Programme Cardiff 2019

Fri 4th Oct

18:00 Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection
20:00 Reception
20:00 Anime-Themed Disco

Sat 5th Oct

11:00 Birthday Wonderland
13:30 Masterclass with Takeshi Yashiro, Satoshi Akutsu
15:00 Signing Event
16:00 Tamako Love Story
18:00 Fate / Stay Night – Heaven’s Feel Film 1
20:30 Calamity of a Zombie Girl

Sun 6th Oct

11:00 Penguin Highway
11:00 Workshop with Takeshi Yashiro Stop-Motion Animation
14:00 Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution
16:30 Raffle
17:30 A Silent Voice

When Lelouch vi Brittannia died the world found peace, but a terrorist attack threatens everything as his sister Princess Nunnally is kidnapped. Fate, and the immortal witch C.C., once again brings the legend of Lelouch back to save everyone in a film that reunites old characters for a new beginning full of mecha action and political intrigue.

CODE GEASS © SUNRISE/PROJECT L-GEASS Character Design ©2006-2018 CLAMP・ST

Dir: Goro Taniguchi / 114m / 2019
Rating: 15 – violence and bloodshed
In Japanese with English subtitles

Celebrate the opening night of Kotatsu 2019 in Chapter’s First Space with DJ Ryojin. He also performs at the event “1UP” in Kakogawa City, Hyogo Prefecture, and hopes to raise awareness of Japanese culture through his activities overseas.

Entry fee: £1
Takes place in First Space
Cosplayers welcome

Akane is a young shy girl who lacks confidence. A day before her birthday she goes to her aunt Chi’s antique shop to collect her present. She gets more than she bargained for when she meets a mysterious man named Hippocrates the Alchemist, who believes that Akane is the Goddess of the Green Wind, and can save their world, “Wonderland”.

BIRTHDAY WONDERLAND © Sachiko Kawashiba, Kodansha/2019 “Birthday Wonderland” Production Committee

Dir: Keiichi Hara / 120m / 2019
Rating: U (8+) – mild peril and violence
In Japanese with English subtitles

Award-winning director and stop-motion animator Takeshi Yashiro will be joined by his producer Satoshi Akutsu to give a talk about their careers in the animation world. Yashiro will explain his creative process which has led to the creation of films such as “Dear November Boy” (2012) and “Gon, The Little Fox” (2019) while Akutsu will go into detail about his experience in the role of producer for a variety of projects.

Takeshi Yashiro – “Gon, The Little Fox”.

これは切ないお話です。でも、きっと綺麗な気持ちになれると思います。舞台は、人間と獣がまだ身近に暮らしていた時代。日本のなつかしい田園風景のなかで描かれる人形アニメーションです。
じっくりお楽しみください。
This is a heartbreaking story. But it will also leave you feeling serene. It’s set in a time and place where humans and beasts used to live close to one another. The stop-motion animation brings the rustic landscape of the Japanese countryside back to life. So sit back and enjoy.

Special Guest: Robin Lyons
Translator: Aiho Richards
75mins

Third year high school girl Tamako has never really thought long term.  She figures she will continue to work at her family’s mochi shop. Her neighbour and long-time admirer Mochizou, on the other hand, is planning to go to university in Tokyo, leaving behind everyone he knows, including his beloved Tamako who he is desperate to confess his feelings to. Will she understand? Kyoto Animation brings to life a sweet romance with this movie sequel to “Tamako Market”.

Dir: Naoko Yamada / 83m / 2014
Rating: 12A – mild sexual reference
In Japanese with English subtitles

The latest movie adaptation of the visual novel “Fate/stay night” focuses on a high schooler named Shirou Emiya who takes part in an explosive conflict known as the Holy Grail War. This is a battle between mages and their summoned warriors known as Servants. Shirou, together with his Servant, Saber, fight to win the war and stop mysterious gruesome murders that are plaguing his home town.

FATE STAY © TYPE-MOON, ufotable, FSNPC

Tomonori Sudo / 120m / 2017
Rating: 15
In Japanese with English subtitles

It’s the summer holiday so lessons are over but some students seeking treasure are in the university library where they discover two sets of female antique mummies from Italy. One student, Sayaka, spies and steals a fancy stone. Little does she realise it is a “stone of life” which gives the two mummies super strength and eternal life. Having stolen the stone, the girls have awakened ferocious flesh-eating enemies that attempt to retrieve what was once theirs…

CALAMITY ©2018 Ryo Ikehata/ Published by KADOKAWA/Stingray

Dir: Hideaki Iwami / 80m / 2018
Rating: 18
In Japanese with English subtitles

Audience Award 2019 Winner
Best Film

Aoyama is a precocious and confident schoolboy who loves to think. This particular summer will see him tackle his biggest puzzle yet when a colony of penguins mysteriously materialises in his sleepy little town. With the help of an intriguing older woman he met at his dentist’s office, he aims to figure out where on Earth they came from in this charming adventure that proves to be out of this world.

PENGUIN HIGHWAY © 2018 Tomihiko Morimi, KADOKAWA / Penguin Highway Production Committee

Dir: Hiroyasu Ishida / 119m / 2018
Rating: 12 – mild sexual reference
In Japanese with English subtitles

Supported by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Takeshi Yashiro, an award-winning director, will teach the essence of stop motion animation. Attendees will have a unique chance to animate the actual professional puppets which Takeshi uses in his works.

For bookings please contact info@kotatsufestival.com

11am- 4pm / Ages 8+ / £27 each
Takes place in First Space.

Renton Thurston is a teen in a boring town. He has a hover-board and a dream of joining a group of guerilla fighters named Gekkostate in their exciting adventures. Their leader is a man named Holland, a pro hoverboarder that Renton idolises. He gets his chance when a mysterious girl named Eureka crashes into his house in a mech called Nirvash and sets in motion an astounding adventure.

EUREKA 7 ©2017 BONES/Project EUREKA MOVIE

Dir: Tomoki Kyoda / 109m / 2017
Rating: 12
In Japanese with English subtitles

When Shoko, a young deaf student, transfers to a new elementary school she is bullied by her classmates who are led by a boy named Shoya. When Shoko leaves, the class turns on Shoya and he finds himself bullied in return. This experience scars Shoya who grows to be a guilt-ridden high schooler and so he decides he must see Shoko once more to atone for his behaviour…

Screened at Kotatsu 2017, this features work from the studio Kyoto Animation who provide a beautifully animated film with a strong script with searing emotional moments and character development that will leave audiences profoundly moved. 

A SILENT VOICE ©Yoshitoki Oima, KODANSHA/A SILENT VOICE The Movie Production Committee. All Rights Reserved. Based on the manga “A SILENT VOICE” by Yoshitoki Oima originally serialized in the weekly SHONEN MAGAZINE published by KODANSHA Ltd.

Dir: Naoko Yamada / 129m / 2016
Rating: 12A
In Japanese with English subtitles