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The Echo of Astro Boy's Footsteps Documentary Screenings Newcastle and London
posted on by Andrew Osmond
The Zipangu Festival, which specialises in experimental Japanese cinema, will present two screenings of the 82-minute live-action documentary The Echo of Astro Boy's Footsteps: one in Newcastle on Friday January 11 and one in London on Saturday January 19.
The Newcastle screening is at 7.30 p.m. in the Star and Shadow cinema (directions).
The London screening is at 4 p.m. at the Roxy Bar and Screen Cinema, near London Bridge and Borough stations (scroll down the link for a map).
The documentary concerns the "extraordinary double life" of sound designer Matsuo Ohno, who worked on Astro Boy, Lupin the 3rd, and Space Battleship Yamato. From the Zipangu press release:
In The Echo Of Astro Boy's Footsteps, director Masanori Tominaga leads an investigation into the extraordinary double life of legendary sound designer Matsuo Ohno. Following his groundbreaking experimental sound work on cult Japanese animations Astro Boy, Lupin the 3rd, and Space Battleship Yamato, Ohno mysteriously disappears from the public eye, retreating into a world of seclusion and personal struggle. Using firsthand accounts from friends and contemporaries to construct a definitive record of Ohno's life, Tominaga's team eventually uncovers the remarkable and deeply moving truth behind Ohno's current whereabouts and habits.
Before the London screening, there will also be a screening at 3 p.m. the same day of Man-Eater Mountain, directed by Naoyuki Niiya. 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. The website warns that it contains "shocking" content.
