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Full BFI Anime Season Announced for Late March, April and May

The BFI Southbank in London has now confirmed its full two-month anime season, starting at the end of March and running on through April and May. Tickets for the screenings up to the end of April are already available. Tickets for the screenings in May will become available to BFI members on Tuesday April 5, and will go on general sale on Thursday April 7.

Among the screenings is Masaaki Yuasa's latest film INU-OH (right) on Wednesday March 30, and Tetsuro Araki's new film Bubble on Wednesday April 20.

The other screenings include Liz and the Blue Bird, Memories, Tekkonkinkreet and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa.

The screenings will also include Mamoru Oshii's films Patlabor: The Movie and Patlabor 2: The Movie (left); there is the option of buying a joint ticket to both films.

The season will additionally include screenings of several films at the nearby BFI IMAX cinema, including Millennium Actress, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, your name. and Weathering With You.

The BFI adds that it's hoping to confirm soon that some of the films in the season will go on BFI Player for audiences in the UK. The season was programmed by BFI Lead Programmer Justin Johnson with co-programming from writer and academic Hanako Miyata.

The schedule is as follows:

Monday March 28

8.35 p.m. Spirited Away (2001), directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Repeated on Friday April 29 at 6 p.m.

Tuesday March 29

6 p.m. Early Days of Anime Shorts Programme 1917 - 1946. This programme will include a TBC introduction and the following short films: The Dull Sword, The Story of Tobacco, The Lump, Nonsense Story Vol 1: The Monkey Island, Spring Song, Propagate, Arichan the Ant, La Surprise de Fuku-chan, The Spider's Thread, The Spider and the Tulip. The programme is repeated on Monday April 11 at 8.40 p.m.

8.40 p.m. When Marnie Was There (2014), directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi.

Wednesday March 30

6.15 p.m. INU-OH (2021), directed by Masaaki Yuasa.

9 p.m. Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors (1945), directed by Mitsuyo Seo. Repeated on Wednesday April 13 at 6.30 p.m.

Thursday March 31

6.15 p.m. Exploring Anime: Panel Discussion (100 minutes)

8.40 p.m. BELLE, directed by Mamoru Hosoda. There will also be an IMAX screening of BELLE on Monday April 25 at 6.15 p.m.

Friday April 1

6.15 p.m. Astro Boy, 110-minute programme consisting of English-dubbed episodes from the 1980 TV anime version. Repeated on Sunday April 17 at 12.10 p.m.

8.45 p.m. Kimba the White Lion, three episodes from the 1965 TV anime, including the opening episode. Repeated on Saturday April 9 at 12.40 p.m.

Monday April 4

8.30 p.m. Belladonna of Sadness (1973), directed by Eiichi Yamamoto, with an introduction by Helen McCarthy. Repeated on Monday April 18 at 3.30 p.m.

Tuesday April 5

6.20 p.m. My Neighbor Totoro (1988), directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Repeated on Friday April 8 at 8.50 p.m.

Wednesday April 6

8.30 p.m. A Silent Voice (2016), directed by Naoko Yamada, with an introduction, details TBC. Repeated on Monday April 18 at 6.10 p.m.

Thursday April 7

8.30 p.m. The Anthem of the Heart (2015), directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai. Repeated on Friday April 22 at 6.10 p.m.

Friday April 8

6 p.m. Maquia - When the Promised Flower Blooms, directed by Mari Okada. Repeated on Saturday April 23 at 5.45 p.m.

Saturday April 9

8.20 p.m. Steamboy (2004, left), directed by Katsuhiro Ōtomo. Repeated on Friday April 15 at 8.30 p.m. and on Wednesday April 20 at 6.10 p.m.

Tuesday April 12

6 p.m. The Wings of Honneamise (1987, right), directed by Hiroyuki Yamada. Repeated on Saturday April 23 at 8.40 p.m.

Wednesday April 13

8.40 p.m. Patlabor: The Movie (1989), directed by Mamoru Oshii, Repeated on Sunday April 17 at 6.20 p.m. and on Thursday April 28 at 6.15 p.m.

Thursday April 14

8.45 p.m. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001), directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, Repeated on Saturday April 16 at 8.30 p.m. and Friday April 22 at 8.40 p.m.

Friday April 15

6.15 p.m. Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993), directed by Mamoru Oshii, Repeated on Thursday April 21 at 8.30 p.m. and Thursday April 28 at 8.45 p.m.

Saturday April 16

8.20 p.m. The Case of Hana & Alice (2015), directed by Shunji Iwai. Repeated on Tuesday April 26 at 8.55 p.m.

Wednesday April 20

8.30 p.m. Bubble (2022), directed by Tetsuro Araki.

Thursday April 21

6.15 p.m. Liz and the Blue Bird (2018, right), directed by Naoko Yamada. Repeated on Saturday April 30 at 5.45 p.m.

Sunday May 1

12.10 p.m. Tekkonkinkreet, directed by Michael Arias, pictured left. Repeated on Thursday May 5 at 8.50 p.m.

2.45 p.m. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, directed by Mamoru Hosoda. Repeated on Saturday May 28 at 2.50 p.m.

6 p.m. Tokyo Godfathers, directed by Satoshi Kon. Repeated on Saturday May 23 at 12.30 p.m.

Monday May 2

6.15 p.m. Paprika, directed by Satoshi Kon. Repeated on Friday May 13 at 8.40 p.m.

8.40 p.m. Perfect Blue, directed by Satoshi Kon. Repeated on Saturday May 14 at 8.45 p.m.

Tuesday May 3

6 p.m. The Place Promised in Our Early Days, directed by Makoto Shinkai. Repeated on Sunday May 22 at 3 p.m.

8.45 p.m. Double Bill: 5 Centimeters Per Second and The Garden of Words, directed by Makoto Shinkai. The same double-bill is repeated on Saturday May 21 at 5.50 p.m.

Wednesday May 4

2.30 p.m. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Repeated on Tuesday May 31 at 8.45 p.m.

8.55 p.m. Millennium Actress, directed by Satoshi Kon, pictured left. Repeated on Saturday May 7 at 11.50 a.m., plus an IMAX screening on Monday May 23 at 6.15 p.m.

Friday May 6

9 p.m. Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa, directed by Seiji Mizushima, pictured right. Repeated on Monday May 9 at 8.40 p.m.

Saturday May 7

8.45 p.m. Summer Wars, directed by Mamoru Hosoda. Repeated on Saturday May 28 at 6 p.m.

Friday May 13

6.30 p.m. Summer Ghost, a 2021 film by the artist laundraw, followed by a Q&A with laundraw

Saturday May 14

5.40 p.m. Wolf Children, directed by Mamoru Hosoda. Repeated on Saturday May 28 at 8.40 p.m.

Sunday May 15

12 noon Memories, directed by Kōji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura and Katsuhiro Ōtomo. Repeated on Tuesday May 24 at 8.40 p.m.

5.45 p.m. Princess Mononoke, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. There will also be an earlier family-oriented dubbed screening on Monday May 2 at 2.30 p.m.

Monday May 16

8.30 p.m. Castle in the Sky, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Repeated on Friday May 20 at 8.30 p.m. There will also be family-oriented dubbed screenings on Sunday May 8 at 11.45 a.m. (preceded by a “workshop” event in the BFI foyer from 10.30 a.m.) and on Saturday May 14 at 11.30 p.m.

Thursday May 19

6 p.m. Grave of the Fireflies, directed by Isao Takahata, introduced by Alex Dudok de Wit. Repeated (without introduction) on Friday May 27 at 8.45 p.m.

Sunday May 29

11.40 a.m. The Little Norse Prince, directed by Isao Takahata. A special screening of this 1968 film for younger viewers; it is subtitled, but a live actor will read out the subtitles.

There are also the following screenings at the nearby BFI IMAX cinema.

Monday April 25

3 p.m. Ghost in the Shell (1995), directed by Mamoru Oshii, Repeated the same day at 9 p.m

6.15 p.m. BELLE (2021), directed by Mamoru Hosoda.

Sunday May 1

12.30 p.m. your name., directed by Makoto Shinkai. Repeated the same day at 6 p.m.

3.15 p.m. Weathering With You, directed by Makoto Shinkai. Repeated the same day at 8.30 p.m.

Tuesday May 3

2 p.m. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, directed by Isao Takahata. Repeated the same day at 5.30 p.m.

8.30 p.m. Akira, directed by Katsuhiro Ōtomo. Repeated on Monday May 23 at 3 p.m. and again on Monday May 23 at 8.30 p.m.

Monday May 23

6.15 p.m. Millennium Actress, directed by Satoshi Kon