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Showing posts with label Geidai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geidai. Show all posts

04 April 2024

Bashamichi Art Vision / 馬車道アートビジョン

 

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Minatomirai Line in Yokohama, The Bashamichi Mirai Project (馬車道みらいプロジェクト) commissioned local artist Yuichi ITO (伊藤有壱) to do a video installation on the iconic domed ceiling of the station on weekends during the month of March. Ito is a renowned stop motion animator, known for his ongoing NHK television series KNYACKI! (ニャッキ!, 1995-present). He has also made animated shorts set in Yokohama such as Harbor Tale (2011) and Blue Eyes in Harbor Tale (2014). In addition to his team at I.TOON Ltd, Ito had technical assistance from Yuichi MATSUMOTO (松本祐一), Akimasa OISHI (大石彰誠). 



Bashamichi Art Vision was designed to honour Yokohama’s deep ties to photography and film culture. The first commercial photography studio was opened in Yokohama by Renjō SHIMOOKA (下岡 蓮杖, 1823 – 1914) in 1862, and Shimooka is often called the father Japanese photography. In more recent history, Tokyo University of the Arts (aka Geidai) opened its Graduate School of Film and New Media in the Bashamichi district in 2005. Ito has been teaching at Geidai’s Graduate School of Film and New Media since they opened their animation department over 10 years ago. 

When I visited Bashamichi Station with my husband, Stefan Hotes, on Saturday, March 23, Ito told us that he had been thinking about doing such an installation for 18 years. Inspired by the design of space created by architect Hiroshi NAITO (内藤廣), Ito came up with the concept of making a modern version of the 19th century optical device, the Phenakistiscope (also known as Odoroki-ban in Japanese) projected onto the domed ceiling. 




 The installation consisted of 5 projected videos that each ran at about a minute and a half. The themes were as follows:
 
 ①      Minato Mirai Line 20th Anniversary Video 
           みなとみらい線開業20周年アニバーサリー映像 

 A collection of historical images of the port city of Yokohama. 

②     Garden Necklace Yokohama 2024 Sequence 
         ガーデンネックレス横浜2024 イメージムービー 

 Ito is the designer of the Garden Bear character used by the city of Yokohama to promote its Garden Necklace events (events that take place at the beautiful city gardens, which have been included by foreign trends in gardening, such as the English rose garden style). 

③     GREEN EXPO 2027 Sequence 2027
         年国際園芸博覧会 イメージムービー 

Yokohama will be hosting the World Horticultural Exposition in 2027 with the theme “Scenery of the Future for Happiness” with an estimated participation of 80 countries. The Expo will run from March 19 to September 26, 2027. 

④      Art Video 1: “Phenakistiscope” 
        アート映像1 「フェナキスティスコープ」 

This projection used historic Phenakistiscope discs named horse 「馬」, flower「花」, and dance「ダンス」, which were really perfect for the location. The place name “Bashamichi” translates as “horse-drawn carriage way,” as it was the way that horse-drawn carriages would go on their way to and from the port when it opened. Professor Emeritus Machiko KUSAHARA (草原真知子) of Waseda University, a world-renowned collector and researcher, provided the discs for the creation of the installation. 

⑤     Art video 2: “The Road Leading to the Harbour'” 
        アート映像2 「港へつづく道」 

The last installation was a collaboration between Ito and leading Yokohama photographer Hideo Mori (森日出夫). The Bashamichi area has long been known as “From 'Isesaki to Bashamichi and Bankoku Bridge to the harbour” 「伊勢佐木から馬車道、そして万国橋が港に連なる」. The theme is how the landscape of the port changes with the times… which was also the theme of Ito’s animation Harbor Tale, which they also collaborated on. The 20th anniversary edition of Harbor Tale with Book can be ordered here.

2024 Cathy Munroe Hotes
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15 February 2024

MOVOP Animation Screenings & Exhibition

 


MOVOP is a collective of young animators under 30 who want to re-evaluate contemporary animation practices. The members of the collective include Fukumi NAKAZAWA (中澤ふくみ), Lina MACHIDA (まちだりな), Nana KAWABATA (川畑 那奈), Riku TAKAHASHI (高橋李空) / DOKUZEN, MARU AKARI, Hiroki KURASAWA (倉澤 紘己), and Aiko OKAMURA (岡村 あい子). 

 MOVOP is a neologism combing the English expressions ‘move up’ (上にあがる) and ‘move on’ (進む) and the Czech word ‘potok’ meaning brook or stream (小川). The letter ‘O’ between the letters M/V/P is also meant to evoke the gaps between frames that create the illusion of movement in animation.

The collective seems to be pushing back against the trend for animation to be completely online and digital. In their declaration, they talk about making things with their own hands and to create an archive of their works in physical form. They also want to create real spaces for young animators to engage in debate and discussions about animation practices with their peers.
In November, they published the inaugural edition of their e-zine on their website. I first heard about MOVOP because of physical postcards and flyers their distributed at the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival in November. The first weekend of March, MOVOP will be holding their first screenings and exhibition at Digiti Minimi and co-hosted by Tampen. 




Program A 

 Kukkiri to Boyata / くっきりとぼやけた 
 dir. Lina MACHIDA / まちだリな, 5’23”, 2024 New work! 

 w_lk 
dir. Riku TAKAHASHI / 高橋李空 / DOKUZEN, 2’58” 

 The Day It was an Excursion / えんそくだったひ 
 dir. Hiroki KURASAWA / 倉澤紘己, 5’49”, 2023 

 Deforming after Transforming (変形して奇形する) 
 dir. Fukumi NAKAZAWA / 中澤ふくみ , 8’47”, 2021 

 lier 
dir. MARU AKARI, 1’, 2024　New work! 

 The Ship of Synapse 
Riku TAKAHASHI / 高橋李空 / DOKUZEN, 2’, 2023 

 Weather Map 
dir. Nana KAWABATA / 川畑那奈 ,9’09", 2021



Program B 

Mimimi and the Aliens (みみみとうちゅうじん) 
dir. Hiroki KURASAWA / 倉澤紘己, 5’55”, 2024　New work! 

 kagra 
dir. Riku TAKAHASHI /高橋李空 / DOKUZEN, 2’58” 

 melt 
dir. MARU AKARI, 30”, 2020-2023 

 Carrots Don’t Wait (ニンジンは待ってくれない / Ninjin wa Matte kurenai) 
dir. Lina MACHIDA / まちだリな, 7’36”, 2023

 The Point of Permanence (永久点 / Towa-ten) 
dir. Nana KAWABATA / 川畑那奈, 10’04”, 2024 New work! 

 #_ hashtag underber 
dir. MARU AKARI, 6’, 2022 



 Exhibition 

Aiko OKAMURA (岡村あい子) 
Yume-utsutsu 『夢現』 
Jiga『自我』　New work! 

Fukumi NAKAZAWA (中澤ふくみ) 
Kandokoro wo Zurasu『勘どころをずらす』　New work! 
New work! Tadaka ga Yonde iru『ただかが呼んでいる』 


On the Saturday at 14:00 there will be a Guest Talk Event with Yū ISEKI (井関悠), the curator of the Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito, artist Hirotoshi IWASAKI (岩崎博俊), and dancer / choreographer Nobunashi KON (のばなしコン). On Sunday at 14:00 there will be a Talk Event with member of MOVOP.

Tickets are available via the Peatix app: 
 For more information visit the MOVOP website / social media: https://movopanimation5.wordpress.com/ 


Cathy Munroe Hotes
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18 November 2021

A Bite of the Bone (骨嚙み, 2021)


When a loved one passes away in Japan, their remains are ceremonially cremated.  After the cremation, the remaining remnants of bone ( 骨/hone) are picked out by relatives using long chopsticks and passed from chopsticks to chopsticks and placed into a large urn.  This practice is called kotsuage (骨揚げ).   Newcomers to Japan often learn about it when they are admonished at dinner for making the faux pas of trying to pass food to another person directly by use of chopsticks.

Homami YANO (矢野ほなみ)’s latest animated short, A Bite of the Bone (骨嚙み/ Honekami, 2021), concerns the lesser known tradition of honekami (骨嚙み), when members of the family actually consume some of the bones during the funeral ceremony in order to a keep a part of their loved one inside them.  This was famously done by the actor Shintarō KATSU (勝 新太郎, 1931-1997, star of the Akumyō, Heitai Yakuza, and Zatōichi series), with the bones of both his beloved older brother, Tomisaburō WAKAYAMA (若山 富三郎, 1929-1992, star  of the Kozure Ōkami series), and his father.

With A Bite of the Bone, Yano revisits the traumatic childhood experience of having refused to consume her father’s bones when he died.  As she explains in her director’s note, “The bone I did not eat stayed with me, as if stuck in my throat, and I found myself unable to express the experience in words nor forget it.”

 

The tale is narrated by the young female protagonist and opens with the sound and images of her father’s funeral.  The nonsense funereal sutra is performed by Yano’s mentor and producer, Kōji YAMAMURA (山村浩二) .  The scene then transforms into a loving recollection of life growing up in a small island community.  The narrator and her sister playing with an inner tube in the water, her father taking them on hikes in the hills, and the haunting memory of an abandoned WWII ammunition dump.  

Yano uses a pointillist style – the many colourful dots giving the memories a shimmering, dreamlike quality.   There is a poetic moment when the girl’s father is pruning the pine trees of the island into the shapes of clouds and waves against a pinky-red evening landscape.  The sadness of the theme of the death of her father is softened by the sweet childhood memories of her dog and the stunning nature of the island.  


　　

Yano’s short animations have always delved into profound issues about love and life, but with A Bite of the Bone, she has reached a level of maturity in her animation style. The constantly changing perspectives and transitions between scenes show the influence of her mentor, renowned award-winning animator Kōji Yamamura, who produced with film at his studio Au Praxinoscope in Setagaya.  During the pandemic, I happened upon Yano working on the film when I stopped into the studio shop to browse the DVDs.  It is wonderful to see that such a beautiful work of art could come out of such dark times.  

A Bite of the Bone has won numerous awards at festivals in Ottawa, Chitose, Raindance, to name but a few.  It has also been entered for consideration at the Oscars.  Thank you to the New Chitose Airport  International Animation Festival for making this year’s short film selection available for screening online for those of us who are still restricting their travel.  


To learn more about Homani Yano, visit her website: https://honamiyano.com/  


2021 Cathy Munroe Hotes


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24 May 2021

Alteration Finds: A Selection of Japanese Animated Shorts

 


The pandemic has forced long periods of sameness upon us. These recent indie animated sorts challenge us to break free from lockdown apathy and look at the world from a new perspective.

 Die Covid-19-Pandemie hat uns lange Perioden der Eintönigkeit aufgezwungen. Zeit für einen Ausbruch: Diese animierten Kurzfilme fordern uns auf, die Lockdown-Apathie hinter uns zu lassen und die Welt aus neuen Perspektiven zu betrachten.

https://db.nipponconnection.com/de/event/1029/alteration-finds

I am pleased to announce that I have curated another independent animation short film programme for Nippon Connection together with festival director Florian Höhr.  Despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, I have been able to go to some festivals such as Image Forum Festival (IFF) and the Japan Media Arts Festival (JMAF), but they haven't had their usual vibe with the 3 Cs rules in effect ... particularly without the ability to go out to drink and chat with artists afterwards.  

In particular, I really miss gallery opening parties and film debut screening events, which are a great place to find out what people are working on at the moment.  In March, the graphic designer, musician and animator Hayoto NOVE invited me to the opening of his latest work Parallax (2021) in a gallery in Ginza.  We were limited to a maximum of 6 people per screening, but it was such a pleasure to at least be able to talk to the artist and his "team" (his wife & collaborator, the equally talented Tomoko NOBE).  Nove-san was concerned that with a run time of about half an hour, that the film might be a bit on the long side for an animated short, but I could tell him truthfully that I had not even noticed the length!  Nove's films tend to envelope me in their visual and soundscape so thoroughly that I am hardly aware of my surroundings.  These independent works are a real labour of love for Nove, and it is wonderful to follow him on his artistic journey.  Florian & I are so honoured that Nove-san has allowed us to have the world festival premiere of this most impressive work.  

I saw the indie animation legend Keita KUROSAKA's most recent animation The Living Wall (生きる壁, 2020) at IFF2020.  His masterpiece Midori-ko (2010) was a big success at NC2011 and this latest work does not disappoint.  

Another gem from IFF2020 is Masa KUDO's Difference and Repetition and Coffee (差異と反復とコーヒー, 2020).  Kudo is new to the animation scene but has an amazing future ahead of her. She grew up in Hokkaido where she graduated from Hokkaido Kyoiku University.  She also studied at the Image Forum film school which specialises in experimental film and animation.  The influence of IFF film school is very apparent in this film!

Geidai 2017 grad Ryotaro MIYAJIMA's first post-grad school independent film has found much success at animation festivals both at home and abroad. I first saw it at IFF2019, and have delighted whenever I have seen it on a screening programme.  Every time I watch this visual journey into the Sengoku Period, I catch another small detail I missed the first time.  It is a study of how to use movement and transitions masterfully in animation. 

Shunsaku HAYASHI brings his painterly magic to his animation films and I am so thrilled that we can include his latest work Leaking Life in our programme this year.  The film won Best Short Animation at the 24th Riga International Short Film Festival.  Hayashi-san first featured in one of my animation selections at NC2019 with Railment (2019).

The TamaGra (Tama University of Arts Graphic Design Department) animation programme has been producing really wonderful animators for the past couple of decades.  Isaku KANEKO's Locomotor (2019) and The Balloon Catcher demonstrate that he is someone to keep an eye on in the future. I was also quite taken by Tomoe OBAYASHI's Mubi (2019) and was compelled to include it in the programme.

Due to the ongoing covid-19 restrictions, Nippon Connection (June 1-6, 2021) will be hosted online again this year.  I am crestfallen for the festival, because part of its allure is all the in-person events, activities, and culinary delights.  On the other hand, the online forum means that the films can attract a larger audience than is possible with the limited seats of a cinema.  For rights reasons, this screening selection is region-restricted to Germany only. 

Booking information can be found here: 




Keita Kurosaka 黒坂圭太
The Living Wall 
生きる壁 
2020, 6 min. 






 Ryotaro Miyajima 宮嶋龍太郎
 Castle 
 2019, 5 min. 







Shunsaku Hayashi 林俊作
Leaking Life 
2019, 14 min. 32 sec. 






Masa Kudo 工藤雅 
Difference and Repetition and Coffee 
差異と反復とコーヒー 
2020, 4min. 33 sec. 






Isaku Kaneko 金子 勲矩 
The Balloon Catcher 
2020, 6min 








Isaku Kaneko 金子 勲矩
Locomotor 
2019, 3 min. 








Tomoe Obayashi 大林 知恵 
Mubi 
夢寐 
2019, 6 min. 







Hayato Nove 野辺ハヤト 
parallax 
2021, 30 min.







2021 Cathy Munroe Hotes 
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Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

23 September 2020

Strawberry Candy (いちご飴, 2020)

Strawberry Candy (いちご飴 / Ichigo Chigo, 2020) was the film that made the biggest impact on me at the Geidai Animation 11 Neo screenings in February in Yokohama.  It is a powerful short film that tells sensitively tells the story of familial child abuse from the perspective of a young girl.

The film begins innocently enough with the central protagonist, a Chinese girl of about kindergartner age, talking about her likes and dislikes.  She likes playing hide-and-seek with a cardboard box used for storing pears, she doesn’t like the new telephone because her mom makes her call people; she likes her red marble that her father gave her on Children’s Day, but she doesn’t like the boys next store who took it from her; and so on.

As she continues telling us her likes and dislikes, the director, Nianze Li, masterfully builds a sense of unease.  This innocent child is dealing with a secret that she doesn’t fully understand.  She is able to express her distress at the situation her finds herself in and Li’s beautifully rendered animation shows how a child’s animation can be a coping mechanism.  The boundaries between dreams (or nightmares) and reality can blur together until it is difficult to distinguish one from the other.

It is a powerful film, that will no doubt be distressing to viewers with personal experience of domestic abuse, but it is a very important tale to tell.  It reminds us that we really need to listen to the stories children tell us and take seriously when they express that something is wrong.  The story is beautifully illustrated with colourful pencil drawings, in an elegant evocation of the most common medium of children’s art.

According to her “Making Of” blog, the story came out not of personal experience but of research Li had done into the subject of child abuse.   She studied films and books that gave her insight into the psychology of abuse, and wanted to give an empathetic portrayal from the point of view of the victim.  

The film is playing this weekend and next at the Image Forum Festival where I will be watching it again.  I am sure it will be picked up at other international film festivals around the world in the coming year.


Nianze Li (李 念澤, b. 1995) did her undergraduate education at the Sichuan Fine Art Institute New Media Art Department (2017) and completed her master’s at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Film and New Media earlier this year. You can follow her on twitter, Instagram, and Vimeo.


2020 Cathy Munroe Hotes


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22 April 2020

Kōji Yamamura’s Archives / 山村浩二作品アーカイブ



Kōji Yamamura’s Archives / 山村浩二作品アーカイブ


The renowned independent animator Kōji Yamamura’s bilingual studio website, Yamamura Animation, has long been an invaluable source of information about his creative works. Although he may be best known overseas for his award-winning animation shorts, in the Japanese publishing world he is also known for his prolific illustrations for books, posters, and other media.

With the support of the Government of Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁 / Bunkachō), Yamamura Animation has expanded to include an archive of stills, videos, storyboards, photographs, documentations of exhibitions, sketchbooks, and much, much more.

Some rare delights in the archive include stills and information about his earliest animations, such as his very first animation at age 13. Yamamura made the 8mm Short Short Show Theater (しょーとしょーとしょうげきじょう / Short Short Show Gekijō) using the techniques of cutouts and cel animation.

Many of Yamamura’s early works are now available to screen on Yamamura Animation’s YouTube and Vimeo channels. Four works, "Parade" de Satie (サティの「パラード」, 2016), Notes on Monstropedia (怪物学抄, 2016), A Child's Metaphysics (こどもの形而上学, 2007), and Yamamura’s Oscar-nominated Mt. Head (頭山, 2002), are available to rent or purchase on Vimeo On Demand (embedded below). "Parade" de Satie, Notes on Monstropedia, A Child's Metaphysics, and Yamamura’s recent work Dreams into Drawing (ゆめみのえ / Yumemi no e, 2019) are also due to be available via Amazon Disc on Demand sometime this spring. Please support this remarkable artist by acquiring his work via these outlets.


Satie's "Parade" from Koji Yamamura on Vimeo.


Notes on Monstropedia / 怪物学抄 from Koji Yamamura on Vimeo.


A Child's Metaphysics／こどもの形而上学 from Koji Yamamura on Vimeo.


Mt. Head from Koji Yamamura on Vimeo.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2020
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03 April 2020

Eri Sasaki's FUNSUS CM


The brilliant young animator Eri Sasaki (ささき えり, b. 1995) has made a delightful short animation for the clothing brand Studio Clip to promote their FUNSUS (ファンサス) campaign. Their motto is that their brand is both fun and sustainable.

Sasaki first came to my attention in 2017, with her TamaGra work Essay in the Desert (さばくのエッセイ/ Sabaku no Essei, 2017). She went on to do her MA at Geidai. Her graduate work, Pickle Plum Parade (うめぼしパトロール/Umeboshi Patōru, 2019), was one of the highlights of last year’s Geidai selection at Nippon Connection. Check out more of her work on her website: https://sasakieri.com/

See also:
https://www.nishikata-eiga.com/2017/07/tamagra-animation-2017-2017.html
https://www.nishikata-eiga.com/2019/05/nc2019-tokyo-university-of-arts.html

2020 Cathy Munroe Hotes
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04 March 2020

Geidai Animation 11 Neo / 藝大アニメーション11ネオ




This year’s graduating animation class at the Tokyo University of Arts (Geidai) Graduate School of Film and New Media chose “neo” as their theme in a nod to the dawning of Reiwa era. They also liked that in addition to meaning “new”, “neo” indicates “a new rendition of something familiar.” In their introduction to their works, the students speak of both desiring to continue in the path of art traditions that have come before them while moving into the future with something new.

This year only 6 students were able to complete their films in time to graduate in 2020. All but one of the graduates are women and half of them are Chinese. Although I am is disappointed that the 7 other students from this cohort have not yet completed their graduate films, I am hopeful that there is much to look forward to next year because their first year works showed much promise. The 6 graduates each have their own individual styles.

Nianzi Li is my favourite animator of this cohort. Her first year film, When One Talks with a Lemon, is a delightful exploration of the metamorphic possibilities of the medium, but her true strength as an animator comes out in her graduate work Strawberry Candy. Using a pencil crayon drawings, she tells the first person perspective of a pre-school child who is being sexually abused by a family member. The story is told subtlety, slowly giving us the clues to what is really going on beneath the surface. It expertly conveys the confusion of a child who knows that something as wrong but is too young to have the vocabulary or knowledge to call out the behaviour directly. I look forward to more work by this artist.

I also like the work of Caori Murata, whose visual style has been greatly influenced by her studies in France. The use of a white background with a small square of colourful illustration is reminiscent of a paper edition of poésie published by Gallimard. Her works are a kind of animated bricolage.


11th Graduate Works / 第11期生修了作品集

Yoshiro Kawakami (川上喜朗, b. 1993)
A native of Tokyo, Kawakami graduated with a major in Painting from Tokyo Zokei University in 2018 before continuing his studies at Geidai. He explores “the motif of illustrated boys and girls” in his animation, paintings, and illustrations.

Twitter　@KawakamiYoshiro
Instagram　@kawakami_yoshiro

First year work:

Summer Sky Reverie (雲梯/Untei, 2019)

“It’s summer vacation and all the kids in the neighborhood have left to visit relatives. But there in the relentless glare of the sun, is a boy looking up at the sky.” (5 min.)

Graduation work:


Boy with Child (螢火の身ごもり/Hotarubi no Mugomori, 2020)

“A young boy gets pregnant. He suffers through morning sickness and cold stares while facing the new life inside him.” (10 min.)


Nianze Li (李 念澤, b. 1995)

Nianze Li was born in China and studied at the Sichuan Fine Art Institute New Media Art Department (2017).

Twitter　@kurikopupu
Instagram　@kuriko_sawa

First year film:

When One Talks with a Lemon (レモンと話したら /Remon to Hanashitara, 2019)
“What I say is never what you hear. It's like the printer misaligning the images little by little. This animation work portrays those communication gaps using various techniques including print, digital treatment and collage.” (4 min.)

Graduate film:

Strawberry Candy (いちご飴 / Ichigo ame, 2020)
“She has an unspeakable secret but the memory is gradually fading.
The little girl is no longer sure if it was a dream or reality.” (7 min.)


Yinan Liu (劉 軼���, b. 1993)

 Yinan Liu is from Tianjin, China. She graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 2015.

Website　https://animaliu031.wixsite.com/yinanliu
Twitter　@LiuynAnima
Instagram　@anima_Liuyn

First year film:

What's that Smell? (においがする / Nioi ga suru, 2019)

“The world is filled with smells -- good smells, nasty smells, nasty but good smells, addictive smells, captivating smells, reminiscent smells, and so many more. What's that smell?” (3 min.)

Graduate film:

The Big Tree in Front of the House (家の前に大きな木がある / Ie no mae ni ōkina ki ga aru, 2020)

“It should have been an ordinary day but it was anything but usual. There was a large crowd in front of my grandma’s house. Where did the people come from and where were they going? I was peering out at them from the window, but the big tree obstructed my view.” (6 min.)

Caori Murata (村田香織, b. 1994)

Murata did her undergraduate study at Musashino Art University, Department of Visual Communication Design (2017). During her MA she studied as an exchange student at ENSAD (École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs) in France.

Twitter　@m_caori
Instagram　@caori__mu

Graduate Film:

Our house / Notre maison　(わたしたちの家 / Watashitachi no Ie, 2020)

“Alice goes out and opens doors as she pleases. The houses show her fragments of love that we all long for day to day throughout our lives.” (3 min.)

Sijia Luo (羅 絲佳 b. 1993)

website: https://www.sijia-luo.com/ 
twitter:@roxxxroxxx

Sijia Luo is from Guangdong, China and is a graduate of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (2015). She is inspired by a variety of art forms and describes her film development as experimental with the aim of seeking “liberation from visual language”.

Graduate Film:

I Am a Motif (私はモチーフ/ Watashi wa Mochifu, 2020)

“Realizing how different they are from one another, the three motifs - musical, visual and narrative - start to doubt themselves. But once the melody begins, the musical motif could not resist the impulse to dance and the others follow. Perhaps I, too, am a motif.” (8 min.)


 Emari Okayama (丘山絵毬, b. 1992)

Born in Okazaki, Aichi, Okayama graduated with a degree in Aesthetics and Art History from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2015.


Graduate Film:

Empty Hands (おうさま・ひめ・ぶた・こじき/ Ousama hime buta kojiki, 2020)

“A mix of life tales in modern Japan where fate is predicted by your name and a fingerplay song. Are the members of this society playing into the hands of some higher being or are they living the life of impermanence?” (7 min.)

If you missed out seeing these works and the works of the first year students in Yokohama last month, you have another chance in Tokyo on from March 20 to 22nd at the Geidai Ueno Campus. 

© 2020 Cathy Munroe Hotes
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09 June 2019

She is Alone (彼女はひとり/ Kanojo wa hitori, 2018)



Suicide is a solitary act but the ripple effects of such a death spread pain in an insidious manner through the lives of those connected to the individual who has so abruptly departed. First time filmmaker Natsuki Nakagawa (中川奈月) explores these ripple effects in her intense 60-minute drama She is Alone (彼女はひとり/ Kanojo wa hitori, 2018).

The story centres on Sumiko, played brilliantly by the up-and-coming actor Akari Fukunaga (福永朱梨), a high school student who has lost her mother to suicide. Rather than reaching out and talking to family and friends, Sumiko internalizes her grief. This leads to a cold relationship with her father and a destructive relationship with her childhood friend, Hideaki, played with great sensitivity by Kanai Hiroto (金井浩人). Sumiko is blackmailing Hideaki and as the layers get peeled back on their relationship, we begin to realize that there is a lot more going on in this twisted coming-of-age tale.

The film draws on elements of the thriller and the Japanese ghost story genres. During the Film Talk: Tokyo University of the Arts at Nippon Connection, I learned that Nakagawa is an admirer of the work of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who was her mentor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Her film does emulate the mood of his films, helped in a great part by the fact that she was able to work with Kurosawa’s cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa (芦澤明子). It is a strong debut feature and I hope that Nakagawa continues to grow as a filmmaker.

You can follow director Natsuki Nakawa and actor Akari Fukunaga on twitter.

2019 Cathy Munroe Hotes



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24 May 2019

NC2019 FILM TALK: TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS

Dawn Wind in My Poncho

FILM TALK: TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS
Nippon Connection
Saturday, June 1, 21:30 Mousonturm Studio 3
https://www.nipponconnection.com/program-detail/film-talk-tokyo-university-of-the-arts-en.html

Nippon Connection has asked me host a Film Talk with guests who have a connection to the Graduate School of Film and New Media at the Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai) in Yokohama. Yokohama’s twin city status with Frankfurt am Main has led to our having been able to invite amazing animation guests and films from Geidai since 2013. 


Participating in the talk will be this year’s animation guest Ilan Nguyen (イラン・グェン), adjuct professor to the Department of Animation.  He is presenting the Tokyo University of the Arts: Animation Shorts on Thursday, May 30th in the Naxoshalle and giving a lecture Remembering Isao Takahata: A Personal View On Post-War Japan’s Most Influential Animation Director on Friday, May 31st in Mousonturm Studio 1.

Two graduates of the Film and New Media graduate programme, Satoru Hirohara (廣原暁) and Natsuki Nakagawa (中川奈月), will also participate in order to give us the student perspective on the institution. Hirohara’s live action feature film Dawn Wind in My Poncho (ポンチョに夜明けの風はらませて / Poncho ni yoake no kaze haramasete, 2017) is having its European premiere at Nippon Connection and is competing for the Nippon Cinema Award. 

She is Alone
Nakagawa’s 60-minute feature She is Alone (彼女はひとり/ Kanojo wa hitori, 2018) is screening in the SKIP CITY INTERNATIONAL D-CINEMA FESTIVAL SPECIAL on Thursday, May 30th as one of two award-winning films from last year’s Skip City Festival in Saitama.  It is in competition in the Nippon Visions Jury and Audience Awards.

This event is sponsored by The City of Yokohama Frankfurt Representative Office and the Referat für Internationale Angelegenheiten der Stadt Frankfurt am Main.

2019 Cathy Munroe Hotes
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22 May 2019

NC2019: Tokyo University of the Arts Animation


Nippon Connection
Tokyo University of the Arts: Animation Shorts
Thursday, May 30, 12:00
Naxoshalle Kino → Learn More

Once again, Nippon Connection will be screening a selection of recent films by students of the Graduate Programme in Animation at Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai). Since opening the department in 2008, Geidai has produced top quality animated shorts and launched or boosted the careers of many artists. These year’s selection will be presented by Ilan Nguyen who is an adjunct instructor to the Department of Animation at Tokyo University of the Arts. Nguyen is well known in the international animation community, particularly in his native France and his adopted home of Japan, as an animation expert and historian. He also works as an interpreter for many prominent Japanese animation figures when they visit France and as a cultural programme coordinator for festivals and exhibitions. On Friday, June 31st at 13:30 in Mousonturm Studio 1, Nguyen will also be giving a memorial talk Remembering Isao Takahata: A Personal View on Post-War Japan’s Most Influential Animation Director.



The Body in the Mind
あたまのからだ
Atama no Karada
by Yumeno HOSHI / 星 夢乃
2019, 6’08”






Pickle Plum Parade
うめぼしパトロール
Umeboshi Patorōru
by Eri SASAKI / ささきえり
2019, 3’50”






Keep Forgetting
何度でも忘れよう
Nando demo Wasureyō
by Takahiro SHIBATA / しばたたかひろ
2019, 10’27”






Boozy Woozy Wonderland
ワンダフル千鳥足inワンダーランド
Wandafuru Chidoriashi in Wandārando
by Shiika OKADA / 岡田 詩歌
2019, 2’25”






Nocturnal Roadwork
夜の道路工事
Yoru no Dōrokōji
Misuzu HASHIJI / 端地 美鈴
2019, 4’46”






Indoor Days
外に出ない日
Hokani Denai Hi
by Asaki NISHINO / 西野 朝来
2019, 3’07”





Dissipate
舞空
Maisora
by Kohei SAITO / 齊藤 光平
2019, 8’52”







The Death Vendor
死の商人
Shinoshōnin
by Jinkyu JEON / 全 振圭
2019, 5’40”






Hear the Snow Melt
雪解けをきいて
Yukidoke wo Kiite
by Leina MURAMATSU / 村松 怜那
2019, 4’13”






Text Complex
ひ なんてなくなってしまえ
Hi Nante Nakunatte Shimae
by Haruka HIRAMATSU / 平松 悠
2019, 6’48”






Stay with Me
湿らない 腐らない おいしく まろやか
Shimaranai Kusaranai Oishiku Maruyaka
by Yuki MAEHATA / 前畑 侑紀
2019, 4’40”






Bath House of Whales
くじらの湯
Kujira no Yu
by Mizuki KIYAMA / キヤマミズキ
2019, 6’34”





2019 Cathy Munroe Hotes
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NC2019 – Ilan Nguyen Lecture – “Remembering Isao Takahata”



Remembering Isao Takahata
A Personal View On Post-War Japan’s Most Influential Animation Director
A lecture by Ilan Nguyen
Friday, May 31, 13:30
Mousonturm Studio 1
Nippon Connection
Duration: approx. 1,5 hours
Lecture in English

I am delighted that our guest at Nippon Connection this year is Ilan Nguyen, a well-known animation expert whom I have had the pleasure to meet at festivals in his native France and in Japan. He is an adjunct instructor to the Department of Animation at Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai) and will also be presenting this year’s selection of films from Geidai students on Thursday, May 30th at noon in the Naxoshalle.

In addition to his work as an animation critic and historian Nguyen works as a cultural programme coordinator for festivals and exhibitions. He is a familiar face in the animation community in France, where he often acts as an interpreter for many prominent Japanese animation figures. In particular, he had a very close relationship with Isao Takahata (1935-2018), and accompanied him to France many times.

I have heard Nguyen give lectures on animation in French at RICA – the Wissembourg Ciné Club’s biannual animation festival (1995-2016) and can attest to what an interesting and delightful speaker he is. He is a fountain of knowledge about the career of Takahata and about the animation community in Japan past and present – this is a highly recommended event for all fans of anime.

2019 Cathy Munroe Hotes
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24 September 2018

Geidai First Year Works 2015 (YouTube Playlist)


Geidai First Year Works 2015 (YouTube Playlist)
一年次作品2015  (YouTube Playlist)

The 2015 first year works of Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai)  graduate students are almost all now available on YouTube.  These are the students of the graduating class of 2016, which went by the moniker 07YELL.  Tomoko Takaya graduated with the class of 2017 (08ZOOM).  Yuriko Noda has not yet graduated from Geidai's MA programme, but took time out to improve her stop motion animation skills in Ghent.  She just graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) this year and returned to Japan.

Only the trailer of Takoto Katayama's work Melting Down is currently on YouTube, but you can watch it in full on Vimeo - click here.  I have included the students' descriptions of their films below with short bios and links to their social media profiles.  Enjoy the animation!




Animator Profiles:


Bugburger 
バグバーグ
 “In a dimly lit kitchen as a chunk of meat is sliced, bugs creep out from the cut. Ordinary action like cooking transforms [it in]to the weird and the creepy.”



Hitomi OHTAKARA (大寳ひとみ, b. 1988) did her undergraduate degree in Design Informatics at Musashino. You can follow her on tumblr, vimeo, and twitter.



I Wanna Be Your Friend

“For friendship it is the most important to be cooperative.”





Iku OGAWA (小川育) was born in Tokyo. He has a degree in Graphic Design from Tamabi (2012). You can follow him on twitter, blogspot and tumblr.


Melting Down 
すごやかな歪み
Sugoyaka-na Yugami

“The fear to be ruined calmly without any conscience. Everybody is getting distorted soundly and gently.”


Takuto KATAYAMA (片山拓人, b. 1989) was born and raised in Fukushima, where is experienced the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and its ensuing disasters. He studied design at Nihon University (2012). He does illustration and design in addition to animation. Check out his profile on vimeo or YouTube, or follow him on twitter.


Will Hatching Day Come? 

“This is a story of a little girl who believes she can hatch an egg one day if she keeps warm.”





K. Chayanit (K・チャヤーニット/ Kiatchokechaikul Chayanit / b. 1990) is from Bangkok, Thailand where she graduated from Sipakorn University with a degree in Decorative Arts (2012)


Fair Winds 
 はるのかぜ
Haru no Kaze 

 “One day when I came home, I found my mother [had] become a cat. Unfamiliar appearance of the parents confuses the child. Yet, the time of the parents and the child passes quietly like a spring breeze.”

Eri KINOSHITA (木下絵李, b. 1991) is from Fukuoka. She has a degree in Design from Kyushu University (2014).


Templex

 “One morning in the rainy season. A woman with curly hair wakes up. Phantasmagorical images of self-hatred come to her one after another.”




Tomomi KOMAZAKI (駒﨑友海, b. 1991) was born in Tokyo and studied Visual Design at Joshibi (2014). You can follow her on tumblr and vimeo.



Crossing Sight

“Various visions of life and death, as seen from an operation table. Did the operation succeed? Is the patient still alive?”




Xueqing SHAO (邵雪晴 / ショウ・セツセイ, b. 1991) is from Beijing where she studied animation at the Beijing Film Academy (2013). Check out her work on YouTube.

 
Color Blots 
 シミアソビ
Shimi Asobi
 
“A game to find image in a chance. In this Aleatoricism there are much more potentials than what I have moved.”


Saori SUZUKI (鈴木沙織, b. 1988) is a painter and sculptor in addition to making animation. Follow her on tumblr.


A Black Cat 
 黒い猫
Kuroi Neko 

 “It consists of only [a] woman who keeps caressing a resisting cat.” yourself.”



Mika SEIKE ( 清家美佳, b. 1974) is from Kansai. She started making independent animation films in 2001. After working for many years in the field of education, Seike rejuvenated her animation career at Geidai in 2014. Learn more about her through my reviews of Thinking and Drawing: Japanese Art Animation of the New Millennium and Face to Face (お向さん2007). You can follow her on twitter to learn more.


Rain Shower 
通り雨
Tōriame 

“Rain showers briefly bring back flashes of color to a shopping [trip].”



Tomoko TAKAYA (高谷智子, b. 1992) was born in Tokyo, A graduate of Musashino Art University's Department of Imaging Arts and Sciences, Takaya graduated with the Geidai class of 2017.


Misfit Lil’ Sparrow 
 チュン子のなんで？
Chunko no Nande? 

 “A little sparrow, Hanko, cannot make her head still like other sparrows. She wonders why.”



Yuriko NODA (野田ゆり子, b. 1992) is from Chiba. She has a majored in oil painting during her undergraduate studies at Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai). Upon graduation she began her MA studies in animation at Geidai in 2014. She has recently graduated from the animation programme at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK Conservatorium) in Ghent which was founded by Raoul Servais. Follow her on twitter or instagram.


and, end 
 えんえん
En en 
 “‘Someday, this will end. I hate it. I wanna live forever,’ murmurs a girl over and over again. Does she repeat the same moments, or does she move forward? It looks and sounds either way. A wordplay animation.”

Mio YAMANAKA (山中澪, b. 1990) was born in Ehime and graduated from the Department of Human Expression at Kobe University (2013).



The Yellow Ball 
“A mysterious yellow ball falls down into the present city across time and space. It involves many people and unfolds various dramas.”






Xinxin LIU (刘新新 / リュウ・シンシン , b. 1989) was born in Dalian, China. She studied animation at the China Academy of Art (2012). Check out her work on vimeo.


mind scape
“The things are formed in the mind from the casual scenes of daily life. These [imaginings] accumulate and make an assembly of fantasy.”





Kaori RYŌ (梁佳緒里, b. 1991) was born in Tottori. She graduated from Musashino in 2014.
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