VIZ Cinema Kicks Off 2011 with Screenings of EVANGELION Feature Films

Source: MediaLab press release Official Movie Site: funimation.com/evangelion (US/Canada), evangelion.co.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to Erik Jansen

VIZ Cinema, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, opens 2011 with screenings of director Hideki Anno’s EVANGELION 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE, playing Tuesday, January 18th thru Wednesday, January 19th, and EVANGELION 2.0 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE, playing Friday, January 21st thru Thursday January 27th. Screenings times and ticket information are also available at vizcinema.com. EVANGELION 1.0: YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Jo, 2007) Directed by Hideaki Anno, 98mins, Digital, Japanese with English subtitles Monday, 1/17 – Thursday, 1/20 Tickets: $10.00 There was no foreseeable warning before it happened – a catastrophe of unparalleled scale and magnitude overwhelmed the entire globe. This event, recorded in history as “The Second Impact,” caused half the population of the Earth to perish and devastated the world. All that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, a city that is now being attacked by giant creatures that seek to destroy mankind. These creatures are called Angels. Fourteen year old Shinji Ikari is called to Tokyo-3 by his father who he hasn’t seen in more than eight years. He is asked to come to the NERV headquarters to meet his father. His father reveals to him a gigantic humanoid weapons system that the special governmental agency has secretly developed to fight the Angels and then orders Shinji to pilot the giant artificial human Evangelion Unit One. With the fate of the world resting on his shoulders, how will the 14 year old boy Shinji fight? What is the truth behind “The Human Instrumentality Project,” an operation somehow related to the “Second Impact?” And who is the true enemy? The Angels, NERV, the mysterious SEELE, or the demons held within the hearts of the people involved? Gend? Ikari, a man who holds many answers to these questions, watches silently and attentively as his son fights a desperate battle…

EVANGELION 2.0: YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Ha, 2009) Directed by Hideaki Anno, 109 mins, Digital, Japanese with English subtitles Friday 1/21 – Thursday, 1/27 Tickets: $12.00 The landmark anime property evolves, reaching new heights of intensity in the new feature film, EVANGELION 2.0. In an explosive new story full of brutal action and primal emotion, a group of young pilots maneuver their towering, cyborg Eva Units into combat against a deadly and disturbing enemy. In the battle to prevent the apocalyptic Third Impact, Shinji and Rei were forced to carry humanity’s hopes on their shoulders. Now, as the onslaught of the bizarre, monstrous Angels escalates, they find their burden shared by two new Eva pilots: the fiery Asuka and the mysterious Mari. In this thrilling new experience for fans of giant robot action, the young pilots fight desperately to save mankind – and struggle to save themselves. Animation and film director Hideki Anno is best-known for his work on the hugely popular anime television series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (Shin Seiki Evangelion), which first aired on Japanese television in 1995. Anno had been involved in the production of amateur films from his days in high school and began his film career as an animator in numerous commercial projects including Hayao Miyazaki’s landmark 1984 film NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND. Later that year, Anno helped found the animation production studio Gainax – a group that rose from the independent film production company Daicon Film – with others he had met while enrolled in Osaka University of Arts. In 2006, he established the film development and production company, Studio Khara. Anno is currently involved in the production of a new series of "Rebuild of Evangelion" (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban) films, the latest of which is EVANGELION 2.0: YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE.

About NEW PEOPLE

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94115, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at NewPeopleWorld.com.

About VIZ Cinema

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX-certified sound system.

For more information on "Rebuild of Evangelion" please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan: