LIAF 2021 presents a selection of recent work from Japan’s indie animation scene
BFI Japan 2021: Into the Unknown
[ID: Dark red event poster. Background is a collage of red and greyscale stills from animations.]
Doors: 9:15pm (Event starts promptly at 9.30pm)
Tickets: £8.00 General Admission; £6.00 concessions
This screening is the second of a double bill of Japanese animation film screenings. Tickets for both are available as a bundle, for a reduced price of £15 (£11 concessions), via the link below.
This is the second of two Japanese animation screenings taking place at The Horse Hospital on this evening. Full details at www.liaf.org.uk
You can buy tickets for both programmes at a reduced price of £15.00 (£11 concessions).
The London International Animation Festival - the UK’s largest and longest-running animation festival - is back with 10 days of amazing screenings, talks and visits from local and international animators with our first fully hybrid edition. We are especially excited to return to the Horse Hospital for the first time since 2019 with 3 nights of talks and screenings from several of the world’s best animators.
Hiding behind the monolith that is Anime is a special world where independent Japanese animation lives. In the last 20 years independent animation has thrived in many parts of the world. Technological developments have democratised animation, opening the door for faster and more affordable production methods. The Internet has freed some animators from producers and distributors. Artists can now put their films on Vimeo or YouTube, showcase their work on their own websites and put out self-produced DVDs. These innovations have let animators eliminate the middle person and given them direct contact with their audience.
Responding to the new-found interest in artistic animation, a number of animation schools in Japan have opened and blossomed in the 21st century, such as the Tama Arts University and the Tokyo University of the Arts. The result has been a dramatic increase in independent animation production. Today, independent animation in Japan has never been so alive and active, an example being the production and distribution company New Deer run by Nobuaki Doi, who have several productions in the works and who actively support young Japanese indie animators to take their work to the world.
LIAF is pleased to present this screening in collaboration with BFI Japan 2021.
Shunsaku Hayashi, ‘Down Escalation’, film still courtesy of the artist
[ID: Glitched-out still of a figure walking through an empty room or corridor. Looks like a busted-out TV.]
The Dawn of Ape (2019), dir. Mirai Mizue
Japan, 4 mins
The world’s first animation made to be watched by chimpanzees. For this screening for the first time ever, humans are allowed to watch as well.
Hunter (2017), dir. Ryoji Yamada
Japan, 8 mins
A haunted hunter is searching for something that he may never find. A twisted jazz soundtrack sets the scene for this neo-noir mystery.
Starting Over (2016), dir. Mika Seike
Japan, 8 mins
You fall down every time before you reach your goal. At each fall, the glass you held shatters, and everything starts all over again. But there are things you can only discover through repetition.
Open One's Mouth (2021), dir. Akane Murata
Japan, 4 mins
Sensuous and transporting, material pigments, mud pigments and metallic foil animate the textures and temperaments of the every day and elsewhere.
Rabbits Blood (2017), dir. Sarina Nihei
Japan/UK, 4 mins
Two rival groups battle for survival underground – sinister cloaked men and neutralist rabbits.
A Bite of Bone (2021), dir. Honami Yano
Japan, 10 mins
A little girl reflects on her last summer with her father at his funeral.
Airy Me (2013), dir. Yuko Kuno
Japan, 6 mins
A half-remembered dream, morphing between the mundane and fantastic with a child-like innocence and a peculiar, unarticulated sadness.
Jungle Taxi (2016), dir. Hakhyun Kim
Japan, 8 mins
On a sticky night in the jungle a taxi spirits a mysterious passenger to their destination.
Down Escalation (2018), dir. Shunsaku Hayashi
Japan, 7 mins
Falling down, deep into the layers of itself, until the form is no more.
Futon (2012), dir. Yoriko Mizushiri
Japan, 7 mins
A woman wrapped in a futon begins to dream and think about the future. Everything melts pleasantly together.
Feed (2016), dir. Eri Okazaki
Japan, 7 mins
Two large, gentle beings plant trees; a goat is fed; meatballs are cooked – slow, mysterious, beautiful.
Summers Puke is Winter's Delight (2016), dir. Sawako Kabuki
Japan, 3 mins
Painful events become memories over time. Still we vomit and eat again.