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Toronto's Shinsedai Fest to Screen Anime Films, Shorts

The third annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival will screen two anime films and a series of anime shorts at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto from July 21-24.

The anime titles that are confirmed are:

• Midori-ko, directed by Keita Kurosaka. Kurosaka was profiled on the Animation World Network website, which describes Midori-ko as a 35mm feature-length film "about 21st century Tokyo, which has turned into a city of weird creatures and ghoulish human beings. The main character is a 29 year-old female whose encounter with a strange creature transforms her life."

• Man-Eater Mountain, directed by Naoyuki Niiya. Previously screened at Zipangu Fest in London in 2010, this 28-minute film is a kamishibai (paper theater) drama told through still drawings. The story involves police being led to a mountaintop by a serial killer, where they confront their darkest desires.

• CALF Animation Special, a program of short films by animators Atsushi Wada, Mirai Mizue, Kei Ōyama and TOCHKA. CALF, a Japanese independent animation label, previously presented programs in the UK.

Tickets for the festival go on sale on Monday, June 27. This year's event is the first to offer the Kobayashi Audience Award, a CAD$1,000 prize.