Shinsyu with Slingshot

Shinsyu is a truly magical region of Japan: home to the incredible splendours of the Nagano Zenkoji temple, dazzling alpine vistas and unbelievable cultural traditions.

Shinsyu Symphony, coming soon to DVD, weaves together striking landscapes, raucous rituals (like a fire festival with hundreds of pine torches) and the moving music of a pre-school violin prodigy named Yuki.

As we speak, the folks at Los Angeles based Slingshot Entertainment - the world's leading producer and distributor of giant-screen films on DVD - are working with TVA on some special behind-the-scenes and bonus material.

Mitch Perliss, Slingshot's vice president and general manager, is excited about the prospect of adding Shinsyu - which he calls "enchanting" - to the company's slate of giant-screen films.

"The addition of Shinsyu Symphony will allow us to continue to bring great international programming to DVD," Perliss says. "This new release, along with other TVA titles such as First Emperor of China and Mystery of the Maya, bring the world's culture to North America." He believes the film will "help increase awareness of large format films worldwide."

Watch for the announcement of a Shinsyu release date soon. In the meantime, why not pop Great North into the DVD player. Slingshot is releasing the highly anticipated Great North DVD/soundtrack CD package this fall.