Satoshi Kon's newest anime release Millennium Actress was recently screened at the AFI (American Film Institute) Los Angeles International Film Festival in Hollywood, California. Attending the events were representatives from DreamWorks (American/Western distributor), Klockworx (Asian distributor), Digital Manga, Inc., Akadot, and Satoshi Kon, the director/creator of Millennium Actress. Millennium Actress was categorized in AFI's "Asian New Classics" group during the festival. Although there were a variety of films such as Honogurai Mizu no Sokokara (a.k.a. Dark Water) and Shaolin Soccer, Millennium Actress was the only animated film in this category.

Filled with drama, adventure, and even a little humor, Millennium Actress is a tale about an actress, Chiyoko Fujihara, and her eternal quest for love. A move director named Genya Tachibana is assigned to direct the documentary of Chiyoko Fujihara's life and acting career. Enchanted by her performances on the big screen when he was younger, he is determined to uncover the reason why she mysteriously vanished from the movie industry 30 years ago. Finally, Genya is able to meet his beloved Chiyoko and returns a treasure that she had once lost and forgotten. Reunited with this precious item, it opens the door to memories that Chiyoko had almost forgotten. Chiyoko begins to tell the story of her life, including her fall from stardom and the love that remained unrequited in her heart to the present day.

Inspired by a variety of movies, including Akira Kurosawa's pictures, the story of Millennium Actress is set behind a tapestry of Japanese culture and time eras. From the Heian era to post-World War II Japan, Kon uses a variety of settings to illustrate the film accomplishments of Chiyoko Fujihara. Adding to the atmosphere is the music composed by Susumu Hirasawa. Kon revealed that he wanted to work with Hirasawa for some time because of his talent for creating lyrics and melodies that bring movies to life.

Throughout the movie, Kon illustrates Chiyoko's life from a shy adolescent girl experiencing first love to a mature adult woman. Kon revealed at the screening that Chiyoko's character was not created from one particular person, yet he found inspiration in Setsuko Hara, a famous actress during post WWII era that mysterious disappeared from films in Japan. He was also moved by the performances of the post-WWII Japanese actress Hideko Takamine, whose bright and cheerful manner helped heal the hearts of many Japanese during such a somber time in history.

Frank Gladstone of DreamWorks announced at the AFI screening that DreamWorks would distribute this movie in theaters next year in its original format with subtitles. Although Millennium Actress is not released yet, fans can buy the Millennium Actress bilingual art book which is distributed by Digital Manga, Inc. Courtesy of Digital Manga, Inc. and Akadot, lucky movie fans were able to win a copy of the Millennium Actress art book graciously autographed by Kon himself.

Kon was very gracious to the fans and humble at the screening. He expressed his contentment with the release of Millennium Actress in America and never dreamed it would have been possible. He was very generous and took time to answer questions and sign autographs for fans. He also made the announcement that his next work entitled Tokyo Godfathers is currently in production.

Want to read more?! Don't forget to read part I, II, and III of Akadot's interview with Frank Gladstone of DreamWorks.