Indie films vie for views at Niigata animation festival

Japan Times

20-03-2025

This Thursday marks the final day of the Niigata International Animation Film Festival (NIAFF), which kicked off March 15 in Niigata City. The event, now in its third year, opened with a screening of 'Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence,' both in celebration of the film's 20th anniversary and as a kind of tribute to its director, Mamoru Oshii, who served as the festival's inaugural jury president.
'During the first festival, I said that it would be a big deal if the festival made it three years,' Oshii told the audience via a pre-recorded video message. 'Now it's up to the quality of the films to sustain it.'
The choice of 'Innocence' as opening film represented an ongoing challenge for the nascent festival: Though its ostensible mission is to introduce foreign animation to Japanese audiences, the packed showing was further proof that domestic anime remains the major draw in Japan.
The screening generated buzz thanks to the introductory talk from Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, co-founder of Production I.G (which produced 'Innocence' and has a branch in Niigata). Ishikawa announced that he'd recently had a long phone call with Oshii, who had a great idea for a third 'Ghost in the Shell' film. One small issue, though, said Ishikawa: 'Innocence' still hasn't made its money back.
The festival also featured screenings and talks dedicated to animator Satoshi Kon, who died in 2010 at the age of 46. Takeshi Honda, an animator who worked closely with Kon on the 2001 film 'Millennium Actress,' noted that one legacy Kon left the industry was his intricate layout work. 'For better or worse, the way we work would be a lot looser if not for him,' Honda said.
From left: Niigata International Animation Film Festival director Shinichiro Inoue with jury members Manuel Cristobal, Christine Panushka and Noriko Matsumoto |
Matt Schley
Aside from the four films Kon helmed as director, NIAFF played some lesser-known Kon-involved projects, like the 1992 feature 'Run, Melos, Run,' to which he contributed animation. The film has never been remastered, forcing Niigata arthouse theater Cine Wind to dust off its 35mm film projector. 'It's been a while since we've done this, but we'll try our best,' said the theater's owner to moviegoers on Tuesday. (The print then ran in reverse for a few moments until being fixed, leading to a round of applause.)
For audience members willing to dip their toes into non-Japanese animation waters, the festival featured a competition section with 12 feature films, 10 from outside Japan, selected from a total of 69 entries (one of NIAFF's selling points is that it is dedicated to feature-length animation, setting it apart from other animation festivals in Japan and Asia centered on shorts). Entries included the sci-fi spectacle 'The Worlds Divide' (Canada), which showed a heavy anime influence, 'Balentes' (Italy), a somber Western animated with stark monotone paintings, and 'Olivia & The Clouds' (Dominican Republic), a dreamy mixed-medium film about the challenges of human connection. The competition films ranged in style and form, from CG to stop-motion, but one throughline for most was their small, independent teams (and small, independent budgets). Some were even animated solo.
That included 'Papercuts: My Life as an Indie Animator' by American director Eric Power, whose 'When You Get to the Forest' played at the first NIAFF in 2023. 'Papercuts' is an autobiographical account of his successes and struggles that includes a shout-out to Niigata. Despite being intensely personal, 'Papercuts' touches on the issues facing many of the independent filmmakers at the festival, like the isolation that comes with toiling on a project for years with no guarantee of recognition, let alone a paycheck.
'Still, the only other option is not making films, and that's not an option,' said Power after a screening of his film.
The winner of the festival's top prize, to be chosen by a jury led by producer Manuel Cristobal, will be announced on Thursday evening, but as of this writing, the film to beat is Kiyotaka Oshiyama's 'Look Back,' one of the two Japanese features in competition. But 'Look Back,' released last year to near-universal acclaim (including from me), has already won many awards including, most recently, the Japan Academy Film Prize for best animated film.
Should the jury decide to highlight a lesser-known feature, my money is on 'Pelikan Blue,' an animated documentary from Hungary about young men who forged cross-border train tickets in the 1990s, when reforms began to allow for international travel but most Hungarians could not afford such trips. Animation was used in part so the subjects could retain their anonymity, but it also lends the film a rebellious, charming punk-rock tone.
'I'd describe the film as a 'cool documentary,'' said director Laszlo Csaki. 'You couldn't do something like this in the typical 'talking head' documentary style. I think animated documentary is the future.'