Summary Kotatsu Festival Bangor 2023
Sat 11th Nov
11:00 Liz and the Blue Bird (U)
14:00 Patema Inverted (PG)
17:30 The First Slam Dunk (12A English Dub)
Sun 12th Nov
14:00 The First Slam Dunk (12A Japanese/Subs)
Tue 14th Nov
17:30 Nico/Agony (12A)
+ Blue Thermal
Wed 15th Nov
17:30 Macross Plus Movie Edition (12A)
Thu 16th Nov
20:15 EVANGELION:3.0+1.01 THRICE UPON A TIME (15)
Unless otherwise stated, all films are in Japanese with English subtitles.
For ticket information please contact
Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre Box Office on +44(0)1248 38 28 28
Saturday 11th November 2023
11:00 Liz and the Blue Bird
Students and best friends Mizore and Nozomi practice a complex duet, “Liz and the Blue Bird”, for oboe and flute. With graduation looming and the duet proving difficult, their friendship begins to buckle under the pressure. Interspersed is the fantasy storybook tale of Liz, contrasted with the crisp realism of the school, which weave with stirring music to tell a touching coming-of-age story.
Japan | 2018 | 91’ | U | Naoko Yamada | Japanese with English subtitles | F-Rated | Trailer
14:00 Patema Inverted
A young girl, from a civilization that resides in deep underground tunnels, finds herself trapped in an inverted world and teams up with a resident to escape and return home.
Japan | 2013 | 99’ | PG | Yasuhiro Yoshiura | Japanese with English subtitles | Trailer
17:30 The First Slam Dunk (English Dub)
The film follows Ryota Miyagi, the point guard of Shohoku high-school’s basketball team. He had a brother, Sota, who was three years older than him, and who inspired his love for basketball. Ryota and his teammates challenge the inter-high basketball champions, the Sannoh school.
Japan | 2022 | 124’ | 12A | Takehiko Inoue | English Dub | Trailer
Sunday 12th November 2023
14:00 The First Slam Dunk (Japanese with English subtitles)
The First Slam Dunk
The film follows Ryota Miyagi, the point guard of Shohoku high-school’s basketball team. He had a brother, Sota, who was three years older than him, and who inspired his love for basketball. Ryota and his teammates challenge the inter-high basketball champions, the Sannoh school.
Japan | 2022 | 124’ | 12A | Takehiko Inoue | Japanese with English subtitles | Trailer
Tuesday 14th November 2023
17:30 Nico/Agony + Blue Thermal
Nico/Agony
Nico is a housewife living in Tokyo with her husband Makoto, a musician from the underground music noise scene. After Makoto’s band breaks up, he becomes far too busy working at his new job and rarely gets home. Nico struggles to raise their child alone. She questions her situation, then a person appears in front of her.
Japan | 2023 | 10’ | 12A | Director: Umoto Yuuji | Animation Director: Yuka Akabane | F-Rated | Japanese with English subtitles
Blue Thermal
Looking for a fresh start after a romantic disaster Tamaki plans to leave behind her enthusiasm for volleyball to find a new pursuit. A freak accident leads her in an entirely new direction; the fascinating and thrilling world of gliders. Despite initial reluctance, she is about to see the world from an entirely different perspective.
Japan | 2022 | 103’ | 12A | Masaki Tachibana | Japanese with English subtitles | F-Rated | Trailer
Wednesday 15th November 2023
17:30 Macross Plus Movie Edition
The year is 2040 and the galaxy is flourishing with several colonies and advanced technology. AI is near perfection and the current top idol is the near-completed Virturoid Idol Sharon Apple. All that is missing are her actual feelings, which instead are supplied by Myung Fang Lone. Sharon’s debut concert is on planet Eden, where at the same time, fighter pilots Isamu Dyson and Guld Bowman battle over air superiority for the “Supernova Project.” Isamu, Guld and Myung were once childhood friends, but after an accident seven years ago, they went their own separate ways.
With Myung back in the picture, the old disputes are once again awakened. And when an unstable and illegal AI technique is installed in Sharon, the situation is worsened.
Japan | 1995 | 120’ | 12A (TBC) | Kawamori Shoji | Japanese with English subtitles | F-Rated
Thursday 16th November 2023
20:15 EVANGELION:3.0+1.01 THRICE UPON A TIME
Shinji Ikari is still adrift after losing his will to live, but the place he arrives at teaches him what it means to hope. Finally, the Instrumentality Project is set in motion and he will make one last gruelling stand to prevent the Final Impact.
Japan | 2021 | 155’ | 15 | Mahiro Maeda, Katsuichi Nakayama, Kazuya Tsurumaki | Japanese with English subtitles | Trailer
As a special cinema exclusive, attendees to all screenings of EVANGELION:3.0+1.01 THRICE UPON A TIME will receive an exclusive Ayanami Rei / Shikinami Asuka Langley reversible A4 mini-poster. Subject to availability.
2023 Kotatsu Film Critics’ Award
The 2023 Kotatsu films will be judged by a panel of three critics. The judges wil be announced in due course.
Andrew Offiler
Andrew Offiler is a script-editor and writer who has worked on both international animated series and feature films including: Asterix in America, Fireman Sam, Hilltop Hospital and Hana’s Helpline. He also created ‘Igam Ogam’ for S4C/Channel Five.
Robert Brown
Robert Brown is an Award Winning Freelance 2D Animator / Director / Illustrator / Author with over 30 years experience in traditional hand-drawn animation and digital using Adobe CC Animate and TvPaint. He has animated on the legendary Chuck Jones Emmy Award Winning film ‘Peter and the Wolf’, as well as animating on European Feature Films and Children’s TV series shown on BBC, ITV, Channel 4 / S4C, Channel 5. He has also animated on a music video for Sir Tom Jones! As well as his professional work he also makes his own personal short films, which have WON 13 AWARDS and have been screened at film festivals all over the world. In 2018 he wrote and Illustrated his first children’s book ‘Hafwen and the Egg’ and his new book ‘Hafwen and her Butterfly’ is out now. He is based in Caerphilly, Wales, UK.
Nia Edwards-Behi
Nia has been immersed in Welsh film culture for over 15 years, and has experience in, and passion for, the arts and media more broadly. Nia has a doctorate from Aberystwyth University, and worked at Aberystwyth Arts Centre for a decade, and worked for a period at S4C before joining the Screen and Sound Archive of the National Library of Wales in 2023.
Nia is co-director of the Abertoir Horror Festival, programmer for the Wales One World Film Festival and contributes regularly to events and publications on film. She is a Theatr Genedlaethol board member and part of Film Hub Wales’ advisory group.Throughout her career Nia has specialized in issues of representation, inclusion and access.