Boutique Canadian film distributor Momo Films (momofilms.com) announced the acquisition of the “mad genius” masterworks by indie animation filmmaker Nick DiLiberto: Nova Seed and Empress of Darkness. both action-packed, monster-riddled features were created in hand-drawn 2D animation by DiLiberto, who served as director, producer, character designer and voice actor under his Gorgon Pictures banner.
Empress of Darkness will have its North American Premiere on Wednesday, May 10, in a double-feature event screening of both pics at the Revue Cinema in Toronto.
Nova Seed (2016) is an award-winning, post-apocalyptic, animated sci-fi epic, created as a solo effort by DiLiberto out of 60,000 drawings over the course of four years.
In an age of men and beasts, centuries of war have left nothing more than a dying planet for conquest. Habitable lands have become scares, and mutants and half-men wander the world. Civilization has crumbled and the survival of the human race is uncertain. In an attempt to seize control of the planet, the evil Mad Doctor Mindskull lays plans to acquire the Nova Seed and harness the earth’s very life essence to create the Ultimate Super Weapon. With nowhere left to turn, a fading humanity places it’s last hopes of defeating Doctor Mindskull in a genetically modified NAC (Neo-Animal Combatant).
Empress of Darkness (2020) also took DiLiberto four years to complete. The frenetic action-adventure is vividly packed with monsters and gore, backed by an electric synth score that matches intensity with the hand-drawn visuals.
Follow Alpha as he is chased and ruthlessly hunted down by Graxus’s Evil Horde who will stop at nothing until his existence is put out from this world. Leaving a trail of blood at every turn there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide in this gut-wrenching, spine-tingling, blood-drenched fantasy adventure!
Born and raised in Canada, Nick DiLiberto channeled his lifelong passion for drawing and filmmaking into his studies at Sheridan College, graduating with Honors from the Classical Animation Program. After honing his skills in the video game industry, working his way up to lead animator, DiLiberto relocated to Japan to work as an animation director. Through his self-owned studio Gorgon Pictures Inc., DiLibertino has produced, directed and animated the fully hand-drawn 2D feature films now distributed by Momo.
Momo Films specializes in bringing quality Japanese films to Canadian theaters. The shingle has also acquired rights to the Japan-India co-produced animated epic Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992), directed by Yugo Sako, Kouichi Sasaki and Ram Mohan. Momo is distributing the 4K digitally remastered English dub version, which has screened at Sitges and Animation Is Film, and won Best Animation Feature at the Santa Clarita International Film Festival in 2020.
The film follows the journey of the Hindu god Rama, his brother Lakshmana and the monkey warrior Hanuman as they battle powerful demons and face difficult challenges in order to save Rama’s wife, Sita, from the demon king Ravana and restore peace to the world.
