Leaving Mundania explores the colorful lives of "cosplayers" by delving beyond the common stereotypes of anime enthusiasts who express their fandom through costuming and roleplay. This film follows several cosplayers from the Greater Toronto Area as they prepare for their annual pilgrimage to Anime North, the largest anime fan convention in Canada. Through candid footage and in-depth interviews, Leaving Mundania offers an intimate view of participatory fan culture, revealing how cosplayers stand apart from the "mundanes" of the everyday world.
Vancouver-based voice artist Ashleigh Ball has been the voice of numerous characters in classic cartoons such as Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Cinderella and more. When Ashleigh was hired to voice Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash for Hasbro's fourth series to use the My Little Pony name - My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - she had no idea she would become an Internet phenomenon and major celebrity to a worldwide fan-base of grownups. Bronies are united by their belief in the show's philosophy. This documentary gives an inside view of the Pony fan-world, and an intimate look at the courage it takes to just be yourself...even when that means liking a little girls' cartoon.
Actor/cult icon Bruce Campbell examines the world of fan conventions and what makes a fan into a fanatic.
An indie documentary exploring the art form of hand-drawn animation through a contemporary lens in the digital era. Featuring insights and anecdotes by hand-drawn animation artists from around the world.
Denise Crosby takes a first look at the huge fans of "Star Trek" from around America and how the series has affected and shaped their lives.
The Japanese volleyball players called the “Oriental Witches” are now in their 70s. From the formation of the team at the factory until their victory at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, memories and legends rise to the surface and blend inextricably.
Denise Crosby takes another look at the huge fans of "Star Trek" and how the series from around the world has affected and shaped their lives.
Don Letts's hilarious and colourful profile of the godfather of funk, whose 50-year career has defined the genre. From his 1950s days running a doo-wop group out of the back of his barber store, through the madness of the monster Parliament/Funkadelic machine of the 70s to his late 90s hip-hop collaborations with Dre and Snoop, George Clinton has inspired generations of imitators. Contributors include Outkast's Andre 3000 and Macy Gray.
After attending a local comic book convention, three filmmakers are so moved by the stories shared with them by cosplayers that they decide to investigate geek culture even further. Attending other conventions across the country and speaking with legendary creators such as Kevin Eastman, Stan Lee and George R.R. Martin, the trio not only begins to find answers to why people gravitate towards superheroes and stories about superheroes, but how being a geek could help them live deeper, richer lives. Geek, and You Shall Find tells the stories behind the creation of several popular stories including Superman, Star Wars, Game of Thrones and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In sharing how these characters and their worlds came to be, creators reveal how often they have been inspired by real-life social ills. Most importantly, by continuing to speak with fans who have been inspired by these creations, this film reveals how superheroes have the potential to combat these social issues as well.
What is anime? Through deep-dives with notable masterminds of this electrifying genre, this fast-paced documentary seeks to find the answers.
"Mobile Suit Gundam" is a science fiction anime about a war-torn future where humanity has colonized outer space. Over the decades Gundam has become one of Japan's most iconic media franchises. But when the original series debuted in 1979, ratings were low, and it was initially deemed a flop. So how did Gundam become beloved by generations of people? What was the making of "Mobile Suit Gundam" - the beginning of this cultural phenomenon - like? This documentary speaks with the people who were there.
Japanese Masao Maruyama, co-founder of the Madhouse studio and producer of the cult films Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers talks about the fantastic universe of mangaka and filmmaker Satoshi Kon (1963-2010), one of the most brilliant and fascinating authors of world animation, ten years after his death.
The film’s story centers on Musashi Miyamoto, one of the most famous swordsmen in Japanese history. He pioneered the Hyouhou Niten Ichi-ryuu style of two-sword fighting and wrote “The Book of Five Rings,” a book that has been compared to Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” for its insight on tactics and strategy.
"First time shooting ... I was really thrilled ..."'Junjou Kawaii' A healing beautiful girl, Kyo Akane, who made such a perfect word, made her shocking debut from VTV! An evolutionary wearing erotic video presented by the genius Kaoru Toyoda to << you who are tired of ordinary image videos >>. From innocent and cute Kyoto to Kyoto that makes you feel the sex appeal of adults. A masterpiece that asks the "true value" of wearing erotic, the pleasure that comes out with beautiful images!
In 1996, a Doctor Who TV movie was envisioned to lead the franchise into an exciting new future with a fresh direction but was met only by an outcry from disapproving fans. Now, follow the film’s screenwriter, Matthew Jacobs, as he is pulled back into the world of the Doctor Who fandom, where he unexpectedly finds himself a kindred part of this close-knit, yet vast, family of fans.
An internet personality takes a journey through the small, obscure, and downright bizarre conventions happening every weekend around the country as he tries to fit in and find the common link that unites these communities.
This documentary looks at Black people's interest in comics, cosplay, and more and asks whether this is a new phenomenon or something not highlighted.
On February 22, 1975, Northern California's very first Star Trek convention was held at Lincoln High School in San Francisco, CA. It was called "The Red Hour Festival." A huge success with the fans of the original TV series (1966-69), the smash event led to much larger conventions in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. These "Space-Con" conventions left an indelible mark on the science-fiction fans and "Trekkers" who attended. In the end, conventions like Space-Con helped awaken Paramount from hibernation and led to the creation of the first installment of the major motion picture series "Star Trek" in 1979. This full-length documentary film is the story of how fandom revolutionized an industry.
A portrait of cosplayer Jessica Nigri, from a magical childhood growing up with quirky parents in New Zealand, to entering middle school in the U.S. where she was mercilessly teased for her "nerdy" interests.
Mark Patton sets the records straight about the controversial 1985 sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street, which ended his acting career, just as it was about to begin.
At 15 years old, Kyle Kuchta went to his first horror convention. Years later, he visits multiple cons to understand why these gatherings are so important to horror fans, vendors and celebrity guests.