When Adam Changes, a Canadian animated film about an awkward teenager in suburban Quebec, won the Grand Prix at the Niigata International Animation Film Festival (NIAFF).
The festival, now in its second year, ran from March 15-20 in Niigata, a port city two hours north of Tokyo.
Written and directed by Joël Vaudreuil, When Adam Changes premiered at last year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. “Coming here and meeting so many people, and being able to meet and talk with the other competition directors was a gift in itself,” said Vaudreuil, acceping the award at NIAFF’s closing ceremony.
NIAFF jury head Nora Twomey, Cartoon Saloon co-founder and director, described the film as “a magical drama [created] out of seemingly small events”.
The winner of the festival’s Kabuku award, given to a work “that is not constrained by conventional values,” was the Japanese title maboroshi, directed by Mari Okada. The film debuted in Japanese cinemas last year and on Netflix internationally in January. Twomey praised the film for “elevating the coming-of-age genre to new heights”.
The Evolve award went to French film Mars Express, directed by Jérémie Périn, while honourable mention went to Leonardo da Vinci biopic The Inventor, directed by Jim Capobianco and Pierre-Luc Granjon.
The competition section featured 12 feature films from 11 countries. Twomey’s fellow jurors were animator Michael Fukushima and producer Yuichiro Saito.
The festival’s Hiroshi Okawa and Koji Fukiya awards, named after pioneers of Japanese animation born in Niigata, were announced prior to the festival.
The Hiroshi Okada award went to Japanese animation studio CLAP, best known for 2020 feature Pompo The Cinephile. The Koji Fukiya prize was awarded to three individuals: art director Kazuki Higashiji (maboroshi), animation director Takeshi Honda (The Boy And The Heron) and screenwriter Miho Maruo (The Lonely Castle In The Mirror).
Takahata retrospective
As well as screening recent animated films from Japan and elsewhere, this year’s NIAFF dedicated its retrospective section to the late Isao Takahata, who died in 2018.
The retrospective included all of the Studio Ghibli co-founder’s animated feature films, including 1988’s Grave Of The Fireflies and his final film, 2013’s The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya, as well as selected TV episodes. Pre- and post-screening talks featured animators who worked alongside Takahata in addition to his widow and daughter.
The festival opened with the world premiere of Shigeyoshi Tsukahara’s Kuramerukagari, which is set for release in Japan on April 12 alongside companion title Kurayukaba. That film, also directed by Tsukahara, played in the festival’s competition section.
Filmmakers who gave talks at the festival included the three competition jury members as well as directors Sunao Katabuchi (In This Corner Of The World), Masaaki Yuasa (Inu-Oh), Kenji Iwaisawa (On-Gaku: Our Sound) and Yoshiyuki Tomino (Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack).
In his talk, Tomino encouraged young filmmakers to create films that “surpass those of [Hayao] Miyazaki,” referencing the Oscar-winning director of The Boy And The Heron.
NIAFF also hosted 40 animation students and young animators from Japan and around Asia for its Niigata Animation Camp, which featured masterclasses from the jury members as well as directors Chiara Malta and Sebastien Laudenbach (Chicken For Linda!) and Christoph Terhechte, artistic director of Leipzig Documentary Film Festival.
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