Washington DC began hosting a month-long anime film festival today. The festival, titled Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, Father of Anime, kicked off with author and translator Frederik L. Schodt's presentation and discussion of four episodes of Astro Boy. Aside from Schodt, a number of guests will present pieces by Tezuka, including:

• Helen McCarthy, author of The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga
• Natsu Onoda Power, author of God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-WWII Manga
• Yoshihiro Shimizu, General Manager of Tezuka Productions

The features scheduled to be shown include the following:

• Marine Express
• Prime Rose
• The Fantastic Adventures of Unico
• 1001 Nights
• Vampire
• Princess Knight
• Marvelous Melmo
• The Three-eyed One

The festival will also host the documentary The Film is Alive: Osamu Tezuka Filmography, which was originally produced for the Tokyo National Museum's Osamu Tezuka exhibit. The film originally ran in 1990, one year after Tezuka's death.

Seating for films will be granted on a first come, first served basis, with the doors opening 30 minutes before show time.