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Yôichi Kotabe, guest of honour
Born in Taiwan in 1936, Yôichi Kotabe is one of his country’s most brilliant animators and a privileged witness to the golden age of cartoons. He joined the Tôei Animation studio in 1959, in close complicity with Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, as early as Prince of the Sun, the Great Adventure of Horus (1968), he directs the animation Panda! Go Panda! (1972, 1973) and Chie, the Brat (1981), but also Tarô, The Dragon Boy (1979), the Heidi series (1974) and Marco (1976) in which he does the character design... His long career embodies the elegance of classic animation in all his finest Japanese productions.
The Festival is honoured to welcome this Japanese animation legend.
Two eminent Japanese figures in the juries
Yoshiaki Nishimura: Founder, CEO & Producer Studio Ponoc Since 2014: Studio Ponoc. Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017, Hiromasa Yonebayashi) and Ponoc Short Films Theatre, Volume 1 – Modest Heroes (2018, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Yoshiyuki Momose, Akihiko Yamashita). 2002-2014: Studio Ghibli. Advertising for various Studio Ghibli films including Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Tales from Earthsea (2006), and Ponyo (2008). First and second feature-length films with Yoshiaki Nishimura as producer, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) and When Marnie Was There (2014), earned nominations for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.
Koji Yamamura: Director Yamamura Animation, Inc. Born in 1964, Koji Yamamura has dedicated a large part of his career to making films for children. Mt. Head, Oscar nominated in 2003, The Old Crocodile (2005), Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor (2007), Muybridge’s Strings (2011), were awarded over 90 prizes including the grand prizes of 4 major animation festivals: Annecy, Zagreb, Ottawa, Hiroshima. He was a member of many international juries and had many retrospective screenings worldwide. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he is also a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts.
Screening Event
French premiere screening of Modest Heroes, the collection of three short films from Studio Ponoc: Kanini & Kanino (written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi), Life Ain’t Gonna Lose (written and directed by Yoshiyuki Momose) and Invisible (written and directed by Akihiko Yamashita) Watch the trailer
Also:
- A tribute to Venus War (1989) by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. An anniversary screening – with remastered English subtitled version – to celebrate 30-years of a legendary film that is an integral part of Japanese history.
- An exhibition at the Haras from imagespassages: Japonohara. Some very different artistic approaches have been selected, ranging from VR with Planet°° by Momoko Seto, Nova in My Hand, a cosmic and poetic work by Yuki Kawamura, City of Transformers, a burlesque and critical production by Ikuru Kuwajima and Kiya, Kiya a cartoon that is like a comic and adolescence by Akino Kondoh (with courtesy of the Mizuma Art Gallery/Tokyo).
These female and male artists, born in Japan in the ‘80’s, form a unique selection, as much by their exquisite creations as by their diverse origins.
- Programmes that include historical short films and numerous classics
- A Japanese delegation as well as a 150m² stand at Mifa
And many other surprises…
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