PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release: September 17, 2008 Contacts: Stacie Matsumoto, Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University, Tel. 617-496-3314, email:
[email protected] Professor Ian Condry, Foreign Languages and Literatures, MIT, Tel: 518-542-5058, email:
[email protected] MIT/Harvard Cool Japan project brings award-winning anime film Tekkon Kinkreet (2006) for Boston-area premiere and panel discussion 10/1 at Harvard (Cambridge, MA) On Oct. 1, 2008, the MIT/Harvard Cool Japan research project hosts the Boston-area premiere of an award-winning animated feature film from Japan, Tekkon Kinkreet (2006, Dir. Arias, Rated R). The screening will be preceded by a panel discussion with leading anime and film scholars from Harvard, Tufts, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as with the screenwriter of the film. Free and open to the public, the event will be held from 6:00-9:30pm, Oct. 1 (Wed.) at the Tsai Auditorium at Harvard University, which is located at the CGIS South Bldg., 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA 02138. Seating limited (max. 150). Web: http://www.mitcooljapan.com Tekkon Kinkreet, which won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Animated Feature Film in 2008, is remarkable for its breathtaking visuals and fast-paced storytelling. Also intriguing as an example of the international collaborations that increasingly characterize Japanese animation production, the film is the first feature-length anime to be directed by an American, namely, Michael Arias, who lives and works in Tokyo. The screenwriter, who will participate in the event, is an American as well. They worked with a Japanese animation studio to adapt a Japanese comic book for the big screen.