Source: Production I.G press release Official Website: momo-letter.jp (Japan) Hiroyuki Okiura`s award-winning second directorial effort, A LETTER TO MOMO (??????, Momo e no Tegami, 2012) has been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 41st annual Annie Awards. The winners will be announced at the award ceremony to be held in Los Angeles, CA on February 1, 2014. The Annie Awards celebrate accomplishments in animation, and are considered the Academy Awards of the animation industry. The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972. The Annie Award for Best Animated Feature was introduced in 1992. A LETTER TO MOMO is the third Production I.G feature film nominated for Best Animated Feature, along with BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE and GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE. Annie Awards official website: annieawards.org

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About Production I.G

Started as the joint collaboration of visionary production manager Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and popular character designer Takayuki Goto, Production I.G was established on December 15, 1987. The company has produced a number of acclaimed feature films, OVA (original video animation), TV shows, and videogames. For their storytelling and quality of animation, GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995, directed by Mamoru Oshii, No. 1 in US Billboard Top Video Sales Chart 1996), JIN-ROH: THE WOLF BRIGADE (1999, directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, Jury`s Special Prize at Fantasporto 1999), and BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE (2000, directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo), have earned critical accolades in Japan and all around the world. INNOCENCE, directed by Mamoru Oshii in 2004, became the first Japanese animation feature ever to compete for the Palme d`Or at the Festival de Cannes. In 2008, Mamoru Oshii`s animated feature film, THE SKY CRAWLERS, was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 65th Venice Film Festival and won 3 awards at Sitges in the same year. The studio`s first 3DCG animation feature film, OBLIVION ISLAND: HARUKA AND THE MAGIC MIRROR (2009), directed by Shinsuke Sato was Animation of the Year at the 33rd Japan Academy Prizes.

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For more information on A LETTER TO MOMO, please see the previous coverage here on SciFi Japan:

• A LETTER TO MOMO Press Notes