Feb 19, 2024

Yoshiyuki Tomino of "Gundam" fame to be guest speaker at 2024 Niigata International Animation Festival

The Niigata International Animation Festival will hold its second edition on March 15.

This year's NIAFF will invite writer/director Yoshiyuki Tomino, known for creating the Gundam anime series, as guest of honor and will screen his 1988 masterpiece "Mobile Suit Gundam: Char of the Counterattack". Mr. Tomino will attend the festival and deliver a keynote speech.

Tomino began his animation career in 1964 as a production assistant at Mushi Productions. He later rose through the ranks, storyboarding and writing screenplays for "Astro Boy," before becoming a freelance animator. Over the past 60 years, Tomino has worked on a number of iconic franchises, including "Triton of the Sea," "Invincible Superhero Zambot 3," "Mobile Suit Gundam," and "Space Runaway Ideon. His most recent work was the screenplay for Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM, which was released theatrically in Japan earlier this year.

NIAFF was launched last year as an event to introduce feature-length animation from around the world to Japan. This year's competition lineup reflects that purpose with the following 12 films:

These 12 films were selected from among 49 submissions. This is a significant increase from last year, when 10 feature-length films were screened from 21 submissions. The jury included Yoshihiko Yatabe (former programming director of the Tokyo International Film Festival), Ryota Fujitsu (animation critic), Akiko Sugawa (professor at Yokohama National University and president of the Japan Society of Animation Studies), and Hozumi Yano (director of "Honekami").

This year's festival competition jury included Academy Award nominated director Nora Toomey ("The Breadwinner"), Michael Fukushima (producer of "As Affairs of the Art"), Yuichiro Saito ("MIRAI") producer), among others.

NIAFF Program Director Sunao Sudo said of this year's lineup:

The lineup is more diverse than last year, not only in terms of culture, but also in terms of production and expression. Some of the works did not fit into the conventional concept of animation, and the selection committee had a lively discussion on "What is animation?" was actively discussed. The competition is dedicated to feature-length films, and the selection committee focused on the festival's goals of "excellence in visuals," "excellence in storytelling," and "realization of diversity."

While we were able to expand the competition from 10 films last year to 12, there were a number of films that the selection committee was saddened that we were unable to include. These films were carefully selected and NIAFF is proud to present them to you. We are confident that by coming to Niigata, you will be able to catch a glimpse of the current state of animation production around the world.

Please visit the festival website for more information, including all the films in the Out-of-Competition section.