"Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society," directed by Kenji Kamiyama and released in Japan in November 2006, is one of the eighth movies selected in the International Feature Film Competition section of the prestigious Belgian animation film festival Anima 2008. The festival, in its 27th edition, will be held from February 1 to 9, 2008 at the Flagey Centre in Brussels.

Produced by Production I.G, Bandai Visual, Bandai Entertainment, Dentsu, Nippon Television Network, Victor Entertainment, Tokuma Shoten and Manga Entertainment, and based on the original comic books written by Shirow Masamune, "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society" is the latest chapter of the world-hit Japanese animation saga "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex," started in 2002 with a hugely successful TV series.

Story - A.D. 2034. It has been two years since Motoko Kusanagi left Section 9. Togusa is now the new leader of the team, that has considerably increased its appointed personnel. The expanded new Section 9 confronts a rash of complicated incidents, and investigations reveal that an ultra-wizard hacker named the Puppeteer is behind the entire series of events. In the midst of all, Batou, who was stalking the case on a separate track, encounters Motoko, who warns him with mysterious words: "Stay away from the Solid State Society."

About the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex World Setting - In the year 2030, digital networks are reaching out everywhere. IT has advanced to drive human will, converted into light and electrons, in one direction, but not enough to turn a "loner" into a complex being called an "individual." Information networks continue to expand and crimes continue to become more complex. In this society of chaos, an organization that specializes in hunting down and eliminating a crime before it occurs was established. This is Section 9, the so called "Stand Alone Complex", or S.A.C., under the direct supervision of the Ministry of the Interior. Its duties include a wide range of investigations, such as responding to critical cyber crimes, guarding VIPs within the country, revealing political corruption, investigating violent murder, and dealing with top secret assassination cases.

About the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Franchise - With more than 1.5 million copies sold in Japan and 100.000 copies per volume sold in the USA, "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" has consolidated his place among the classics in the world of science fiction. Now, after two years from the acclaimed 52-episode TV series that started all in 2002, director Kenji Kamiyama and his creative team have produced a completely new chapter: "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society," is a feature-length 105 minute movie that has required an unprecedented budget of 360 million yen (or 3.20 million dollars), in order to provide theatrical quality. The USA DVD release is scheduled on July 3, 2007.

About Anima - Started in 1982 by Philippe Moins as a non-competitive convention, the event proved sufficiently important for the organizing association (The Parascholastic Confederation for Official Education) to decide to make it an annual event. Since then the festival has been held every year. The name changed from Conference to Animation Week (from 1984 to 1988). Since 1989 it has been organized by Folioscope, a nonprofit organization for which the festival is its principal activity, and from 2002, it adopted its current name, Anima. The festival now attracts an average of 30,000 participants but has kept one essential characteristic from its origins: it appeals above all to the public, before being a rendezvous for professionals.

In the past years, the festival welcomed outstanding creators such as John Lasseter, Isao Takahata, Tim Burton and the staff from Aardman Studios, screening works by Paul Grimault and Guido Manuli, and from "Toy Story" to "Howl's Moving Castle." This year, more than 800 works have been submitted to the selection committee. Anima 2008 Official Website: http://folioscope.awn.com/

Established by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa in 1987, Production I.G is one of the world's leading animation studios. With its cutting-edge works, such as "Ghost in the Shell" (1995), "Jin-Roh" (2000), "Blood: The Last Vampire"(2000), "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" (animation segment, 2003) and "Innocence" (2004), I.G has gained high reputation around the globe, inspiring Hollywood creators such as James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers. This year, the studio celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Official Website: http://www.production-ig.com