We’re two months away from the inaugural Niigata International Animation Film Festival (NIAFF), and organizers have unveiled the films that will screen in competition at the first-ever edition of the Japanese festival.
Niigata was established as an annual event dedicated to elevating animated features from around the world. This first competition lineup fits well into that mold, including films from a diverse group of countries:
- Vampire in the Garden The Movie, Ryôtarô Makihara (Japan)
- Khamsa – the Well of Oblivion, Vynom (Algeria)
- Oink, Mascha Halberstad (Netherlands)
- Little Nicolas – Happy as Can Be, Amandine Fredon, Benjamin Massoubre (France)
- Even Mice Belong in Heaven, Denisa Grimmová, Jan Bubeníče (Czechia, France, Poland, Slovakia)
- Opal, Alan Bidard (Martinique, France)
- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, Pierre Földes (France, Canada, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
- Thee Wreckers Tetralogy, Rosto (Netherlands, France, Japan)
- Unicorn Wars, Alberto Vázquez (Spain, France, Japan)
- When You Get To The Forest, Eric Power (U.S.)
The 10 films were selected from 21 submitted works hailing from 15 countries. Including minority producers, 12 countries are represented in the competition lineup.