Canterbury Ani-Fest Kicks Off October 27th.

There's few animation festivals around the UK now, but most of them take place in major cities such as London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Glasgow. Canterbury Anifest is different, bringing a festival to the historic city of  Canterbury, Kent. It's been running for a few years now, but this time for the first time it is concentrating largely on animation from Japan. Fans will have a rare chance to catch a number of Studio Ghibli classics on the big screen, including Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. More adult anime will also be screening including Akira, the original Ghost In The Shell and a special Halloween double bill. Perfect Blue, the acclaimed thriller from the late, great Satoshi Kon is being paired up with a big screen showing of two episodes of the classic TV anime Cowboy Bebop.

As well as the films, there's a number of talks planned including a Q and A with the original producer of GITS Andy Frain and an introduction to anime by author Jasper Sharp. The UK's leading anime expert (and co-author of The Anime Encyclopedia) Helen McCarthy will also be giving a talk on the final day.

For younger attendees, there's also a number of workshops focused on manga drawing running during the event. Aside from all the anime focus, there's also the usual competition, in which animators from around the world compete to win a number of prizes. For further details, and to book check the festival's website. The Full line-up of films is below:

27th October:

• Canterbury Anifest Opening Night Short Film Screening (19:30 - 21:30)
  

28th October:

• An Evening With Andy Frain (18:00 - 20:00)
• Ghost in the Shell (20:00 - 22:30)
  

29th October:

• Barefoot Gen (19:00 - 20:45)
  

31st October:

• Patema Inverted (18:15 - 20:30)
• Cowboy Bebop and Perfect Blue double bill (20:45 - 23:30)
  
• Canterbury Anifest 2014 Awards Ceremony (19:0-21:30)
  

1st November:

• Kiki's Delivery Service (10:30 - 12:30)
• Spirited Away (17:30 - 19:45)
• Akira (20:30 - 23:00)
  

2nd November:

• My Neighbour Totoro (17:00 - 19:30)
• Tekkonkinkreet (19:30 - 21:45)