Invasion: Anime Enjoys Pennsylvania Premiere at Villanova's KoasiKon
Dallas, TX, -- March 16, 2005 — Dallas-based Tempest Production Company announced today that their feature-length documentary Invasion: Anime will screen at KosaiKon, a Japanese animation festival in Villanova, PA. The documentary will show on March 25th, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. in Bartley Hall on the Villanova University campus. Festival passes, available through the festival website, are $13 through March 18 and $15 at the door.
Invasion: Anime serves as an introduction to Japanese animation (or "anime") and has already enjoyed tremendous international success at film festivals in America, Europe and Asia. Interested parties should contact Producer/Director angela Alexander at (214) 942-8830 to arrange screenings.
“Whether you're a casual anime fan wanting more exposure to your hobby, a parent searching for clues as to what this anime thing is all about, an animation enthusiast, documentary lover or even just a casual history buff, Invasion: Anime is for you,” says Alexander.
In his review for FilmThreat.com, Eric Campos writes, “Invasion: Anime exists as a great little tutorial for those wondering just what this ever-growing anime craze is all about. This documentary gives a nice history run down of the Japanese animated film, as well as exposes the fan base that flock to anime related conventions all over the world. This will be scary to some, funny to others...maybe even inspiring.”
Interview subjects include names well known to anime fans across the world. Steve Bennett, founder of Studio Ironcat, artists and animators Akemi Takada, Senno Knife, Makoto Uno and Nobuyuki Takahashi, North American voice actors and directors Amy Howard Wilson, Tiffany Grant, Scott McNeil and Taliasen Jaffe and international anime experts like author Helen McCarthy and Dr. Susan J. Napier, Associate Director of Asian Studies, University of Texas, are but a few of more than 20 individuals who donated their time to this project.
Audiences Love the Invasion
At its world premiere at the St. Louis International Film Festival, Invasion: Anime brought in an estimated 65% larger audience than the Steve Spielberg- produced miniseries Taken, which showed immediately before it.
Independent film expert Chris Gore says, "Invasion: Anime is a great doc about Japanese animation...an independent film that deserves attention."
Campos further writes "Invasion: Anime (serves) as a nice eye opener, offering up information that fans may not have known about from industry professionals and folks that actually study anime." And test audiences called Invasion: Anime "fun," "exciting" and "terrific history."
The Rest Is History
"The whole documentary has been a series of happy accidents," says Alexander. Originally slated to be an inside look at the drama found behind the scenes at science fiction/fantasy type conventions, a case of missing tape stalled that concept and gave birth to Invasion: Anime.
"We were shooting at Project: A-Kon, a Dallas anime convention. The hotel's front desk misplaced a case of video tape we had set up for delivery during the weekend, limiting what we could shoot," explained Alexander. "So we chose to use the possibly once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity to get interviews with the Japanese artists who were guests of the convention."
"The rest, as they say, is history."
Invasion: Anime encompasses several important firsts for Tempest Productions, as it is their first feature-length production and first attempt at a modern- day subject. The company is best known for their short-form examinations of history, including a series of documentary/educational shorts for the Centennial Celebration in Irving, Texas. Previous productions include the CableACE-nominee Etched in Stone: A Monumental History and Utopia Lost: The La Reunion Commune. Currently, Tempest is nearing completion on a new feature documentary, The Donut Girls of the American Red Cross.
More information about Tempest Productions and their documentaries can be found at www.TempestProductions.com. For information about KosaiKon, please visit www.KosaiKon.com
Invasion: Anime serves as an introduction to Japanese animation (or "anime") and has already enjoyed tremendous international success at film festivals in America, Europe and Asia. Interested parties should contact Producer/Director angela Alexander at (214) 942-8830 to arrange screenings.
“Whether you're a casual anime fan wanting more exposure to your hobby, a parent searching for clues as to what this anime thing is all about, an animation enthusiast, documentary lover or even just a casual history buff, Invasion: Anime is for you,” says Alexander.
In his review for FilmThreat.com, Eric Campos writes, “Invasion: Anime exists as a great little tutorial for those wondering just what this ever-growing anime craze is all about. This documentary gives a nice history run down of the Japanese animated film, as well as exposes the fan base that flock to anime related conventions all over the world. This will be scary to some, funny to others...maybe even inspiring.”
Interview subjects include names well known to anime fans across the world. Steve Bennett, founder of Studio Ironcat, artists and animators Akemi Takada, Senno Knife, Makoto Uno and Nobuyuki Takahashi, North American voice actors and directors Amy Howard Wilson, Tiffany Grant, Scott McNeil and Taliasen Jaffe and international anime experts like author Helen McCarthy and Dr. Susan J. Napier, Associate Director of Asian Studies, University of Texas, are but a few of more than 20 individuals who donated their time to this project.
Audiences Love the Invasion
At its world premiere at the St. Louis International Film Festival, Invasion: Anime brought in an estimated 65% larger audience than the Steve Spielberg- produced miniseries Taken, which showed immediately before it.
Independent film expert Chris Gore says, "Invasion: Anime is a great doc about Japanese animation...an independent film that deserves attention."
Campos further writes "Invasion: Anime (serves) as a nice eye opener, offering up information that fans may not have known about from industry professionals and folks that actually study anime." And test audiences called Invasion: Anime "fun," "exciting" and "terrific history."
The Rest Is History
"The whole documentary has been a series of happy accidents," says Alexander. Originally slated to be an inside look at the drama found behind the scenes at science fiction/fantasy type conventions, a case of missing tape stalled that concept and gave birth to Invasion: Anime.
"We were shooting at Project: A-Kon, a Dallas anime convention. The hotel's front desk misplaced a case of video tape we had set up for delivery during the weekend, limiting what we could shoot," explained Alexander. "So we chose to use the possibly once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity to get interviews with the Japanese artists who were guests of the convention."
"The rest, as they say, is history."
Invasion: Anime encompasses several important firsts for Tempest Productions, as it is their first feature-length production and first attempt at a modern- day subject. The company is best known for their short-form examinations of history, including a series of documentary/educational shorts for the Centennial Celebration in Irving, Texas. Previous productions include the CableACE-nominee Etched in Stone: A Monumental History and Utopia Lost: The La Reunion Commune. Currently, Tempest is nearing completion on a new feature documentary, The Donut Girls of the American Red Cross.
More information about Tempest Productions and their documentaries can be found at www.TempestProductions.com. For information about KosaiKon, please visit www.KosaiKon.com
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