The Hiroshima Animation festival was great, as well as being a bit of a blur. It was interesting seeing so many animation, over 200, during the four days that I was there. There was a variety of work from all over the world, although there seemed to be a larger number of work from Eastern Europe, and surprisingly few from the hosting country of Japan. I really enjoyed a talk by Paul Driessen(Dutch/Canadian Animator)…
…one thing he mentioned about his work is that he viewed everything as an experiment. I found this idea to be incredibly freeing, especially in my own work, to let go and explore an idea or technique. This idea carried through the entire festival for me. The shorts that really grabbed my attention were ones that didnt necessarily have any kind of conclusion, but showed something honest from the artist, as well as playfull exploration.
A few I really enjoyed were;
Rain Down From Above – youtube link
Ivan Maksimov(Russia)
The Tourists – direct download link
Malcolm Sutherland(Canada)
Le Loup Blanc (The White Wolf) – youtube trailer link
Pierre-Luc Granjon(France)
I was lucky enough to participate in the Frame-In event. It was basically an open theater that people could show their work and answer questions from the audience.
Here is a photo of our motley-crew of animators from the Kyoto University of Art and Design.
