Anime & Manga News

International Animation Day in Kyoto and Hiroshima

by Panaru
Oct 19, 2008 2:16 AM | 12 Comments
International Animation Day 2008 is a celebration of animated works from all over the world. This year, Japan will be hosting these celebrations throughout the months of October and November in the cities of Kyoto and Hiroshima. The main events will be screenings of winning animated films from the International Animation Festival which was also in Hiroshima. Among previous winners of this festival is the renowned Osamu Tezuka who is the creator and director of Astro Boy, the author of Metropolis, and is referred to by many as “the father of anime" and "the god of manga".

The origins of International Animation Day go as far back as October 28th, 1892, when Emile Reynaud, a French inventor, presented the first public showing of animation. Later, an organization known as ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film d' Animation) was born in France, and later still, ASIFA branches were founded worldwide, including in Japan. ASIFA-Japan began celebrating International Animation Day in 2005.

This year, some of the works of animation that will be shown are “Mount Head”, by Koji Yamamura of Japan, “The Demon”, by Shin Hosokawa of Japan, “Guard Dog” by Bill Plympton of America, and “Fish Never Sleep” by Gaelle Denis of the United Kingdom. This is just a short list; the full program includes animated films from many more countries.

Some of these animators have already gone on to produce work for major broadcasting corporations. For example, Koji Yamamura has directed and animated a children’s series called “Karo and Piyobupt” for the NHK in Japan.

Source: International Animation Day 2008 Site
Source: Koji Yamamura - Anime in Metamorphosis
Source: Osamu Tezuka
Source: International Animation Festival in Hiroshima

12 Comments Recent Comments

Sweet stuff. Now if only I lived in Japan...

Oct 20, 2008 3:37 AM by Issun

Damn it, I read "Kyoto Animation" and thought it was Haruhi news. :|

Oct 19, 2008 2:36 PM by kuroshiroi

dtshyk said:
wow, the festival site in Kyoto is 20 min walk from my apartment.


LUCKY :O

I wish I could go, I bet it'll be awesomesauce~ >:3

Oct 19, 2008 8:01 AM by the_seventh_l

Sounds cool. I'll be looking forward to seeing who wins.

Oct 19, 2008 8:00 AM by ManU-Alchemist

freedoleen said:
Nice. I hope some of these animators will bring plenty of fresh ideas into the anime industry.


Yep, just what I thought. Didn't know there was a day like this.

Oct 19, 2008 3:53 AM by cyruz

Oh, to live in Japan. Sounds like some good stuff, hopefully I'll get to see some of their work eventually.

Oct 19, 2008 3:26 AM by Ustnap

Sounds fun, I'd love to go if I had the cash.

Oct 19, 2008 3:06 AM by PeanutSteak

...Wow, man. I really wish I had that kind of access. I'd love to see some of this stuff.

Oct 19, 2008 2:44 AM by Panaru

wow, the festival site in Kyoto is 20 min walk from my apartment.

Oct 19, 2008 2:34 AM by dtshyk

Nice. I hope some of these animators will bring plenty of fresh ideas into the anime industry.

Oct 19, 2008 2:31 AM by freedo-

Looks like some of the winners if they are new will be people to watch.

Oct 19, 2008 2:22 AM by animedreamer

This sounds awesome!
I'm going to have to see if I can't find some of the ones that won, and watch them :)

Oct 19, 2008 2:19 AM by Kineta

It’s time to ditch the text file.
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