Fwd: Zakka Films releases The Roots of Japanese Anime 

[Aaron Gerow]

Please forgive the familial promotion, but the first DVD produced by  
my wife's company has just been released. It's a nice collection of  
rare prewar and wartime anime and features the involvement of a  
number of KineJapan members, including myself, Jasper Sharp, and Mike  
Arnold. Please take a look at this and pass on the news (especially  
since she is selling it independently).

Aaron Gerow


Greetings!

We are very pleased to announce the launch of our company, Zakka  
Films, and the release of our first DVD, The Roots of Japanese Anime,  
which presents 8 classic films, many of which are appearing for the  
first time on DVD with English subtitles.

Zakka Films is new venture dedicated to introducing rare and  
important Japanese films, particularly anime and documentary, to  
North American audiences.  Many of the powerful and wonderful films  
we love aren't available outside Japan, so our mission is to change  
that.

Starting with The Roots of Japanese Anime, we'll present some of the  
great works of Japanese cinema on information-rich, high-quality DVDs  
ideal for individual, scholarly, and classroom use. Every DVD will  
come stocked with extra bonus features and commentaries by noted  
scholars sure to enlighten students, researchers, and even the casual  
observer of Japan.

The Roots of Japanese Anime is our first release and contains 8  
ground-breaking films from the developmental years of Japanese anime.  
The centerpiece is Momotaro's Sea Eagle (director: Mitsuyo Seo),  
Japan's first feature animated film from 1942 notorious for showing  
"Peach Boy" and his cute animal forces attacking Pearl Harbor. As an  
example of both Japanese wartime propaganda and the great leaps made  
in the evolution of Japanese anime, Momotaro's Sea Eagle has been the  
subject of great interest amongst scholars and fans, but is coming  
out in North America here for the first time.

The other 7 films introduce the delightful variety of Japanese pre- 
WWII anime and the popular everyday culture it represented. There are  
masterworks by anime pioneers such as Noburo Ofuji, Kenzo Masaoka,  
and Yasuji Murata; cartoons presenting folk tales and legendary  
samurai heroes; sing-a-long films; and even a wonderful work  
introducing the day in the life of a young girl from the 1930s.

The DVD includes a 12-page booklet describing the history of early  
anime and the background of each film written by prominent scholars.

For more information on the DVD and to view the trailer, please visit  
us at http://www.zakkafilms.com/. The Roots of Japanese Anime will  
also be showing on Saturday, March 28, 9:00 AM at the 2009 AAS Annual  
Meeting in Chicago.

Thank you very much!

Contact:
Seiko Ono
Zakka Films
http://www.zakkafilms.com/
onoseiko at zakkafilms.com