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Hawaii Int'l Film Fest to Show Buddha, Millennium Dragon

The 31st Hawaiian International Film Festival (HIFF) will screen Buddha: The Great Departure, Legend of the Millennium Dragon, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, and A Letter to Momo during the event, which takes place from October 13-23.

Buddha: The Great Departure is Kōzō Morishita's animated film based on Osamu Tezuka's manga of the same name. The film is the first in a trilogy which follows the life and development of Gautama Buddha, founder of the Buddhist religion. The film originally debuted in the U.S. at this year's New York Asian Film Festival in July. HIFF will screen the film on October 18 at 6:30 p.m.

Animated by Studio Pierrot, Legend of the Millennium Dragon revolves around the war between oni (demons) and humans in the former Japanese capital of Kyoto, 1,200 years ago during the Heian period. Directed by Hirotsugu Kawasaki, the movie is an adaptation of a 2004, two-volume novel by the same name from author Takafumi Takada. The film premiered in the U.S at Anime Expo in July. The film will be screened at HIFF on October 22 at 8:45 p.m.

As previously reported, the festival will also screen the Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos film and Production I.G and Hiroyuki Okiura's A Letter to Momo film. A Letter to Momo will screen on October 16 at 11:30 a.m. and on October 17 at 5:30 p.m., and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos will screen on October 18 at 9:45 p.m.

The festival will also screen Katsuhito Ishii's live-action film adaptation of Shohei Manabe's Smuggler manga on October 19 at 9:30 p.m and on October 22 at 5:45 p.m., and Takashi Miike's Nintama Rantarō (Ninja Kids!!!) live-action film based on the the ninja comedy television anime Nintama Rantarō on October 15 at 10:30 a.m. The festival will also screen the film adaptation of the GeGeGe no Nyōbō (Spooky Wife) essay book, written by Nunoe Mura, the wife of GeGeGe no Kitarō horror manga author Shigeru Mizuki on October 20 at 5:30 p.m. and on October 21 at 1:00 p.m. The festival will also screen Yūdai Yamaguchi's Deadball live-action film on October 16 at 9:45 p.m.

Thanks to musashi1600 for the news tip.

Images © 2011 Tezuka Osamu no Buddha Production Committee
© Takafumi Takada/Kodansha, Onigamiden Production Committee