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NEWS: Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo Wins at Catalonia

10-15-06 (3:19PM EDT)---- Tokikake Wins Best Animated Film Award At Sitges
Winner results are out from the Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya 2006. More commonly known as Sitges (for the name of the city it's held in), the Spanish film festival has been held 39 times as of this year. It occured October 6-15th. The big news for anime fans, Director Mamoru Hosoda, Kadokawa and Studio Madhouse's Toki Wo Kakeru Shoujo (Tokikake) has taken the ANIMA'T Gertie Award for Best Animated Film. Screening under the title THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (which seems to be the semi-official English title Madhouse is using for screenings outside Japan, having used it several times) it joins other honored Japanese animation works more recently including Square-Enix's Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children whoch won the Honorary Maria Award last year. Likewise, other anime winners of the top long piece animation prize include Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers in 2003 and Katsuhiro Otomo's Steam Boy in 2004. Also competeing in the segment were Kihachiro Kawamoto's puppet animation film THE BOOK OF THE DEAD (he earned a Special Mention prize) and Satoshi Kon's Paprika. A number of Japanese observers online have noted the significance of Tokikake's win over Paprika, which by all accounts has been a much higher profile film with a more internationally well known director and past film history. Highly praised in Japan, being run in limited release it has become a breakout underground hit across a diverse range of demographics, packing out showings there and observably making fully grown middle aged salary men in business suits cry like babies by the time the credits roll. Both a wide mainstream theatrical release in Japan or pickup in America are yet to be determined for this very powerful film. www.kadokawa.co.jp/tokikake/

Other Japanese anime to be entered in this competition include "Tokyo Godfathers", "Steamboy", "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children", and other Japanese nominees in this year's event included "Gin-iro no Kami no Agito", "Paprika", and "Tachiguishi-Retsuden", etc.