AZN Acquires Titles for Ghost Festival

CENTENNIAL, August 1: AZN
Television, the Comcast-owned channel for Asian Americans, has acquired a
number of new titles specifically for its Ghost Fest summer programming stunt, which commemorates the
traditional Chinese Ghost Festival holiday.

AZN has acquired films such as Tales of Terror: The Movie
from Happy Together Film & TV,
featuring eight Japanese horror stories, and the Chinese psychological thriller
Suffocation from Golden Tripod
Film (H.K.) Company, about a photographer who is haunted by his dead wife. The
network has also secured the series Dead Men Do Tell Tales from MATV Limited, which is based on documented cases
from the forensic pathology manual The Washing Away of Wrongs from 13th century China, in which the
world’s first criminologist, Sung Tze, solves mysterious deaths without a crime
lab and without today’s technology. The series premieres August 13.

AZN has also picked up a number of anime series, including Kakurenbo:
Hide and Seek and Negadon:
Monster from Mars from Central Park Media. Kakurenbo:
Hide and Seek, which will begin airing in
English and Japanese on August 16, is about children who play hide-and-seek
game after dark and are kidnapped by demons. Also airing in English and
Japanese on August 16, Negadon: Monster from Mars is set in the year 2025, and chronicles the story of
Dr. Narasaki and his long-abandoned Miroku, who must save Earth after a
Japanese spaceship returning from Mars crashes on the streets of Tokyo and
unleashes a giant monster. The channel has also purchased the series Moonphase
from FUNimation, which will debut on August
27. The series features a photographer investigating a mysterious castle who
discovers a young girl who’s been trapped there for years as a vampire.

In addition to the programs that will air on the linear
network, AZN will also stream a number of programs online at www.azntv.com,
including Tales of Terror: The
Series, which debuts August 1.

From directors Takashi Shimzu (The Grudge) and Norio Tsuruta (Ring) along with screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi (of Ring), the series showcases thousands of Japanese ghost
tales and paranormal events, compiled into the Tales of Terror anthology. Behind-the-scenes extras from Kakurenbo
will also be streamed (available August 9),
along with Negadon (available
August 9) and Moonphase
(available August 20).

Another element of AZN’s Ghost Fest is 72 Hour Shootout. Now in its fourth year, 72 Hour Shootout is a nationwide competition where filmmaking teams
have 72 hours to write, shoot, edit and produce short digital films up to five
minutes on a common theme. AZN Television is a presenting sponsor of the fourth
annual 72 Hour Shootout. The
intention of the competition is to create opportunities for Asian Americans to
demonstrate their talent, gain exposure in the entertainment industry and
impact the visibility of Asian American stories and characters in film and
television. The top ten 72 Hour Shootout films will be streamed on azntv.com the first two weeks of August and
viewers will be able to rate their favorites. The top three judged winning
films, as well as the top three viewer’s choice films will be featured on the
network.

“AZN has put a unique twist on the traditional Ghost
Festival holiday, both on-air and online,”
said Katie Daniels, the executive director of programming at AZN Television.
“Through licensing agreements with this select group of suppliers, we have the
perfect combination of thrills and chills to create a memorable programming
event for our viewers.”