September 25, 2018

The Ghost in the Shell: Virtual Reality Diver VR experience directed by Hiroaki Higashi in collaboration with creative director Nobumichi Asai is part of the Official Selection of the 51st SITGES International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia (Sitges 2018), to be held in Sitges, Spain, from October 4 to 14, 2018. Ghost in the Shell: Virtual Reality Diver has been invited to screen in competition within the Slatix Cocoon VR section of the festival, that was introduced last year.

SITGES International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is the number one fantasy film festival in the world and represents, at the same time, the cultural expression with the most media impact in Catalonia. The Sitges Festival is a stimulating universe of encounters, exhibitions, presentations and screenings of fantasy films from all over the world. Born in 1968 as the 1st International Week of Fantasy and Horror Movies, today the Festival is an essential rendezvous for movie lovers and audiences eager to come into contact with new tendencies and technologies applied to film and the audiovisual world.

Screening schedule:
Access to the 21 VR experiences selected in competition is free and continuous throughout the duration of the festival. For more details, please check the Sitges 2018 official website:

https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/eng

Please visit our dedicated page here:
http://www.productionig.com/contents/works/11_/001382.html

Watch the trailers here (Japanese only):
Normal version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ5py_n30to

360° version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1iAi2yvSZE

©Shirow Masamune • Production I.G / KODANSHA • GHOST IN THE SHELL: THE MOVIE COMMITTEE.

July 25, 2018

The Ghost in the Shell: Virtual Reality Diver VR experience directed by Hiroaki Higashi in collaboration with creative director Nobumichi Asai is part of the Official Selection at the 75th Venice Film Festival, to be held in Venice, Italy from August 29 to September 8, 2018. Ghost in the Shell: Virtual Reality Diver has been invited to screen in the Best of VR programme, as part of the newly created Venice Virtual Reality section of the festival.

Established in 1932, the Venice Film Festival is the world's oldest ongoing film festival, and it is considered one of the Three Big Festivals in the world along with Cannes and Berlin. The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue.

For further information, please check the 75th Venice Film Festival official website:
http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2018

Ghost in the Shell: Virtual Reality Diver is available through smartphones in English and Japanese. Check the official website for more information:
http://www.sign.site/koukaku_vr/en/

or visit our dedicated page here:
http://www.productionig.com/contents/works/11_/001382.html

Watch the trailers here (Japanese only):
Normal version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ5py_n30to

360° version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1iAi2yvSZE

©Shirow Masamune • Production I.G / KODANSHA • GHOST IN THE SHELL: THE MOVIE COMMITTEE.

December 9, 2016

The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, announced that director Mamoru Oshii will receive the Winsor McCay Award for lifetime achievement at the 44th Annual Annie Awards. The awards ceremony will be held on February 4, 2017.

Mamoru Oshii is considered one of the most remarkable personalities in modern Japanese filmmaking. He introduced introspective philosophical speculation into the world of animation, influencing at the same time movie creators all around the globe with his visionary style. His groundbreaking 1995 animated film, Ghost in the Shell was described by James Cameron as "a stunning work of speculative fiction . . . the first to reach a level of literary excellence."

Named in honor of animator Winsor McCay, best known as a prolific artist and pioneer in the art of comic strips and animation, the Winsor McCay Award stands as one of the highest honors given to an individual in the animation industry in recognition for career contributions to the art of animation.

The first Winsor McCay Award was appointed in 1972 to Max and Dave Fleischer. Previous Japanese winners are Kihachiro Kawamoto, Osamu Tezuka, Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Otomo and Isao Takahata.

Annie Awards official website:
http://www.annieawards.org/

November 20, 2015

Director Keiichi Hara has been awarded with the 32nd annual Fumiko Yamaji Cultural Award. The recognition is offered by the Fumiko Yamaji Cultural Foundation, established in 1976 by Kobe-born actress Fumiko Yamaji (1912-2004), with the purpose of supporting achievments in the film industry. In the past, the same award was given to filmmakers such as Kon Ichikawa, Koji Wakamatsu and Toshio Suzuki.

The award ceremony will take place on November 27, 2015 at the Tokyo Shinbashi Yakult Hall.

Keiichi Hara was born in 1959. He worked extensively on popular family and children TV animated shows, such as Doraemon and especially Crayon Shin-chan, for which he initially served as episodic director under Mitsuru Hongo from 1992, and later as series director from 1996 to 2004. He also scripted ten Crayon Shin-chan movies, directing six. The 2001 Shin-chan franchise movie, entitled Crayon Shin-chan: Impetuous! The Adult Empire Strikes Back earned wide critical praise, and raised his profile. The following year's Crayon Shin-chan: Brilliant! The Great Battle of the Warring States was recommended by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and won five awards in Japan. Hara then shifted to independent filmmaking, pursuing more personal projects. International recognition came with Japan Academy Prize-winning Summer Days with Coo (2007) and especially with Colorful (2010), greeted with the Jury's Special Distinction and the Audience Award at Annecy 2011. Both movies received theatrical distribution in France and other countries. Hara admires classic Japanese filmmakers such as Yasujiro Ozu and Keisuke Kinoshita. To the latter, he dedicated his first live-action movie in 2013, Dawn of a Filmmaker: The Keisuke Kinoshita Story. His latest directorial effort, Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai, focusing on ukiyo-e master Hokusai's little-known yet highly talented daughter O-Ei, was awarded at Annecy, Fantasia, Sitges and Bucheon, and was described by French newspaper Le Monde as "a lesson of elegance."

November 20, 2015

Director Keiichi Hara received the Tsumugi Prize at Asiagraph 2015 for his latest animated feature film, Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai.

Asiagraph is a joint event of science, art and exhibition where Asian researchers and creators active on the front line globally gather together, present most advanced technology and exhibit their works in order to further develop the Asian diverse and unique cultures and the Asian excellent and unique digital content created through combination of art and technology.

Each year, the Digital Content Expo, in conjunction with the Asiagraph computer graphic art and digital content festival, grants the Tsumugi Prize in recognition of individuals who have made valuable contributions to digital art, and the Takumi Prize for individuals who contribute to the development of digital content.

Keiichi Hara was born in 1959. He worked extensively on popular family and children TV animated shows, such as Doraemon and especially Crayon Shin-chan, for which he initially served as episodic director under Mitsuru Hongo from 1992, and later as series director from 1996 to 2004. He also scripted ten Crayon Shin-chan movies, directing six. The 2001 Shin-chan franchise movie, entitled Crayon Shin-chan: Impetuous! The Adult Empire Strikes Back earned wide critical praise, and raised his profile. The following year's Crayon Shin-chan: Brilliant! The Great Battle of the Warring States was recommended by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and won five awards in Japan. Hara then shifted to independent filmmaking, pursuing more personal projects. International recognition came with Japan Academy Prize-winning Summer Days with Coo (2007) and especially with Colorful (2010), greeted with the Jury's Special Distinction and the Audience Award at Annecy 2011. Both movies received theatrical distribution in France and other countries. Hara admires classic Japanese filmmakers such as Yasujiro Ozu and Keisuke Kinoshita. To the latter, he dedicated his first live-action movie in 2013, Dawn of a Filmmaker: The Keisuke Kinoshita Story. His latest directorial effort, Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai, focusing on ukiyo-e master Hokusai's little-known yet highly talented daughter O-Ei, was awarded at Annecy, Fantasia, Sitges and Bucheon, and was described by French newspaper Le Monde as "a lesson of elegance."

March 27, 2015

Keiichi Hara, the internationally acclaimed director of Summer Days with Coo, Colorful and the forthcoming Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai, was greeted with the Anime d'or Award at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2015 (TAAF 2015), held in Tokyo from March 19 to 23. The Anime d'or Award is conferred to animation professionals who display "the power to bring innovation into animation, our times, the world and the future."

Now in its second year, the Tokyo Anime Award Festival is committed to the discovery and support of new creative talents, the diffusion of the art of animation to a broader audience, and the preservation of animation culture and history. In 2014, the Anime d'or was awarded to veteran director Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, The Tale of Princess Kaguya).

TAAF motivated the award as follows:
"Keiichi Hara is a director who defies conventions and outstands in the panorama of Japanese commercial animation with his impressive portfolio of movies. His highly anticipated and soon to be completed new directorial effort, Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai is set in early XIX century Edo, and focuses on ukiyo-e, or pictures of the floating world, which can be considered at the origin of contemporary Japan's rich and diverse manga and animation culture. This film, that admirably sublimates Japan's well-recognized popular art heritage into a modern popular art form such as animation, is just about to be unveiled to audiences worldwide. Having among its commitments the support, development and diffusion of the art of Japanese animation throughout the world, the Tokyo Anime Award Festival has deemed most appropriate to confer the Anime d'or to Keiichi Hara as a director playing a prominent role in the present and future of animation culture."

Keiichi Hara was born in 1959. He worked extensively on popular family and children TV animated shows, such as Doraemon and especially Crayon Shin-chan, for which he initially served as episodic director under Mitsuru Hongo from 1992, and later as series director from 1996 to 2004. He also scripted ten Crayon Shin-chan movies, directing six. The 2001 Shin-chan franchise movie, entitled Crayon Shin-chan: Impetuous! The Adult Empire Strikes Back earned wide critical praise, and raised his profile. The following year's Crayon Shin-chan: Brilliant! The Great Battle of the Warring States was recommended by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and won five awards in Japan. Hara then shifted to independent filmmaking, pursuing more personal projects. International recognition came with Japan Academy Prize-winning Summer Days with Coo (2007) and especially with Colorful (2010), greeted with the Jury's Special Distinction and the Audience Award at Annecy 2011. Both movies received theatrical distribution in France and other countries. Hara admires classic Japanese filmmakers such as Yasujiro Ozu and Keisuke Kinoshita. To the latter, he dedicated his first live-action movie in 2013, Dawn of a Filmmaker: The Keisuke Kinoshita Story. His latest directorial effort, Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai, focusing on ukiyo-e master Hokusai's little-known yet highly talented daughter O-Ei, is slated for theatrical release in Japan on May 9, 2015, followed by release in France and the UK later this year.

July 14, 2014

Filmmaker Mamoru Oshii will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the forthcoming 18th Fantasia Film Festival (Fantasia 2014), the premiere North American fantastic film festival to be held in Montreal, Canada, from July 17 to August 6, 2014.

Fantasia motivates the recognitions as follows:
"Director Mamoru Oshii is a towering and truly unique figure in Japanese animation. From pioneering OVAs Dallos and the haunting Angel's Egg, and of course the beloved Patlabor series, of the 1980s, through the dramatically influential global hit Ghost in the Shell in the mid-'90s, to its award-winning sequel and other powerful, pensive works in the new millennium (The Sky Crawlers, Avalon), Oshii has consistently strived to bring new ideas and in fact a whole new attitude to anime. With his meticulous and idiosyncratic near-future thrillers and dramas, linked by persistent themes, motifs and concerns, Oshii asserts a complex, deeply thoughtful and decidedly adult sensibility - while maintaining the highest technical standards in the field (and hardly confining his efforts to animation). In seeking a path to call his own, Oshii has blazed a trail for fantastic entertainment worldwide to follow.

The award ceremony will take place on July 17, 2014 at 7:45 PM in the DB Clarke Theatre (Montreal) followed by the premiere HD screening of Oshii's groundbreaking feature film, Ghost in the Shell (1995).

The film was once described by James Cameron "A stunning work of speculative fiction... The first truly adult animation film to reach a level of literary and visual excellence."

Fantasia describes Ghost in the Shell as follows:
"If anything, our world has only caught up with its vivid cyberpunk perception of a hyper-technological dystopia. This crucial work of science fiction for the modern moment stands as a keystone of feature-length anime that has vaulted Japanese animation to the pinnacle worldwide."

Fantasia 2014 official website:
http://www.fantasiafestival.com/2014/

December 13, 2013

Kazuchika Kise's Ghost in the Shell Arise border:1 Ghost Pain was nominated Jury Recommended Work in the Animation Division of the 17th annual Japan Media Arts Festival (2013).

Fourteen Production I.G works received recognitions in the past editions. In 2000, Blood: The Last Vampire (director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo) was awarded with the Animation Division Grand Prize, and in 2002, Episode 2 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (director: Kenji Kamiyama) received the Excellence Prize in the same category. In 2004, both Innocence (director: Mamoru Oshii) and Otogi Zoshi (director: Mizuho Nishikubo) were nominated Jury Recommended Works, and so were Junichi Fujisaku's TV series Blood+ and Kenji Kamiyama's Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man in 2005. In the 10th edition, I.G was double awarded with Solid State Society (Jury Recommended Work, Animation Division) and the bisque doll reproducing D'Eon de Beaumont (from Kazuhiro Furuhashi's TV series Le Chevalier D'Eon), appointed Jury Recommended Work in the Entertainment Division. In the 11th edition, Kenji Kamiyama was greeted with two Jury Recommended Work recognitions for Solid State Society (for the second consecutive year) and Guardian of the Spirit. In 2008, Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers was nominated Jury Recommended Work along with Naoyoshi Shiotani's Tokyo Marble Chocolate. In 2009, Shinsuke Sato's feature film Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror and Kenji Kamiyama's Eden of the East were nominated Jury Recommended Works. In 2011, Hiroyuki Okiura's A Letter to Momo received the Excellence Prize in Animation. This year, Masaaki Yuasa's Kick-Heart was recognized Jury Recommended Work, too.

Sponsored by Japan's Agency of Cultural Affairs, the Japan Media Arts Festival is a comprehensive festival of Media Arts that honors outstanding works from a diverse range of media- from animation and comics to media art and games. The festival gives awards in each of its four divisions: Art, Entertainment, Animation, and Manga. Since its inception in 1997, the festival has recognized significant works of high artistry and creativity. This year the 17th Festival received a record 4,347 entries from 84 countries and regions around the world.

Japan Media Arts Festival official website (English available):
hthttp://j-mediaarts.jp/

© Shirow Masamune · Production I.G/KODANSHA · GHOST IN THE SHELL ARISE COMMITTEE

December 7, 2007

Director Kenji Kamiyama and Production I.G have been honored with a double recognition at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival (2007). The feature Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2006) and the TV series Guardian of the Spirit (2007), both directed by Kenji Kamiyama, have been nominated Jury Recommended Work in the Animation Division of the prestigious event supported by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Guardian of the Spirit is a 26-episode high fantasy TV series based on Nahoko Uehashi best-seller novel, Seirei no Moribito. The series, Kamiyama's first directorial effort after the acclaimed Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C.-related works, was aired in Japan on state-owned NHK BS-2 from April to September 2007.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society, the latest chapter from the world million-selling Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex franchise, is a full-length 105 minute theatrical-quality feature set in 2034, two years since Motoko Kusanagi left Section 9. Having being awarded Jury Recommended Work in the previous edition of the festival, Solid State Society achieved an outstanding result for two consecutive years.

Five Production I.G's works received recognitions in the past editions. In 2000, Blood: The Last Vampire (director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo) was awarded with the Animation Division Grand Prize, and in 2002, Episode 2 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (director: Kenji Kamiyama) received the Excellence Prize in the same category. In 2004, both Innocence (director: Mamoru Oshii) and Otogi Zoshi (director: Mizuho Nishikubo) were nominated Jury Recommended Works. In the 10th edition, I.G was double awarded with Solid State Society (Jury Recommended Work, Animation Division) and the bisque doll reproducing D'Eon de Beaumont (from Kazuhiro Furuhashi's TV series Le Chevalier D'Eon), appointed Jury Recommended Work in the Entertainment Division.

Started in 1997, the Japan Media Arts Festival is a "Contest" that praises creative media art works utilizing the latest expression technology, and it is also a "Festival" that supports creative activity and broadly presents various art works. At the same time, the event is promoting the development of media arts in Japan by providing the opportunities of appreciation, such as Exhibitions and Sanctioned Events.

Japan Media Arts Festival official website:
http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/

© Nahoko UEHASHI/KAISEI-SHA/Guardian of the Spirit Committee
© 2002-2006 Shirow Masamune - Production I.G/KODANSHA

December 15, 2006

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society, directed by Kenji Kamiyama and released in Japan in November 2006, has been nominated Jury Recommended Work in the Animation Division of the 10th Japan Media Arts Festival. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society, the latest chapter from the world million-selling Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex franchise, is a full-length 105 minute theatrical-quality feature set in 2034, two years since Motoko Kusanagi left Section 9.

The same event also appointed Jury Recommended Work, Entertainment Division, the bisque doll reproducing D'Eon de Beaumont, the main character in the TV series Le Chevalier D'Eon, directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. The 70-cm tall doll, released in January 2007 and for sale in Japan only, is produced by Gekkosha, the workshop that already collaborated with I.G in the days of Innocence. The model was created by Toshiyuki Tsuji and the dress was crafted by Rina Watabe.

Four Production I.G's works received recognitions in the past editions. In 2000, Blood: The Last Vampire (director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo) was awarded with the Animation Division Grand Prize, and in 2002, Episode 2 of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (director: Kenji Kamiyama) received the Excellence Prize in the same category. In 2004, both Innocence (director: Mamoru Oshii) and Otogi Zoshi (director: Mizuho Nishikubo) were nominated Jury Recommended Works.

Started in 1997, the Japan Media Arts Festival is a "Contest" that praises creative media art works utilizing the latest expression technology, and it is also a "Festival" that supports creative activity and broadly presents various art works. At the same time, the event is promoting the development of media arts in Japan by providing the opportunities of appreciation, such as Exhibitions and Sanctioned Events.

Japan Media Arts Festival official website:
http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/