Hello dear readers and welcome to this rather exciting post! Today I’m building up to this year’s iteration of the world’s finest film festival – Scotland Loves Anime, which starts THIS SUNDAY (October 25th). Things are obviously a bit different this year, but that means that more of you than ever can get involved, so why not join me to find out what is going to be happening!
Some of you may know that I am a regular attender at Scotland Loves Anime. Some of you may even have attended yourself. For many of you though this will be the first time you’ve ever heard of it, so let’s introduce a bit more about it and then have a look at this year’s event!
What is Scotland Loves Anime?
It is an annual anime film festival which has been taking place in the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow since 2010. It has since expanded to include showings in other cities such as Dundee and Aberdeen. It takes place in beautiful independent cinemas – the Glasgow Film Theatre and the Edinburgh Filmhouse – and shows a broad range of anime films, all with expert introductions from the absolute legend that is Dr Jonathan Clements. It often also has Q&A’s with those involved in the production of the films, including some of the most famous names in anime. Each year see’s many British and European premieres air at the festival as well as some classic cuts. To shamelessly steal some stats from the organisers, they have shown over 135 films to more than 46,000 people.
So that is what it is literally, but to the people who attend the event it is so much more. It is a community. A once a year get-together with familiar faces in a friendly place where all people want to do is watch amazing anime. It is wholly welcoming no matter how much you know about anime and the atmosphere is incredible – full of excitement and wonder, and knowing smiles from all those people you see every year but have never spoken to. It is a unique celebration of anime that people travel from far and wide to attend and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of the community.
What about this year?
This year is obviously a bit different. Because of the pandemic it is simply not possible to get all those people together in a cinema. However that was not going to stop the lovely people at Loves Animation putting a festival together! This year’s festival will largely take place online through the Screen Anime service, where they will be showing a load of top films. We will even be getting our introductions (virtually) from Jonathan Clements!
Weirdly, this presents all you anime fans in the UK who are not usually able to get to Scotland Loves Anime the opportunity to get involved and watch the films from the comfort of your own home! Seriously, if you are in the UK and you even vaguely like anime there is no reason not to do this, it doesn’t cost much at all!!
When/What/How?!?
This year’s festival starts on Sunday October 25th and runs for a month. To access all of this year’s films plus a bunch of bonus content, all you have to do is sign-up to Screen Anime. It costs £3.98 per month. That’s all. You can watch all of this year’s Scotland Loves Anime films for £3.98 from the comfort of your sofa.
But what’s on this year? LOTS! That’s what! If I counted right it is around 10 films and a TV series with a big focus on Lupin III and Love Live titles. They are also showing a few classics including Weathering With You which is worth the £3.98 on its own. You get a whole month to watch them and can even get involved with Thursday night watch-alongs on Twitter if you want to. You can find out more by heading over to the Scotland Loves Anime website now!
Are There Any Physical Showings?
Yes! If you happen to be in the Edinburgh, Glasgow or Aberdeen areas and are comfortable venturing to the (socially distanced) cinema, you can catch Lupin III: The First and On-Gaku: Our Sound in November. The Edinburgh Filmhouse screenings on November 7th will be the UK premieres of both of these films.
You can find more info here: https://www.lovesanimation.com/
How on Earth Are They Funding This?
Good question – glad you asked! Truthfully, funding this must be extraordinarily difficult. A lot of the funding would usually come from ticket sales but this year there are only two films showing (instead of the usual 8 they show in Glasgow), and for those showings there are hardly any tickets because of social distancing. Not only does this mean that the festival itself will be massively out of pocket, but also that the brilliant independent cinemas that host the festival and serve their communities in so many other ways are in jeopardy. The cinemas and the festival are all charities who provide unique cultural services that simply must be protected.
To try and safeguard the future of the festival and the existence of the Glasgow Film Theatre and the Edinburgh Filmhouse, the organisers have arranged a huge crowdfunding exercise. Like any good Crowdfunder, there are a vast array of rewards you will get by supporting – posters, magazines, art cards, physical copies of some Scotland Loves Anime award winning films, and of course access to the whole online film schedule for this year’s festival.
I know most of you will not be able to contribute to this fundraiser, however I hope those of you who are interested in anime might have a look to see what it is all about. You can find all the details here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/scotland-loves-anime-2020
They are very close to hitting their initial goal and wouldn’t it be amazing if they hit it by the start of this year’s event on Sunday October 25th? Well on that note I do have a little favour to ask, but don’t worry it does not involve money and will only take about 10 seconds of your time. I know many of my readers are quite active on social media. If possible therefore, I am asking you (yes, YOU!) if you would consider sharing the above link on social media just to get the word out.
If you do I will love you forever!
So there it is! Your introduction to Scotland Loves Anime 2020! I hope this has piqued the interest of some of you and maybe I’ll see you (virtually) at this year’s event! Once again, if you would consider sharing the link to the event wherever you use social media I would be so, so grateful!
Thanks for reading,
Pix1001 x
Disclaimer: The Scotland Loves Anime logo and picture belong to Loves Animation
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