Tekkonkinkreet director Michael Arias to talk latest film Harmony at London Comic Con

This month's MCM London Comic Con is already bring us some notable anime-related guests in the form of Sunrise's Mika Akitaka and Osamu Taniguchi alongside the European premiere of the third instalment of the Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin OVA.

We can now add another prominent guest to that number, with confirmation that Tekkonkinkreet and Harmony director Michael Arias will also be attending the event on Saturday, 28th May, in advance of his appearance at the UK premiere of Harmony during the BFI Anime Weekend in June.

Here are the full details, courtesy of MCM's own press release:

'Tekkonkinkreet' director Michael Arias to talk latest film 'Harmony' at London Comic Con

Acclaimed American-born anime director Michael Arias (Tekkonkinkreet, The Animatrix) is to present a panel on his latest animated movie Harmony at this month's MCM London Comic Con. Arias will be discussing his sci-fi film - part of the Project Itoh series adapting the novels of the late Satoshi Itoh - on the Saturday of the three-day show.

Spanning the worlds of visual effects, computer graphics and traditional animation, Michael Arias' wide-ranging filmmaking career includes co-founding CG design studio Syzygy Digital Cinema - creators of digital sequences for the likes of David Cronenberg, The Coen Brothers, Robert Altman and Spike Lee - as well as working closely with Japan's famous Studio Ghibli on Miyazaki masterpieces Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

In 2000, Arias produced hit Matrix-inspired anthology The Animatrix, which features shorts by well-known Japanese directors such as Shinichiro Watanabe and Mahiro Maeda, while 2006 saw him make his own directorial debut with Tekkonkinkreet. Animated by Studio 4°C, the film about a pair of orphaned street kids taking on the Yakuza won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.

Continuing to split his time between traditional and digital animation, Michael Arias has also helmed a live-action feature - 2009 Japanese drama Heaven's Door. His latest anime movie Harmony was released in Japan in 2015, hits US theatres this month and will be released in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD later this year by Anime Limited.

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