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Hi all.
Our 3rd day at Itscom Hall in Futako Tamagawa began with the KIDS Program with a good turnout of very young short animation fans & they were treated to a Q&A with 2 creators after the screening.

1st was director Anna Yamamoto for her film “Eyeball.” This surreal journey of an eyeball going through life in a trippy tropical land is very strange, funny & deep. It manages to be very distinctly Japanese & very playful with unique characters & atmosphere. The story is loosely based on an Okinawa folktale & was a popular film in this program.

Our 2nd guest from this program was director Natsuki Kida for her film “Live & Bell – Bell’s Long Thin Friend.” This is the 8th in a series she has created for Japan’s public broadcast channel, she told us that it takes about 8 months to complete 1 episode of this paper cutout, stop-motion anime which runs about 5 minutes long. She’s already completed #9 & looking forward already to getting starting on a commemorative 10th episode.

Our next program was the Asia International & Japan Program – 10 which featured films from Iran, India, & Japan.
For the Japan film “Summer Ends,” writer & director Yuka Doi came out with her actor, Rina Ono & producer Kotoha Hiroyama. The film was part of a project by FELLOWS, a creator’s management & support company. Producer Hiroyama told the audience that Yuka’s script was chosen out of many applicants & was quite pleased with the result. Yuka & her actor Rina are of the same young age & have know each other for some time & Rina told us she was very happy that Yuka wanted her to play the part of a young woman who had fought with her stoic father, a “hanabi” craftsman & returns home as part of a documentary crew to interview her father.

Next up was director Ryotaro Nishi for his film “Jūdenchu” with his two lead actors Kyoya Honda & Riko Nagai. A very interesting sci-fi story about a young man who charges his body through a plug in his navel. He told the audience he was very lucky to find an amusement park to film the key final scenes after the 1st park suddenly cancelled out.

We were very fortunate & proud to hook-up via internet with co-directors Nuria Munoz-Ortin & Eva Libertad for their wonderful film “Deaf.” Eva told us that Miriam Garlo who plays “Angela,” a deaf, pregnant wife who has doubts & fears because of her deafness is actually her sister so we were able to see a very real film about how a deaf woman confronts & overcomes her fears. They are now in the writing & development stage of a feature film of this story. Excellent.
This program also had a Special Screening of “Junior,” a short film directed by director Julia Ducournau who won the Palme D’or at this year’s Cannes FF for the excellent “Titane.”
We had 2 sets of guests for our final program, Asia International & Japan Program – 11.
Director Hisato Michigami came out to represent “A Strand of Regret,” a pignant, heart-warming story about a young boy who regrets the “mischief” he played on his grandfather before he died. The boy is finally able to face his Grandfather as he lies in state at the funeral & relieve his guilt. Hisato arrived from Sapporo where he lives earlier today & came right put to the venue to participate. Thanks Hisato!

Our final guests were the 2 producers of the WOWOW project, Actor’s Short Film which is in its 2nd year of production where they invite actors to direct a short film that has to be shot in 2 days, the actors themselves have to make an appearance in the film, & they all have the same budget to work with. Popular actor Eita Nagayama directed “Gratitude” which starred Japanese acting great Kōji Yakusho as a disenchanted, embittered, suicidal man in the Covid world. The strength of Yakusho’s performance is intense in a way that you don’t see too much in short films. The producers told us there was always a lot of discussion & communicating between director & actor to draw out a very fine performance. Excellent.

So our 3rd day here at Itscom Hall in Futako Tamagawa had very strong weekend turnouts & guests to participate in our post-screening Q&A’s.
Screenings starts on our final day tomorrow, Sunday 10/19, with Animation Program 3, followed by Non-Fiction 3, & the final program of the festival in a live venue, Asia International & Japan Program 12.
Last chance to see the short films on a big screen with excellent sound so hope to see you there.

See-ya
DJ John