Satoshi Kon, Paprika

Special On Location Report from the 2006 Venice Film Festival: Paprika is an unusual, ambitious and highly entertaining Japanese anime feature from a master of hand-drawn animation, Satoshi Kon (Tokyo Godfathers). For the artistic director who is known for his realistic depiction of the world, Paprika represents a radical change, having a consciously cartoon-y feel as it tells of a new invention that will let scientists see and experience a person's dreams. When the device is stolen and used for ill, a heroine must come to the rescue in the form of a brainy scientist who adopts the altar ego of Paprika, a peppy Japanese teen who goes inside the dreams to solve the heist. Satoshi Kon, 41 and very reserved, speaks in Japanese (21 minutes).

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