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A Letter to Momo and Short Peace Screening in UK Touring Programme

The line-up for the 2015 Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme has been announced, including the anime film A Letter to Momo (right) and Short Peace (left). The Programme will tour the UK between January 30 and March 26.

According to the website, A Letter to Momo will be shown at the following venues:

ICA, London; mac birmingham, Birmingham; Watershed, Bristol; QUAD, Derby; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne; Showroom Cinema, Sheffield; Broadway Cinema, Nottingham; QFT, Belfast.

GKIDS describes the story: 'The last time Momo saw her father they had a fight – and now all she has left to remember him by is an incomplete letter, a blank piece of paper penned with the words “Dear Momo” but nothing more. Moving with her mother to the remote Japanese island of Shio, Momo soon discovers three yokai living in her attic, a trio of mischievous spirit creatures that only she can see and who create mayhem in the tiny seaside community as she tries desperately to keep them hidden.'

Short Peace is a multimedia project that comprises of four anime short films (and also a video game) with the overarching theme of Japan. Katsuhiro Ōtomo assembled "top creators at the leading edge of Japanese animation, exploring possible future avenues of expression." It will be shown at the following venues:

ICA, London; Watershed, Bristol; Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee; Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne; Broadway Cinema, Nottingham.

The festival will also include the live-action film My Little Sweet Pea (Mugiko-san to), which includes anime segments by Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass). This film will be shown at the following venues: ICA, London; Filmhouse, Edinburgh; Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne; mac birmingham, Birmingham.

Maki Horikita (Ataru: The First Love & The Last Kill, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, Always San-chōme no Yūhi) stars in the film as a young otaku aiming to become an anime voice actress. Ryuhei Matsuda (Nana live-action film, Fune o Amu, Kita no Kanaria-tachi) plays Mugiko's undependable, gambling-loving older brother Norio. Production I.G produced a clip from a fictional anime series, loved by the title character.

In the film's story, Mugiko's mother unexpectedly comes back into her life after having no contact for a long time, and the pair live together. Mugiko's mother suddently dies, and Mugiko travels to her mother's hometown to lay her ashes to rest. Only there does Mugiko learn what kind of a person her mother truly was.

Via Anime UK News