The Leeds International Film Festival is On + Anime Screenings

The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) which runs until the 18th of November  has a large and diverse range of films including many from Japan including anime in the Fanonemon Anime Day returns which takes place on the 17th of November. Here are the titles:

Asura

Synopsis

Mid-15th Century Japan, the country is suffering war and gripped by famine. When a young child named Asura is born he is plunged into a harsh world of violence and desperation which turns him into a beast that roams the hills. Can a young girl named Wakasa help rehabilitate him and bring him back to civilisation?

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc: The Egg of the King)

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc: The Battle for Doldrey

Synopsis

The saga follows Guts a strong mercenary with a huge sword and little direction in life. All of that changes after he meets Griffith, leader of a group of mercenaries named Band of the Hawk who are working for the Kingdom of Midland. Guts decides to throw his lot in with them and finds himself developing a deep relationship with Griffith but also finds that Casca, a commander in the Band of the Hawk, is jealous that Griffith returns his feelings. The two find themselves swept along in Griffith’s rise to power.

Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning

Synopsis

On an alternative Earth, superheroes are celebrities and a high-rating TV show ranks their achievements, awarding them points until an annual King of Heroes is crowned. Old-school hero Wild Tiger is assigned a new partner with very different views on the heroes’ role in society, but soon a vigilante criminal presents them with a serious problem.

The Wolf Children

Synopsis

In a story that takes place over thirteen years the theme of love between parents and children is explored. It starts when a college student named Hana falls in love with a “wolf man” named Ō kami. The two marry and have children – Yuki (snow) the older sister and Ame (rain) the younger brother. The four live quietly in a city concealing the true existence of their relationship until Ō kami dies and Hana decides to move to the country.

Book here for tickets.

There are also a large selection of excellent live-action films like The Woodsman and the Rain and In Another Country. In a statement, festival organisers said:

This Leeds International Film Festival starts in style this week as the opening gala screening Argo has proved so successful a second showing has now been arranged.
 
Ben Affleck’s new comic thriller which has been mentioned as a likely Oscar contender opens this year’s festival at Leeds Town Hall on Thursday night (November 1). It is preceded by a Special Preview of Rust and Bone at 5.45pm. Jacques Audiard’s critically-acclaimed film stars Marion Cotillard and was a sensation at Cannes.
 
The screening is already sold out, so festival organiser Leeds City Council has now added a second showing on Saturday 3rd November at 8:30pm.
 
Tickets are going fast for all elements of the festival which is now in its 26th year and runs until Sunday 18 November featuring more than 150 feature films, over 130 short films and nearly 250 screening events.
 
One of the standout elements of this year’s festival is Fanomenon Yorkshire, which will showcase three new horror films made in the county. The first is a world premiere of Heretic on Monday 5 November at Hyde Park Picture House, which was shot entirely in Leeds and tells the story of a troubled Catholic priest who finds his faith crushed when a young girl he promises to protect commits suicide.
 
This is followed on Wednesday 7 November at Hyde Park Picture House by Before Dawn, an independent zombie film directed by and starring Dominic Brunt, better known as Paddy Dingle in Emmerdale.
 
The final film of the three is When the Lights Went Out, being shown at Vue in The Light on Friday 9 November. Set in Yorkshire in 1974 and based on a true story, the film has impressed critics for its attention to period detail and offers arguably the scariest ghost story of the year.
 
At each of the three screenings members of the cast and crew will be special guests in attendance, forming part of a list of special appearances to be made at the biggest annual film festival in England to be held outside London.
 
Actor Steve Oram will be guest of honour at a screening of black comedy Sightseers at Hyde Park Picture House on Friday 2 November, while Russian filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky will attend be at the same venue on Saturday 17 November for a retrospective of his early works.
 
A further addition to the festival programme has also been revealed with acclaimed Chilean political thriller No starring Gael Garcia being shown on Tuesday 6 November at Leeds Town Hall.
 
Among the other highlights of this year’s festival will be new digital print screenings of Stanley Kubrick’s classics 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndonand the legendary chiller The Shining all in the Victoria Hall.
 
Tickets and film festival passes can be purchased in person at City Centre Box Office (The Carriageworks, Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD), over the telephone (0113 224 3801) and online (www.leedsfilm.com).
 
Presented by Leeds City Council, Leeds International Film Festival is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the National Lottery through the British Film Institute and Creative England.
 
For more information about this year’s Leeds International Film Festival, visit the website at www.leedsfilm.com