SCOTLAND LOVES ANIME FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY WITH LONDON EXPANSION

THE COLORS WITHIN, TOTTO-CHAN & MORE HEADLINE UK’S LONGEST RUNNING ANIME FILM FESTIVAL THIS NOVEMBER

London, UK, 23 October 2024  – The UK’s biggest and longest running film festival dedicated to anime is coming to London! Scotland Loves Anime has continued to grow as the premiere event for showcasing the best and rising talent in anime. Now celebrating its 15th anniversary, Scotland Loves Anime, in partnership with Picturehouse Central, is excited to announce that following dates in Glasgow at the Glasgow Film Theatre, and Edinburgh at the Cameo Playhouse, the festival is expanding to London from Friday 15th – Sunday 17th November!

With a line-up including Naoko Yamada’s highly anticipated coming-of-age film The Colors Within that wowed critics at its Annecy International Film Festival World Premiere, Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, based on the celebrated memoir by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, as well as the existential ode to the creative soul Look Back (based on the critically acclaimed manga by Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto), Scotland Loves Anime is an experience any lover of anime or cinema won’t want to miss.

Having previously partnered with Picturehouse cinema group following the sudden closure of the Filmhouse in Edinburgh back in 2022, Scotland Loves Anime’s Founder and Festival Director said of the new expansion:

“I can’t believe it’s been 15 years since we started the festival, but it feels like the right time to expand what we do and bring the festival experience to as many people as possible. We’re excited to be working with our friends at Picturehouse Cinemas to launch the next phase of the festival. The team have been great to work with and stepped up to help us when the festival lost one of its key venues. We’re excited to see how audiences in London react to the launch, and we hope to develop the London weekend in the coming years.”

Scotland Loves Anime kicks off at the Glasgow Film Theatre from Friday 1st November, before moving to Edinburgh’s Cameo Picturehouse, and then Picturehouse Central in London. Each location will feature a unique special guest who will take part in a Q&A following their respective film:

• Glasgow: The Colors Within director Naoko Yamada and composer Kensuke Ushio.

• Edinburgh: Tomohiro Tokunaga (CEO of CoMixWave Films) and Production Assistant Himoru Kaneko will be showcasing the up-and-coming female director Maho Takagi both following the screening of Suzume, and at the SLA Education Day at the Edinburgh College of Art.

•     London: Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window director Shinnosuke Yakuwa will be taking part in a Q&A.

The event line-ups are as follows:

Glasgow at Glasgow Film Theatre (1st-3rd November):

Friday 1st November: Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window, The Birth of Kitaro: Mystery of GeGeGe, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro

Saturday 2nd November: Trapezium, The Colors Within (incl. Q&A with director Naoko Yamada and composer Kensuke ushio), SAND LAND.

Sunday 3rd November: A Few Moments of Cheers (incl. Recorded Q&A with the director) , Ghost Cat Anzu, Look Back.

Edinburgh at Cameo Picturehouse (4th-10th November):

Monday 4th November: PROMARE.

Tuesday 5th November: Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro.

Wednesday 6th November: Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture Parts 1 & 2.

Thursday 7th November: Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture Parts 3 & 4.

Friday 8th November:  The Birth of Kitaro: Mystery of GeGeGe, Look Back, Suzume + Short Film (The Scent of Love), A Few Moments of Cheers (incl. Recorded Q&A with the director).

Saturday 9th November: KuraYukaba + Shorts, The Colors Within, Look Back, SAND LAND.

Sunday 10th November: Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window, KURAMERUKAGARI + Short, Ghost Cat Anzu, Trapezium.

London at Picturehouse Central (15th-17th November):

Friday 15th November: The Birth of Kitaro: Mystery of GeGeGe, Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window (incl. Q&A with the director), SAND LAND.

Saturday 16th November:  KuraYukaba + Shorts, The Colors Within, Look Back.

Sunday 17th November: KURAMERUKAGARI + Short, Ghost Cat Anzu, Trapezium, A Few Moments of Cheers (incl. Recorded Q&A with the director).

You can find out more about each film, showtimes, and where to book tickets at http://www.lovesanimation.com/

About Scotland Loves Animation

Scotland Loves Anime was founded by Andrew Partridge three years before he started Anime Limited in 2010 to address the lack of festivals treating Japanese animation as a serious part of their line-ups. The event has run for 14 years continuously, 2024 marks its 15th edition and is the premiere event in the UK for Japanese animated film today with people traveling from around the world to attend.

Our organization serves to show people things in the world of animation they usually would not have a chance to engage with. SLA fulfils this goal by highlighting the diverse range of animation that exists within the medium. Even as Japanese animation has grown in popularity in the UK – for every film like Jujutsu Kaisen 0 there are a broad variety of other unique films that are marginalised. Our goal is to provide more context behind mainstream film to an audience not usually connected to film education while also showcasing hidden gems of the sector too.

For further information, please contact Fetch Publicity