by It has been announced that the 3rd Niigata International Animation Film Festival, which will be held from March 15th to 20th, will include a talk event with creators, including Niigata-born animation director Tatsuyuki Nagai.
As one of the largest film festivals in Asia and the first in the world to focus on feature-length animation, the festival has produced many manga and anime creators.
The “Global Trends” program, which showcases the cutting edge of animation around the world, will screen films such as “Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama,” a Japanese-Indian co-production by Sasaki Koichi and Mohan Ram, “The Umbrella Girl: A Tale of Spirits” directed by Shen Jie, “Lion Boy” directed by Song Haipeng, “In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World” released by Katabuchi Sunao in 2019, “Salim” by Cynthia Madanat Sharaiha, “Ongaku” directed by Iwaizawa Kenji, “The Murder of Hana and Alice” by Iwai Shunji, and “Rock Bottom” by Maria Trenor. In addition, under the theme of “Niigata and Animation,” director Yoshiura Yasuhiro’s “Let Me Hear Your Song,” Nagai’s 2019 work “Her Blue Sky,” and Tada Shunsuke’s “Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These” will be shown on the screen.
There will also be a talk event featuring Yoshiura and sound director Iwanami Miwa from “Let Me Hear Your Song,” Nagai from “Her Blue Sky,” executive producer Gunji Mikio from “Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These,” and director and IG Niigata Studio chief Komurakata Koji from “The Current Location of Project REKKA 2025,” which will reveal the latest visuals and materials from the original video project “REKKA.”
Itano Ichiro, who worked on the original concept for the work, director Konaka Kazuya, and director Ao Naoki are scheduled to participate. The Okawa Hiroshi Award and Fukiya Koji Award, which honor the achievements of technical staff in the animation field, have also been announced.
The Okawa Hiroshi Award, given to an innovative studio, went to Shin-Ei Animation, known for such works as “Totto-chan: The Little Girl Who Lives at the Window,” “Bakeneko Anzu-chan,” and “Tobidase! Narase! Pui Pui Molcar.” The Fukiya Koji Award went to Oshiyama Kiyotaka and Inoue Toshiyuki, who were responsible for the illustrations of “Look Back,” and Kimura Eriko, the sound director known for “Dandadan,” and Hayashi Yuki, who composed the music for the “My Hero Academia” and “Haikyu!!” series. The 3rd Niigata International Animation Film Festival March 15th (Sat) – 20th (Thu, holiday), 2025
