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IN CELEBRATION OF THE

Birmingham Anime Film Festival

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The Birmingham Anime Film Festival was founded in 2023 by Geeky Brummie, a multi-media collective that focuses on geek culture and highlights such activities occurring in Birmingham.

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After their successful inaugural year, in which they hosted screenings at The Mockingbird and The MAC, they have returned with an excellent line-up of iconic classics and popular mainstream anime.

 

So if this is your first introduction to the world of Japanese Animation, or perhaps you've been a fan since the shonen heyday of the 90s and early 2000s, there's no better festival to attend this October!

Classic Anime often refers to the timeless era of animated works that had a cultural and global impact throughout the 70s-90s, shaping the genre and constantly pushing the boundaries of what was possible with animation.

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This era was 'hand-drawn' meaning that artists drew sequences of animation on sheets of transparent paper, before painting them onto celluloid. This long and arduous process showcased the skill and passion these animators had for their artform. Knowing the time and dedication that goes into each frame and the striking visuals formed as a result, makes this era of anime both nostalgic and utterly admirable.

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But Japanese Anime arguably went mainstream in the 2000s, when shonen rose in popularity due to shows like Naruto, Bleach and One Piece.

 

With dedicated networks in the West airing weekly episodes like Toonami, or the accessibility of these show via the low quality multi-part videos on YouTube (ah those were the days!), anime could be watched at anytime and with the Internet, could also be used to reach a global audience.

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But with the era of streaming, this impact reached unprecedented levels.

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With platforms like Crunchyroll and Netflix, anime is no longer a niche genre but a global powerhouse. Episodes are instantly available for audiences to binge, animated films like Demon Slayer dominate at the box office, and live action adaptations reintroduce classic anime to a new generation (albeit they're never quite as good)

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And it's this current expansion of the genre that allows the Birmingham Anime Film Festival to exist. So why not come along and join us and many aficionados of this cinematic landmark to celebrate all things anime. Hope to see you there!

OUR RECS FROM THE FESTIVAL LINE-UP

  • Ghost in the Shell (1995)

  • Akira (1988)

  • Paprika (2006)

  • Your Name (2016)

  • The Concierge (2023)

  • Violet Evergarden: The Movie (2020)

  • Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)

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Check out the full line-up on the Birmingham Anime Film Festival's website

Learn more about the genre from these YouTube Videos below

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