“Women Make Animation” Programme to Screen 15 Shorts from Japan: Free Online Event
Skwigly
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, WOW Women’s Film Club invited Eiko Meredith, the director of Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival, to hand-pick a selection of animated shorts crafted by up-and-coming female animators working in Japan, and to organise an online Creative Workshop by Japanese animator and illustrator Chie Arai.
You can watch online for FREE using the WOW Film Festival platform via: https://bit.ly/3qcELLt
Nekoze Kansatsuki (Hikari Yamashita)
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘choose to challenge’, so the Kotatsu Festival team have brought together a number of works by up-and-coming female film-makers, all of which are family-friendly and are rated U or PG.
Among the films that will be screened online are some from students of Tokyo Zokei University’s animation course such as “To Bee Continued” by Aki Ezure, the bizarre bee-filled story about a young woman learning to be brave.
Also screening are some animation from the Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media Department, including the award-winning “Bath House of Whales” by Mizuki Kiyama, a short animation using a paint-on-glass technique which details a young girl’s visit to a neighbourhood bath house with her mother.
Independent animators are also well represented with the award-winning “Good Night” about two warring siblings, and directed by Makiko Nanke, who is herself a mother to three children. There are also shorts by Arisa Wakami, an animator who uses a variety of materials, such as sand, to tell stories. One film which is particularly relevant to our times is “Mommy”, a music video inspired by the relationship between a mother and her daughter; a theme that has become increasingly relevant as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep people at home.
Short Film Programme
- Dress Flowery (Hikari Haruta)
- tiny world (Yuri Matsumoto)
- OUT OF THE BOX (Hwang Dasom)
- blue dog (Ji Zhaoqi)
- to bee continued (Aki Ezure)
- It is love (Akiho Shimizu)
- nekoze kansatsuki (Hikari Yamashita)
- Blessing 0-5 (Arisa Wakami)
- Mommy (Yusio+Arisa Wakami)
- Turtle’s Strol (Minori Matsuoka)
- While You Sleep (Kano Ikeda)
- Indoor Days (Asaki Nishino)
- House Rattler (Shinobu Soejima)
- Bath House of Whales (Mizuki Kiyama)
- Good Night (Makiko Nanke)
All of these heart-warming films are fun for all ages and can be viewed by all family members. The films will all be available to watch live via the Eventive website on March 13th, and they will remain viewable for a week.