I will be participating in a screening and talk program at the Sendai Short Film Festival 2025, which is organized by a group of volunteers, mainly working adults and students from Sendai City!

September 20th, 13:45 – 15:45 | Program B: “Looking to the Future from Animation”
https://www.shortpiece.com/B.php

This program will feature three films by director Ryo Hirano and two films by director Sakichi Watanabe. What do we see in these mysterious worlds? For those aspiring to create animation, a talk session will be held after the screening where we will dive deeply into the world of animation, listening to and learning about the behind-the-scenes stories of the creation process from both directors.

Films to be screened:

Ryo Hirano

• “The Kappa’s Arm”
• “Holiday”
• “Paradise”

Sakichi Watanabe

• “The Princess of Raspberry Jam #1”
• “Tulip-chan”

There will be a talk with Director Sakichi Watanabe to delve into the world of animation! I am really looking forward to it. I don’t often have screenings of my student works, so if you are in the area, please come and join us. I will be participating online!!

A short animation film “KRASUE (2021)” will be screened and exhibited at “14th Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions” under the theme of “AFTER THE SPECTACLES”.

The pandemic, an event that none of us had ever experienced before, has caused significant changes in everyday life. The visual media that are increasingly penetrating our daily routine, have become familiar tools for reflecting the various transformations in the realms of society, politics, economics and culture.
In this day and age, easy access to visual media on multiple levels and dimensions, through communication on social media platforms in particular, has made information on any kind of event – be it a festive occasion, a war or a natural disaster – come across as a spectacle of sorts.*

The term “spectacle” is commonly used for describing a magnificent landscape or scenery, and often also some kind of show event. Being partly an optical technical term, the original Latin word “spectaculum” referred at once to such extraordinary natural occurrences as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. With the emergence of modern states in the 19th century, our perception of natural disasters was transformed by expositions, photographs and movies, through visual recreations of such events as great spectacles and magnificent sights.
Themed “After the Spectacle,” the 14th edition of the Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions examines the history of the (moving) image and expositions from the 19th and 20th century up to the present. In addition to displays and screenings of pieces by contemporary artists, and related events, the program was expanded with the aim to further explore the possibilities of visual media. Among others, this time it encompasses a project in which guest curator Kohara Masashi links documents related to the history of expositions to the museum’s own collection; an online movie project by the up-and-coming filmmaker Endo Maiko; and educational programs aimed to connect visitors to a rather broad range of works.

☝️I also created the character design and GIFs for “yebizo-kun,” the character that will adorn the film festival!

Dates: February 4 (Fri.) – February 20 (Sun.), 2022, 10:00 – 20:00 (until 18:00 on the last day)
The museum will be closed on February 7 (Mon.) and 14 (Mon.).
Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Yebisu Garden Place, Center Plaza, and other locations in collaboration with local communities
Official website:https://www.yebizo.com/en/

In addition to the short animated film “KRASUE”, a giant “KRASUE” air doll and other materials used in the production of the animation will be on display.
There are also headphones available for viewing. Please take this opportunity to see it!

KRASUE (2021) 予告編