Anime-style illustration of a young person with short black hair wearing what appears to be a VR headset or cybernetic device over their eyes. They have one hand raised to their head in a contemplative pose. The character is shown from the shoulders up against a backdrop of modern urban buildings with multiple floors and windows. The art style is characteristic of cyberpunk anime, with clean lines and muted colors dominated by grays and earth tones.

Birmingham Anime Film Festival 2025: Ghost In The Shell

Subtitled, Foreign language

About Birmingham Anime Film Festival 2025: Ghost In The Shell

Director Oshii’s stunning animated 2029-set anime classic centres on Public Security Section 9’s hunt for supreme hacker The Puppet Master. This is a world where governments are dependent on computer controlled systems, and cyber terrorists pose the biggest threat to global stability.

Ghost in the Shell remains one of the most influential anime films of all time, partly made in response to Katsuhiro Otomo’s seminal 1988 Akira, and inspiring a continuing franchise as well as a Hollywood live-action remake with Scarlett Johansson. Yet it’s Oshii’s original vision that remains the most powerfully prophetic, raising philosophical questions around transhumanism that are more relevant than ever.

Booking info

To book Accessible tickets and free Companion tickets, please visit our Accessible Bookings page. Companion tickets will initially show a standard ticket price, but once your account is set-up and you are logged in, this will be reduced to £0 at checkout.

Duration includes trailers, adverts and any Q&A/panel. For events such as NT Live, Colour Box and Reel & Meal there will be minimal advertising. We do not admit latecomers after the main feature has started and we have a limited food & drink policy.

MAC’s cinema programme has been generously supported by BFI Film Audience Network and Film Hub Midlands.

Dates and times

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