Makoto Shinkai in Conversation: Friday 12 August– at the NFT, South Bank, London
Via my lovely self-sacrificing wife who doesn't even like anime (her own words). Its looks like Japanese Animation month at the NFT. The highlight of the month includes a discussion with Makoto Shinkai who created the simply amazing Voices of a distant star.
Voices of a Distant Star is the moving tale of Mikako and Noboru, high-school sweethearts who try to keep their romance alive against all odds. Mikako is sent into space as part of a team to save mankind from an alien threat, leaving Noboru at home with texting as their only means of contact. The further he moves away from earth, the longer the texts take to come back, and soon a whole lifetime stands between them. Made solely on a Macintosh computer, using off-the-shelf software, this is an astonishing achievement, and we are delighted to welcome Makoto Shinkai to the NFT to talk about it and his other films, including the earlier She and Her Cat.
Like the Donnie Darko screening this weekend, I'll be attending. London certainly is a great place to live.