First Wave Of Titles Announced For The Waterloo Festival Of Animated Cinema!

The Waterloo Festival of Animated Cinema is one of the premiere events to catch an eclectic mix of animated cinema from around the world. Now entering its twelfth year the first twelve titles were announced and as to be expected attendees will not be disappointed.

Twitch readers should be familiar with some of these titles already. Wolf Children. Jensen & Jensen. Blood C: The Last Dark. There are plenty more where those came from. Below is the press release with descriptions of the twelve films.

WATERLOO FESTIVAL SHOWCASES DYNAMIC ANIMATED

FEATURE FILMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Anime, independent film premieres lead strong lineup

KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ON - The Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema has announced the first 12 films of the 12th edition of the Festival. The lineup showcases the increasingly powerful voice that feature animation has in world cinema today.

A unique film festival celebrating the artistry of animated feature films, the Waterloo Festival showcase is one of the most comprehensive public exhibitions for animated feature films in the world.

"This year's festival reflects a strong set of productions from Japan and Europe," says Joseph Chen, the festival's curator. "There is an incredibly rich, diverse world of animated cinema beyond the borders of what we can see in multiplexes today. Feature animation is an unparalleled window into the film-maker's inner vision. It's an absolute treat to be able to show these beautifully-crafted films on the big screen to a North American audience."

A LETTER TO MOMO Okiura Hiroyuki | Japan, 2011

Miyaura Momo is a shy and imaginative 13-year old girl whose life has been shattered by her father's recent death and her family's decision to move from Tokyo back to her mother's ancestral home in a distant fishing village. Haunted by her last moments with her father, and the final words he left her in an unfinished letter that simply said, "Dear Momo...," she retreats into a gloomy shell from which she refused to emerge, until one day three rather rude goblins with a penchant for mischief take it upon themselves to pull her out of her shell.

ANIME MIRAI Kawamata, Miyashita, Kaiya and Tomonaga | Japan, 2012

Four delightful films that point to the future of anime: a collective project from four leading

Japanese animation studios selected by the Japan Animation Creators Association under the patronage of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. A workaholic father repeatedly breaks his promise to take his 5-year old daughter to the sea, until an inflatable dugong undertakes the task instead; a 6th grade learns that bullying other kids is as bad as letting it happen; an antiquarian meets with a scared, eight-legged spider girl; a broke swordsman-for-hire accepts a job to pay the tavern's bill, only to find himself involved with a pirate ship, a young kid with a map, and a mad scientist.

ARRUGAS (Wrinkles) Ignacio Ferreras | Spain, 2011

Based on Paco Roca's eponymous and multi award-winning graphic novel, Wrinkles portrays the friendship between Emilio and Miguel, two aged gentlemen shut away in a care home. Recent arrival Emilio, in the early stages of Alzheimer's, is helped by Miguel and colleagues to avoid ending up on the feared top floor of the care home, also known as the lost causes or "assisted" floor. Their wild plan infuses their otherwise tedious day-to-day with humour and tenderness, because although for some their lives is coming to an end, for them it is just beginning.

ASURA Sato Keiichi | Japan, 2012

Born into the chaos of mid 15th century Japan, when flood, drought and famine have devastated the land and the greatest civil war in Japanese history was about to begin, an infant named Asura was abandoned and forced to learn the means to survive in the wild on his own. Growing up as a wild beast, he would come to hunt men - until one day, he meets a young woman, whose grace begins to convince him that even a lost soul such as he could seek redemption.

AZ EMBER TRAGÉDIÁJA (The Tragedy Of Man) Marcell Jankovics | Hungary, 2012

Based on the 1861 masterpiece by Hungarian playwright and poet Imre Madách, The Tragedy of Man is a powerful drama in 15 acts that guide us through the history and the future of mankind - from the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden, to the empires of old, to the revolutions that rocked Europe - as Lucifer and God battle for Man's soul.

BABELDOM Paul Bush | U.K., 2012

Babeldom is a city so massive and growing at such a speed that soon, it is said, light itself will not escape its gravitational pull. How can two lovers communicate, one from inside the city and one outside? This is an elegy to urban life, against the backdrop of a city of the future, a portrait assembled from film shot in modern cities all around the world and collected from the most recent research in science, technology and architecture.

BLOOD-C: THE LAST DARK Shiotani Naoyoshi | Japan, 2012

Following the enforcement of the new Youth Protection Act, minors are forbidden to circulate in the streets after 9PM and the use of the Internet is regulated. However, young people continue to fight for their own freedom through underground methods. A group called Sirrut has declared war on Fumito Nanahara, a man whose great influence at both political and economic level has virtually made him the ruler of Tokyo.

HEART STRING MARIONETTE M Dot Strange | U.S.A. / Iceland, 2012

A solo-animated film five years in the making. A samurai marionette fights for love and hate against a warlord and an evil clown who have turned the world into a never-ending cyberpunk nightmare filled with horrible monsters.

JENSEN & JENSEN Craig Frank | Denmark, 2011

It is the year 2019. The financial crisis rages on, and the world has crumbled. Unemployment, inflation and crime are all soaring. In Copenhagen, bikers have taken over the tasks of the police, everybody is in debt to their eyeballs, and the country is now run by a bank. What are a couple of brothers to do except to try their hand at bounty-hunting?

MARCO MACACO Jan Rahbek | Denmark, 2012

In his dreams, Marco Macaco is a cool cop solving major crimes - in fact, he is just a dedicated beach officer on a tropical island where nothing seems to happen. His hopes to win beautiful Lulu's heart get shattered when charming Carlo arrives on the island to build a gigantic monkey- shaped casino right on Marco's beach. Jealous and suspicious of his rival, Marco starts an undercover investigation and reveals the incredible truth: Carlo wants to take over the island and install himself as president! When Marco tries to arrest Carlo a problem rises. Literally, from the ground. Because Carlo's Casino is a giant robot...

STRANGE FRAME G.B. Hajim | U.S.A., 2012

It is 200 years after the Great Earth Exodus. On the moon Ganymede where most of the population struggles against oppressive debt slavery, Parker leaves the comforts of her previous life and falls in love with Naia, an inspired songwriter, who is genetically

engineered and enslaved to be a miner. They form a band and soon Naia is enslaved again, this time to stardom, via an exploitative talent agent. Though down and out, Parker sets out on a quest to free Naia and redeem their love.

WOLF CHILDREN Hosoda Mamoru | Japan, 2012

A young college student named Hana falls in love with a man with an unspeakable secret: he is a wolf man, and one of the last of his kind. Their love gives birth to two children - Yuki (snow), born on a day of snow; and Ame (rain), born on a day of rain; they, too, were born both human and wolf.

You will find trailers for all twelve films at the official site (link below)