playing baseball with her two friends Kosuke and Chiaki. One summer's day she suddenly discovers that she can travel backwards through time, and Makoto knows to use this new gift quickly. The funniest karaoke nights with friends can be endlessly repeated, a favourite meal can be enjoyed over and over again, botched schoolwork can be corrected and friends secretly paired off. But with every leap through time, her world comes apart at the seams a little more, and she must eventually learn to live in the here and now once again.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui that has been adapted several times for film and television since its first appearance in 1965. Hosoda transforms this young adult classic into an animated film for the first time.
Mamoru Hosoda (b. 1967) began working for the company Toei Animation as an animator before directing a TV animation series and several animation films himself. In 2003, he directed a promotional film, Superflat Monogram, for Louis Vuitton and in 2005 he began working independently. The following year, Hosoda produced with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time his first feature film and received a number of awards, including the Japanese Academy Award. With Summer Wars he was able to continue his success and at the 13th Japan Media Arts festival received the Grand Prize for a second time.

Crayon Shinchan: The Storm Called: The Battle of the Warring States
Animation | Dir. HARA Keiichi, 2002, 95 min.

Crayon Shinchan tells of the adventures of five-year old Shinnosuke Nohara, called Shinchan, whose unruly behaviour drives the adults around him to distraction. The comedy results mainly from the idiosyncratic observations of the boy and his often extremely inappropriate behaviour. Not infrequently, Shinchan flashes his bare rump at his interlocutor.
Originally, Crayon Shinchan was a manga series by Japanese artist Yoshito Usui, which was made into an animated TV series and several feature films by director Keiichi Hara beginning in 1992. Hara won over the jury with this very sensitive and charming film.
After a first position with advertising film production, Keiichi Hara (b. 1959) switched to the firm Shin-Ei Animation, where he worked as a production manager of a TV series. His directing debut was with the series Doraemon (1983-86). The films Crayon Shinchan: Arashi wo Yobu Moretsu! Otona Teikoku no Gyakushu (2001) and Crayon Shinchan: Arashi wo Yobu Appare! Sengoku Daigassen (2002) are highly acclaimed animes that are also suitable for adults. The film Kappa no Ku to Natsuyasumi (Summer Days with Coo) won the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize in 2007.

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
Animation | Dir. ANNO Hideaki, 2007, 98 min.

The film is part of the multi-part production of Rebuild of Evangelion, a remake of the series Neon Genesis Evangelion as a four-part cinema film. The story of Neon Genesis Evangelion is set in the near future, as seen from the 1990s. In the year 2000 a cataclysmic explosion occurs at the South Pole, resulting in the death of three billion people. This disaster, called Second Impact, was caused by a scientific experiment with a humanoid creature previously discovered in the Antarctic, known as the first Angel. The secret organisation NERV is founded to protect humanity from further devastating Impacts. Its task is to research and develop appropriate defence measures against the anticipated arrival of future Angels. NERV's headquarters is set up in a huge underground cavern on the shore of Lake Ashi. On the surface above this bunker complex is a fortress city, Neo Tokyo-3, to provide protection against the attackers. NERV develops the Evangelions that give the film its name. These giant humanoid robots, controlled by specially qualified teenagers, the Children, are used to battle against the Angels.
Hideaki Anno (b. 1960, Yamaguchi) is an animator and director. In 1995, Anno directed all 26 episodes of the TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Evangelion is one of the most influential animated series ever produced and has been the basis of numerous spin offs and emulative works. Anno has always made live action films in addition to anime. His special focus is on so-called Tokusatsu films, a genre that emphasises special effects and which, following in the footsteps of Godzilla (1954), is still very popular in Japan today.

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Animation | Dir. OSHII Mamoru, 2004, 100 min.

In 2032 the Earth is populated mainly by androids and cyborgs. Industrially manufactured body parts and complete series of robots will replace human cells. This is the world in which Section 9, the Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Commission, fights against cyber-terrorism. Batou, whose partner Major Kusanagi lost her physical body in the events of Ghost in the Shell and exists now only as a 'ghost', is investigating a series of mysterious murders with new partner, Togusa. A female cyborg model from the company Locus Solus that is used as a sex doll kills its owners seemingly at random and then commits suicide. The investigation leads to the factory site of Locus Solus, located in Etorofu, where the robots were produced.
Mamoru Oshii (b. 1951, Tokyo) began his career in the animation studios Tatsunoko Production and Studio Pierrot before becoming an independent director and writer. With films like Patlabor: The Movie (1989), Ghost in the Shell (1995), and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004) he has been instrumental in making the distinctive characteristics of anime widely known beyond the borders of Japan. In addition, he has also produced several live action films and works as a screen writer.

Venue

RWE Forum | U Cinema

Dortmunder U – Centre for Art and Creativity
Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse
44137 Dortmund

Admission

5 € / 3 €
Valid for one day for the exhibition Japan Media Arts Festival and the film programme.

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