“Godzilla vs. Biollante” (1989) will be screened on Saturday, May 3, at the Aratani Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St. in Little Tokyo.
The first showing at 3 p.m. will be dubbed in English; the second showing at 6 p.m. will be in Japanese with English subtitles.
Written and directed by Kazuki Omori, this 17thinstallment in the Godzilla series pits the giant reptile against a new monster, Biollante, a combination of rose, human, and Godzilla’s own DNA. The cast includes Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Masanobu Takashima and Megumi Odaka.
The event, a celebration of Godzilla’s 60thanniversary, will feature Koichi Kawakita, special effects director of “Godzilla vs. Biollante,” and Norihiko Iwasaki of Marbling Fine Arts. They will give a special effects demonstration using models after each screening.
Admission is $12 for adults, free for children 12 and under. For reservations, go to www.jaccc.org.
At 9 p.m., Kawakita and Iwasaki will be at Anime Jungle, 310 E. Second St., Suite 103, for a screening of their short film “Nendo no Kamisama,” a panel discussion and a Q&A session. For more information, call (213) 621-1661 or visit www.animejungle.net.