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Yatterman (Yattaman) from the celebrated cartoon, comes the live action film, of the greatest pop-robot adventure in the world!

…a film already destined to become a cult…

The European Premiere of the highly anticipated blockbuster, directed by the legendary Miike Takashi, will close the eleventh edition of Far East Film.

Udine, 9th April 2009

Udine – A truly sensational event, on Saturday 2nd May, will close the eleventh edition of Far East Film: after its world premiere in New York last February, the super-blockbuster Yatterman will in fact be screened in a festival of international cinema for the very first time, as an European preview, on FEFF's big screen in Udine!

Authored by the cult director Miike Takashi, enfant terrible of Japanese cinema (the "Oriental Tarantino‟s" signature films include Audition, Ichi The Killer, Graveyard of Honor and Crows-Episode 0, recently seen at FEFF), Yatterman is the incredible transposition into film of the celebrated cartoon Yattaman, particularly dear to the "70s and 80s" generation. Launched in Japan in 1977, it was transmitted in Italy in 1983: first on Rete 4 and then on local TV, that made the series hugely popular, ensuring that the programme remained on-air for many years (over 100 episodes)! Thanks to his incomparable talent, Miike has created a spectacular film, while keeping intact the entire spontaneity of his imagination, the seduction of adventure and the fascinating mystery that characterises the cartoon. Even if the film is populated by flesh and blood actors, Yatterman in fact, seems exactly like an animation, as daring as the ways in which the film was fashioned: robotic shows with pop songs, sequences actually shot on the streets of Tokyo, scenes reconstructed with astonishing special effects and to add flavour to it all, even a certain dose of sensuality and eroticism…

The characters, redesigned by Miike and inserted into an unedited plot, consist of a superhero couple, Takada (better known as Yatterman, able constructor of robots with which he attempts to destroy the forces of evil) and his girlfriend, and then a trio of thieves and con artists lead by the super-s*xy Dronjo.

Together, the gangs, both good and evil, are involved in the sporadic search for the Skull Stone (in the Italian transmissions it was called the Dokrostone), that guarantees its possessor the power to satisfy every wish. What would happen to the world, if some evildoer were to find it, before… Yatterman? 111 minutes of visual pleasure, of pure enjoyment for the eyes, and of intoxicating cybernetic nutrition for our minds!

The European premiere of Yatterman, made possible by the tight collaboration between C.E.C. of Udine and Nikkatsu Corporation of Tokyo (the historical production and distribution company), is only one of the big surprises that characterises the 2009 edition of Far East Film (much awaited and running from the 24th April to 2nd May at the Teatro Nuovo and the Visionario in Udine): the entire line-up, consisting of 56 titles, will be presented to the public and to the press on Tuesday 14th April. The press conference will be broadcast live on the official website www.fareastfilm.com where it is also possible to find up to date information and photos. Naturally, the Festival is also on Facebook, with a frequently visited fan-page and an official group bursting with members (the link: http://bit.ly/kJY5B).