

Niigata Int’l Animation Festival Announces 12 Features In Competition
The Niigata International Animation Film Festival (NIAFF), a festival dedicated exclusively to animated features, has announced the selections for its third edition, set to take place March 15-20 in Niigata, Japan.
Twelve films from 14 countries will screen in competition. The films were selected from 69 entries representing 28 countries and regions. The following films are in competition:
- Balentes, Giovanni Columbu (Italy)
- Clarice’s Dream Guto Bicalho, Fernando Gutierrez (Brazil)
- Ghost Cat Anzu, Yoko Kuno, Nobuhiro Yamashita (Japan)
- Living Large, Kristina Dufková (Czech Republic)
- Look Back, Kiyotaka Oshiyama (Japan)
- Memoir of a Snail, Adam Elliot (Australia)
- Olivia & The Clouds, Tomás Pichardo Espaillat (Dominican Republic)
- Papercuts: My Life as an Indie Animator, Eric Power (U.S.)
- Pelikan Blue, László Csáki (Hungary)
- Pig That Survived Foot-And-Mouth Disease, Bum-wook Hur (South Korea)
- The Worlds Divide, Denver Jackson (Canada)
- They Shot the Piano Player, Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal (Spain/France/Netherlands/Portugal)
Festival organizers noted a large number of entries from Latin America and the Middle East, adding that, “While many works actively incorporated new methods, such as the fusion of rotoscoping and digital technologies as well as the use of AI, traditional timelapse photography or stop-motion animation also seem to be favored among the creators, signifying the diversification of approaches in creating animation.”
A jury of three people has also been announced: Spanish film producer Manuel Cristóbal (who will also be head of jury), American filmmaker and teacher Christine Panushka, and Japanese stop-motion producer Noriko Matsumoto (Domo-kun, Rilakkuma).
In addition to the competition screenings, the festival is planning a major retrospective on Satoshi Kon, which will not only screen films that he directed like Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers, but also works in which he contributed as a key animator, including Patlabor 2: The Movie, Memories, and Run Melos! Discussion with colleagues who worked with Kon will round out the retrospective program.
For more information on the festival and tickets, visit the event’s website.
Pictured at top, l-to-r: Balentes, Papercuts: My Life as an Indie Animator, Pelikan Blue.