AFA' 08 - Anime Festival Asia @ SG, 22-23 Nov

For the first time ever in South East Asia, Singapore will celebrate the diversity of Japanese Pop Culture.

Taking place on the 22nd and 23rd of November 2008 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Center, Anime Festival Asia 2008 (AFA08) will showcase a wide array of Japanese Pop Culture related content, spanning over 5,000 sqm of space with 6 experience zones: Akiba Town, Anime Live, Anime Blockbusters, Industry, Mangaka and Planet Mech, where visitors will gain access to exclusive content, merchandise and live acts straight from Japan.

The festival targets children, youth, adults and industry visitors both locally and from around the region – with an expected turnout in excess of 80,000 visitors.

Anime Festival Asia 2008 (AFA08) is organized by I-Promo Events & Marketing in partnership with Dentsu Singapore. AFA08 is sponsored by Bandai, Japan’s leading toy manufacturer, with Animax as the official regional media partner.

The festival, made possible with support from the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation, will be attended by directors, producers, manga artists and creative individuals from Japan’s entertainment industries.

The festival is a pre-event introduction for the Japan Creative Centre that is scheduled to open next year in Singapore. The Japan Creative Centre’s primary objective is to be a platform for showcasing Japanese-related content and culture in Singapore.

AFA08 will also provide an opportunity for international businesses and anime--related companies and organizations to network and participate in the fair. As interest in the Japanese anime industry increases throughout the world, this trade fair provides businesses and companies in South East Asia an opportunity to preview the latest anime content from Japan.

“Anime Festival Asia will be an exciting experience for everyone in the family! There is a program-packed line-up at “Anime Live”, where activities on stage will include an exclusive premiere of an anime short from “Genius Party Beyond”, the latest anime feature movie from Studio 4¡C. AFA08 will also have character appearances, music performances and competitions of all kinds related to the anime industry. There will also be live talk shows where anime enthusiasts can meet the creators of their favourite anime. Manga fans will also have a chance to enter the world of the artist with a display of never before seen sketch arts in the “Mangaka” zone. “Planet Mech” will appeal to robot fans who can get up close and personal with a Gundam Seed Destiny diorama display; and the list goes on,” said Anthony Kang, Chairman, Dentsu Singapore and Chairman of AFA08.

“With Japanese Popular Culture in South East Asia currently undergoing tremendous growth in popularity, there is definitely a need for a global platform like Anime Festival Asia to showcase Anime related content in this region, much like the ‘Tokyo Anime Fair in Japan, and the ‘Anime Expo’ in the US. We will showcase exclusive footage, artifacts and creative scene materials such as storyboards, character and prop designs at ‘Anime Blockbusters” where fans can go ‘behind the scenes’, ” said Richard Tan, Executive Director of I-Promo Events & Marketing and Festival Director of AFA08. “We also have an ‘Industry’ zone to provide youths who are considering a career in the anime industry a chance to find out more about their opportunities, and there will be a business track for companies in the industry to learn more about content development and distribution,” added Tan.

“We are excited to be part of the region’s first Anime Festival where Bandai will be organizing a galore of activities from Singapore’s Annual Bandai Action Kits Universal Cup Competition (BAKUC) to an exclusive showcase of the best Gundam plastic models in Singapore to ‘do-it-yourself’ demos to make sushi rolls and chocolate art. Favourite anime characters from Bandai, like the Power Rangers, will join new characters from the “Tamagotchi” family for meet and greet sessions and “live” stage shows to entertain the families visiting the festival,” said Wong Kah Fai,Deputy General Manager, Bandai South Asia.

Animax Asia is proud to be the official regional media partner for Anime Festival Asia. Not only will AFA be a unique opportunity for the digital natives of Asia to gather and be immersed in this hugely popular entertainment genre and incredible art form but they will also have a unique opportunity to learn and share, to get inspired and fuel their creativity & passion. And more importantly, it will be a great opportunity to have fun!” said Gregory Ho, Vice President and General Manager of Animax Asia.

Anime Festival Asia ’08 will be held at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Halls 403 and 404 from 10.00 am to 9.00pm.

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