Tag: 2020

Highlights from My First Fantasia

There’s a mini festival within a festival if you spend your time exploring the talents featured here.

FantasiaBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Playing at Fantasia Digital Film Festival 2020 On Demand till Sept 2. Buy your virtual ticket here.

Fantasia Film Festival may seem short with feature length animated works this year because one title was pulled. My response is to check out the My First Fantasia Programme. There’s more than enough pieces to sate anyone’s appetite! Plus, the other packaged presentations include mini tales of fantasy, sci-fi and experimental works. There’s a mini festival within a festival if you spend your time exploring the talents featured here.

Realistically, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival is the event for fans of this medium. When my love for this genre outweighs Asian works, I had to do a marathon run of this particular set of works this weekend. I’m particularly interested with seeing what emerging talents from around the world are offering. Some are certainly ready to be noticed by Studio Ghibli, Studio Canal, Cartoon Saloon, or even PIXAR.

A few shorts are repeated in the other themed sets; they only help reinforce the concept being presented. Some are animated in CGI, others are hand drawn, a few are stop motion and the rest use a blend of other techniques—which include clay, Adobe Animation (formerly Flash) or otherwise. They are all used to great effect to convey a sense of wonder, whimsy or surreal.

This list highlights the pieces which I found the most engaging from each themed package:

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On Crazy Samurai Musashi and Wishing for a Video Game Adaptation

Crazy Samurai Musashi Movie Poster

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Playing at Fantasia Digital Film Festival 2020 On Demand till Sept 2. Buy your virtual ticket here.

Yuji Shimomura’s Crazy Samurai Musashi is—as the title suggests—an insane attempt in making a movie in one continuous shot. It has the feel of a video game since the camera is mostly focussed on our warrior as the center of attention and everyone rushes to him for a chance at delivering a fatal swing of the sword. I’m reminded of Bushido Blade for the PlayStation.

Sometimes the angle changes, and that’s usually to get in a closeup shot of Musashi (Tak Sakaguchi). Thankfully, there are a few pauses in the carnage to deliver dialogue and give viewers a chance to breathe.

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Hail to the Deadites! On Fandom & The Evil Dead

Writer/Director Steve Villeneuve must have spent at least three years filming this work.

FantasiaBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Playing at Fantasia Digital Film Festival 2020 On Demand till Sept 2. Buy your virtual ticket here.

We have plenty of documentaries made about how Sam Raimi‘s Evil Dead franchise still influences the horror genre. The latest, Hail to the Deadites, is specific about this famous film trilogy and goes in a different direction–it’s about the fandom than the films itself.

I wish there was more to the segment on Evil Dead the Musical instead of the cursory look. It’s rare to get an insight to why some theatre producers adapt a franchise to a live stage show and I’m just one of the lucky ones to know of a regional troupe who let me down the basement and reveal how they manage as they tour and perform in the Pacific Northwest. Strangely, Chris Bond, one of the creators behind this musical, was not interviewed. Instead, we have horror historian Michael Gingold, film professor Andre Loiselle and filmmaker Chris Alexander break down other parts of the fandom.

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Enter the Shaman King! (to ComiXology)

“It’s been over 10 years since I’ve completed Shaman King. But finally –– at last –– I can deliver the true ending to the story to the fans in America,” says Shaman King creator Hiroyuki Takei.

Fantasia
Copyright: Shaman King © Hiroyuki Takei/Kodansha Ltd.

After many years out of print, Shaman King, Hiroyuki Takei‘s shonen manga classic, will return in English and be completed for the first time ever on Tuesday, July 28th! Featuring brand-new cover art from the creator himself, all 35 volumes of the original Shaman King series – including the final three volumes never before published in English – will be available to read digitally starting next Tuesday, as part of the ComiXology Originals line of exclusive content.

For those who missed the Shaman King SDCC2020@Home YouTube stream fret not. There were hiccups at the time it was supposed to go live and it is fixed.

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How to Partake in SDCC 2020 @Home Edition

San Deigo Comic Con International Logo 2The 2020 San Diego Comic Con is here (sort of) and this year, because of a certain pandemic, it’s gone fully virtual! That means you can join in the fun from anywhere in the world. While the at home edition is nothing like the real thing, I’m glad that I can partake in a partial experience. Will I want a keepsake? Maybe…

From industry panels to what’s upcoming–including many anniversary celebrations–the choice of what to do is not as limited as one may think. Without bumping into your favourite hero or pop culture icon in the causeway for a photo op, the only hope is that the mailman can at least bring those items ordered while dressed as Deadpool. The exhibit hall will go online for the duration of the physical event for those wanting to purchase goodies, but will there be exclusives?

On my digital itinerary are my top picks in what to tune in to. The links will to to YouTube when the panel goes live.

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IGN’s Summer of Gaming is Sure to Sizzle!

IGN Announces 'Summer of Gaming' Showcase for June - IGN Now - YouTubeMajor industry events have been shuttered because of a certain coronavirus, and the issue of how to go forward is to obviously head online! Nearly every week is mention of some major regional convention “postponing” than outright cancelling. The video game industry is going remote and offer interviews, presentations, pre and post discussions and demos all from the comfort of home. IGN’s Summer of Gaming will take place on their platform, and a schedule will be coming soon announcing when to tune in.

Many developers are on board. The tally so far includes 52 different companies! From the official press release:

Ubisoft will be joining IGN’s Summer of Gaming ahead of their Forward Digital Event, along with Blizzard, Xbox, EA and more. The Guerrilla Collective showcase, which will include many different developers and publishers, will also be a part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming programming. In addition, CD Projekt Red will bring one of the most highly anticipated games of the year to the show, Cyberpunk 2077. Also, the summer event will also carry the recently announced Guerilla Collective indie showcase.

Please stay tuned as news develop.