Fantasy Archives | Otaku No Culture

An Interview with Denver Jackson & Esluna: Crown of Babylon’s World Debut!

As for the future, Denver Jackson revealed that he wants to look at the lives of the supporting characters in this world he created.

Denver Jackson Publicity Still Denver Jackson is the creative mind behind a techno-fantasy world that he can uniquely call his own. Esluna: The First Monolith is a standalone work that introduces Maeve Riverflare, a relic hunter, to the world. This nine episode series is available on YouTube, and received a few national awards for best digital series made (Blood in Snow Festival) and a Leo Awards nomination for direction. He also has a solid team of friends, like Mark Junker (musician), Daniel Hogg (producer) and the voice actors (see below for credits) to back him in his many projects.

Next is Esluna: The Crown of Babylon and its set to play at various film festivals like Vancouver’s Spark Animation (Oct 28 to Nov 7th) and Sitges Festival in Spain (Oct 7 to 17th). Catching the prior series is not required for newcomers, but this director said there’s a few nods here and there for those followers of his work.

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Vancouver International Film Festival @40 Years! and Genre Picks

The Vancouver International Film Festival is terrific in spotlighting international films and don’t always often have a wide selection of genre picks. When they do, especially during a key anniversary year, there’s reason to cheer!

October 1 to 11th * Various Venues * Vancouver, British Columbia

The Vancouver International Film Festival is terrific in spotlighting international films and don’t always have a wide selection of genre picks. When they do, especially during their ruby anniversary year, there’s reason to cheer! Anyone who’ve missed seeing a few films from Fantasia have a second chance here!

Most of these titles are geo-locked to this province and in-person attendence is most likely capped. Anyone with questions can also read the Health & Safety Guidelines in the official VIFF website.

On my list of notable pieces to view are:

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Come Join the Tiong Bahru Social Club, You’ll Be Happy…

At a glance, Ah Bee (Thomas Pang) joined a cult known as Tiong Bahru Social Club. But In reality, he joined a strata, where the complex and the people who lives there look like they are rejects from THX-1138.

Regal L.A. LIVE:
A Barco Innovation Center
Played Sep 25 6:00 pm

Please check this film’s Facebook page for future screenings.

From Fantasia 2021 to the Los Angeles Pacific Asian Film Festival, I’m sure there’ll be more stops Bee Thiam Tan Tiong Bahru Social Clubwill make a stop at as it tours the film festival circuit and recruits. At a glance, Ah Bee (Thomas Pang) joined a cult. In reality, he joined a strata, where the complex and the people who lives there look like they are rejects from THX-1138.

The concept is far from it. This film’s quirky and pastel coloured 50s sci-fi vibe permeates through half of this comedy of errors. It’s set in a not so far-off future in Singapore, where closed communities are managed by artificial intelligences and data analysts who think happiness can be easily made. But when Bee gets promoted to manage the place, he gets in over his head. Life is not as pleasing or easy.

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Meditating on what Makes Masao A Simple Man

The cinematography is poetic and contemplative, making this film almost a tear jerker because everyone knows the inevitable.

Masao L.A. Asian Pacifc Film Festival
Regal L.A. LIVE:
A Barco Innovation Center
Sept 25, 2021
12:00 pm

Not everyone can say, “I Was a Simple Man,” like Christopher Makoto Yogi can. This film by this writer/director offers a truly sombre look at the last days of Masao (Steve Iwamoto). The flashbacks reveal everything you want to know about this protagonist–including bits of his troubled family’s past–and why he lives his days out with his daughter, often alone instead with friends and kin.

It’s tough to watch a parent grow old, hear them complain about one thing or another, and see you’re not able to help. Kati (Chanel Akiko Hirai) is the only relative trying her best because they share the same space. Her brother Mark (Nelson Lee) is living a new life far, far away. When she phones him and asks for him to come home, the dilemma they face together in how to deal with their father is tough.

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Delving into What Makes LAAPFF’s Pacific Cinewaves Shorts Unique

How to Catch a Taotaomona

Playing at the
Regal L.A. LIVE: A Barco Innovation Center
1000 W Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA

Saturday | September 25, 2021
3:30 pm

The Pacific Cinewaves Program at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival is my go to for kick starting this event. It’s free / pay what you can, because there’s no reason not to miss all the messages being delivered about how to preserve the ancient world of Polynesia.

The various pieces offer a delightful, supernatural and meditative exploration on what makes this part of the world unique. I say this with mixed feelings, because not all the countries in this vast region are represented. We have Guam, and a beautifully family oriented tale about how to reconnect with one’s faith in How to Catch a Taotaomona.

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Who Has the Power in Mattel and Netflix’s He-Man and The Masters of the Universe?

The teens we find in He-Man and The Masters of the Universe are Eternia’s answer to Power Rangers…

Spoiler Alert

Hasbro & Netflix’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe may not appeal to all longtime fans. It’s been redesigned, and the new power of Grayskull is a trans-dimensional force of nature to perhaps contain and explain why these retellings over the years exist. Thankfully, this latest version stays true to the first series where it tries to teach young viewers the value of friendship, trust and teamwork.

Rob David, the showrunner, is drawing from a cleaned up series bible. Hasbro and Funimation never made one during their development of the 1983 show. After so many retellings on different fronts, namely three televised series and the comic books–this latest takes the best of and explains the complex relationships that exists in this world. The motives are much clearer. It’s also completely different from what Kevin Smith is doing in his continuation, MotU: Revelation.

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