Aniwave '08 a Big Success

I would like to thank everyone for helping make this year's Aniwave a big success! With the added press we received from Encore, WWAY News Channel 3, as well as WHQR 91.3fm and StarNews, attendance was up significantly from last year. While securing financial support was a challenge this year, several sponsors came forth to make Aniwave a reality.

The festival would not have been possible without the support of Michael L. Glancy, AnimEigo, Sawgrass Gifts, the Cameron Art Museum, and Level 5 at City Stage. We are grateful for all of their assistance. I would also like to thank Tokyo Deli for donating some food items, as well as all of our attendees who contributed with additional donations.

A lot of people helped to promote Aniwave or lend their assistance in various capacities, and I would also like to acknowledge them here. A big thank you to Branson Moore and Aaron Cavazos at AnimEigo, Daphne Holmes at the Cameron Art Museum, the Independent Art Company staff, Ian Moseley at Level 5, Christina Dore and Shea Carver at Encore, Andy Scherr and Joe Mauceri at WWAY, Jemila Ericson at WHQR, John Staton at StarNews, Sarah Scott at New Hanover High School, Analie Foland, Pippin Calame, Caroline Culbert and the Schoonover family.

For those who joined us, you have probably been waiting for the photos from the event; while those who were not able to come may be curious how it all went. So without further ado, you can find photos from Aniwave '08 at the following address...

Aniwave '08 Photobucket Album

Thank you all again. I couldn't have done it without your strong support, and Aniwave would be nothing without all of you!

Publicity For Aniwave '08

We managed to get some pretty good press this year. Thanks to Christina Dore, who wrote the article on Aniwave for Encore (left). She did an excellent job, and managed to get a lot of information into the article on what Aniwave is all about, and why my motivation for doing it is. Also, the photograph was provided by Analie Foland, so a big thanks to you as well!

On Tuesday, October 28, Wilmington's WWAY Channel 3 reported on Aniwave during the five o'clock news. A synopsys of that report can be read on their website here. I should have the video of this to upload in the near future.

In addition, I'd like to thank Jemila Ericson of WHQR, who got our announcement on air. And last but not least, thanks to John Staton at the StarNews for putting an anouncment obout Aniwave in the paper as well.

Screening at the Cameron Art Museum

The third screening of Aniwave '08 will take place at the Cameron Art Museum, located at 3201 South 17th Street, in Wilmington, NC. Click here for a map of this address (please be advised that Google maps does not always accurately represent this location). The date and time for the event is Thursday, October 30, at 7:00 PM.

The screening opens with Fata Morgana, a short by local artist Saben Kane, and is followed by the first episode of Serial Experiments: Lain, titled "Layer 01: Weird." Lain's DVD cover describes it as...

There is the world around us, a world of people, tactile sensation, and culture. There is the wired world, inside the computer, of images, personalities, virtual experiences, and a culture all of its own. The day after a classmate commits suicide, Lain, a thirteen year-old girl, discovers how closely the two worlds are linked when she receives an e-mail from the dead girl: "I just abandomed my body. I still live here..." Has the line between the real world and the wired world begun to blur?

Fata Morgana is approximately 5 minutes long, and is suitable for all audiences. "Layer 01: Weird" of Serial Experiments: Lain has a runtime of 25 minutes, and is rated for "Teenagers" and may contain bloody violence, bad language, or nudity (though I admit that this episode in particular contains very few of these aspects).

Our feature presentation is of Grave of the Fireflies, directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Chibli. A powerful war-themed and critically acclaimed film, it is described on the DVD cover as follows...

In the aftermath of a World War II bombing, two orphaned children struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside. To Seita and his four-year-old sister, the helplessness and indifference of their countrymen is even more painful than the enemy raids. Through desperation, hunger and grief, these children's lives are as heartbreakingly fragile as their spirit and love is inspiring. Grave of the Fireflies is a tale of the true tragedy of war and innocence lost, not only of the abandoned young, but of an entire nation.

Grave of the Fireflies has a runtime of 88 minutes. It is rated for "Older Children," and may contain mild bad language, and bloodless violence.

Cosplay Picnic & Photo Shoot

On the third day of Aniwave for this year we will have a Cosplay Picnic at the Cameron Art Museum. The Cosplay Picnic will be held on Thursday, October 30, at 4:00 PM. The Cameron Art Museum is located at 3201 South 17th Street, in Wilmington, NC. Click here for a map of this address (please be advised that Google maps does not always accurately represent this location).

A Photo Shoot will follow the picnic at 6:00 PM, which should give us enough time to get everyone's picture taken before the anime screening at 7:00 PM.

Come dressed as your favorite anime character, and make sure to bring friends! The more the merrier! And it wouldn't be a picnic without some food, so please bring a snack or dish of your choice (use your best judgment of course).

In order to gauge attendance, and the amount of food we will still need, please register for the picnic by sending your name, contact information, and food you plan to bring, by using this link:

Send Cosplay Picnic Registration Email

Current Registration List:

1. P. Calame (+2)
2. K. Camelio
   
3. E. Denton (+5)
4. A. Foland
5. K. Jernigan
   
6. K. Mallner
7. W. Rooks
8. K. Russell
9. A. Schoonover (+2)
   
10. A. Sellers (+1)
11. A. Silverwood (+1)
12. A. Willis
    
13. N. Wisniowski

Screening at Level 5

The second event in the Aniwave '08 lineup will take place on the rooftop deck at Level 5 at City Stage, located at 21 North Front Street in downtown Wilmington. Click here for a map of this address. The date for the event is Wednesday, October 29, at 7:00 PM.

Our feature presentation is of Satoshi Kon's Paprika. From the DVD cover...

Prepare to enter the realm of fantasy and imagination - where reality and dreams colide in a kaleidoscopic mindscape of sheer visual genius. The magical tale centers on a revolutionary machine that allows scientists to enter and record a subject's dream. After it is stolen, a fearless detective and a brilliant therapist join forces to recover the device before it falls into the hands of a "dream terrorist" in this gripping anime thriller from acclaimed director Satoshi Kon.

Paprika has a runtime of 90 minutes. It is rated "R" for violent and sexual images.

Screening at Jengo's Playhouse (I.A.C.)

Our first event in the Aniwave '08 lineup will take place at Jengo's Playhouse (a part of the Independent Art Company), located at 815 Princess St., in Wilmington, NC. Click here for a map of this address. The date for the event is Tuesday, October 28, at 7:00 PM.

The screening will open with the first episode of Yawara!, a new release from AnimEigo. The series is described by ANN as follows...

Inokuma Yawara is just another young high school girl. Well, not quite - for Yawara is being raised by her grandfather, 7th dan Judo master Inokuma Jigorou, to be Japan's great hope for the women's Judo competition at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. All the same, Yawara just wants to live a normal life.

The first episode of Yawara! has a runtime of 25 minutes. It is rated for "Teenagers," as it may contain bloody violence, bad language, and nudity [source].


Our feature presentation is of Otaku No Video, courtesy of AnimEigo. It is described as...

A true treat for true fans of any genre, Otaku No Video ("Fan's Video") is an outrageous "mockumentary" that combines the superb animation that made Gainax one of Japan's best-loved animation studios with truly strange interviews with "real fans." The result is a thinly fictionalized history of Gainax that segues into a truly strange SF adventure. Sit back and enjoy as a small band of Otaku (fans) set out to "Otakunize" the human race!

Otaku No Video has a runtime of 100 minutes. It is rated for "Teenagers," as it may contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity, and adult situations [source].

Special Thanks

Aniwave would not be possible without the generous support of the following sponsors:

• Michael L. Glancy
• AnimEigo [link]
• Sawgrass Gifts [link]
  
• Level 5 at City Stage [link]
• The Cameron Art Museum [link]

Planning Aniwave '08

I'm happy to announce that planning for Aniwave '08 is progressing well. This year's Aniwave festival will take place during the last week of October. It will be condensed to a three day period at three different venues.

This year we have obtained a third venue, so our screenings and events will take place at Jengo's Playhouse on October 27, Level 5 on the 28th, and the Cameron Art Museum on the 29th. When further information becomes available as we finalize our anime choices and additional events I will post them here.

So stay tuned, bookmark the site, and subscribe to be updated via our feed. I'm confident in that this year will be even more successful.