COMPETITION

Arthur Binard was born in Michigan, USA. He won the Nakahara Chuya Prizein 2001 for Tsuriagetewa, his first collection of poetry in Japanese.The book was published in English under the title Catch and Release.His illustrated retelling of Hiroshima, Thus Spoke Dome, received theJapan Picture Book Prize Award in 2017. He translated Bob Dylan's　Forever Young into Japanese, and Jiro Takidaira's masterwork,　The Booyoo Tree, into English. His latest work is Mountain Stream　(Imajinsha Publishing), a picture book created with Koji Yamamura,　based on tale written a century ago by Kenji Miyazawa.

Born in Katsushika-ku, Tokyo. Sebu began composing at the age of four, and by age six, had decided to become a film score composer. As a student, she gained various opportunities as a performer at such events including the 1200th anniversary of the Heian Capital in Kyoto, and the Kyoto Conference on Global Warming ceremony. She then moved to France where she enrolled in the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris to study film composition and would later graduate with honors. Sebu started her career as a film score composer with Yoshida Koki’s {Family X} (2011) and remains in high demand today with offers coming in from numerous directors. Recent works as composer and music producer include Ishikawa Kei’s {Arc} (2021), Yoshida Keisuke’s {Intolerance} (2020), and Matsunaga Daishi’s upcoming {Pure Japanese} (2022). Sebu is also a performer who has made appearances in a Google Chrome ad and ISSEY MIYAKE Paris Fashion Week. She has also worked on arrangements for “Final Fantasy V11 Remake”. Her talent also shines through in her collaboration with artists such as Mr. Children and Moriyama Naotaro. She actively supports the younger generation through her lectures at Waseda University’s “Masters of Cinema” and The Film School of Tokyo.

Lives and works in Hiroshima City. Graduated from the Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts, majoring in animation. Currently Associate Professor at Hijiyama Junior College. Kidomodoki" (2013), filmed using the animation technique,pixilation, has been screened at Fantoche International Animation Film Festival (2020) and other festivals. Member of Japan Animation Association.

Born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1984. While studying in Keio University where she majored in Economics, she went to Seoul to study abroad. In 2005, she made a film debut by starring in the Korean film “One Shining Day” directed by Kim Sung-ho, followed by “Time” which was directed by Kim Ki-duk. In 2010, she produces and appeared in the feature film “hospitalité” directed by Koji Fukada won Best Film in the “Japanese Eyes” of the Tokyo International Film Festival after which the film was offered to screen at more than 100 film festivals around the world and has received great reviews. In 2011, Tokyo International Film Festival focused on Kiki Sugino in a special section called “The Muse of Asian Indie Cinema”. The 33rd Yokohama Film Festival and Osaka Cinema Festival 2012 gave her “Best Newcomer Award” and “Best New Actress Award”. After its world premiere in Busan International Film Festival 2012, her film “Odayaka” directed by Nobuteru Uchida went to International Film Festival Rotterdam, Tribeca Film Festival, and brought her the “New Creator & Actress Award” from Okinawa International Film Festival, and the “New Producer Award” from the Japanese Professional Movie Awards. Taipei International Film Festival 2013 had a program focusing on Kiki Sugino. In 2013, “Au Revoir l’ été” directed by Koji Fukada got Best Film Award at Nantes 3 continent FF. In 2014, she directed two films. Her first feature film “Kyoto Elegy” was shown at Tokyo International Film Festival. Second feature film “Taksu” was shown at Busan International Film Festival and she got the Rising Director Award. Her third directorial work is “Snow Woman” (2016), premiered at competition of Tokyo IFF in 2016 and won the Jury Prize at the QCinema IFF. She appears as main role of Bulgaria-Japan co-production film “A Picture with Yuki” by Luchezar Avramov (2019). She was also invited as a jury for Jeonju’12, Edinburgh’12, Tallinn’12, Taipei’13, Rotterdam’14 etc. Her goal is to become a filmmaker that transcends all boundaries.

Fujioka Asako has worked with Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival since 1993 as Coordinator, Director of Tokyo Office, and now serves on the Board of Directors. As head of Documentary Dream Center, she began organizing film workshops in various Asian destinations since 2009 and launched the retreat program Yamagata Documentary Dojo in 2018. She supports Japanese films liaison internationally, and aims to foster documentary, its makers and audiences through international exchange. She is producer of Nude at Heart (2021, dir: Okutani Yoichiro).

Born in 1991 on a small island in Japan. During her college years she went on an exchange program to the Rhode Island School of Design, which led her to discover independent animation. At the Graduate School of Film and Media, Tokyo University of the Arts, she created her graduation project, Chromosome Sweetheart(2017), which received a nomination at Frameline Film Festival and many other film festivals. After graduating, she worked as a research assistant for three years and also made her first film after graduation. The film, A Bite of Bone (2021) won the grand prize for short animation at the 45th edition of the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Began his own expressive activities in 1974 and evolved “hyper-dance,” emphasizing psycho-physical unity of the body. In 1978, he made his international debut at the Louvre. In the following decade, his avant-garde performances in former communist countries were highly recognized among cultural and intellectual pioneers of the time. Tanaka moved to the countryside in 1985 and has continued his dance activity based on farming to date. Since his first film appearance in 2002, he has continued expanding his scope of activities in moving images nationally and internationally. His documentary film “The Unnameable Dance,” directed by Isshin Inudo, is in theaters beginning January 28, 2022.
www.min-tanaka.com

Sarina Nihei is an animation director from Japan. Being obsessed with Estonian animation, she decided to pursue a career in animation. She is a graduate of London's Royal College of Art. Her graduation film from the RCA, 'Small People with Hats', won prizes at festivals around the world including the Grand Prize at Ottawa International Animation Festival. Specialising in hand-drawn animation, she makes music videos and short films.

Born in 1989. Artist. Taking as his motifs widely-recognized elements of visual culture, Harada Yuki pushes human physical, cognitive, and emotional boundaries to explore some of the viewpoints giving rise to the landscapes of the modern world. Major solo exhibitions include Waiting for (21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, 2021), and edited books include Essays on works and reception of Lassen in Japan (Film Art, Tokyo, 2013).

Born in 1980, Seoul. She graduated from Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts with her doctoral dissertation on social implications of art and media technologies, which was later published as A Critical History of Media Art in Japan, (Artes Publishing, 2014). Her recent publications include Seiko Mikami: A Critical Reader (NTT Publishing, 2019: co-editor), “Exhibition Spaces Emitting Light and Sound: Contemporary Art and Image Media” (2019), “The Operating Method of a Panoramic Imagination” (2020), Paik-Abe Correspondence (Nam June Paik Art Center, 2018: co-translator) and Koki Tanaka: Reflective Notes [Recent Writings] (Art Sonje Center + Bijutsu Shuppansha, 2020-21: co-translator). She is currently working as associate professor at the Department of Film and Media Studies, Kansai University, Japan.

"Artist, programmer, and DJ.
Launched Rhizomatiks in 2006. Specially-appointed professor at Keio University SFC.
Manabe’s works, which range into a variety of fields, takes a new approach to everyday materials and phenomena. However, his end goal is not simply rich, high-definition realism by recognizing and recombining these familiar elemental building blocks. Rather, his practice is informed by careful observation to discover and elucidate the essential potentialities inherent to the human body, data, programming, computers, and other phenomena, thus probing the interrelationships and boundaries delineating the analog and digital, real and virtual."

Nominated for an Oscar, "Mt. Head" had 6 grand prizes. He has been selected as the 2 place at 25 top short animated films directors over the last 25 years in 2021. He is only one grand prix winner in 4 major international animation festivals in the world. He was awarded the Kawakita Prize and Education Award for Fine Arts in Japan and received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2019.

"Born in 1958 in Shizuoka City, Japan. After graduating from Tama Art University with a major in Graphic Design in 1981, Shiriagari joined Kirin Brewery Company, Ltd. and worked on packaging design and advertisements.
In 1985, he debuted as a cartoonist with the book Ereki na Haru, receiving attention as a new type of gag cartoonist whose humor centers on parody.
Working independently since 1994, Shiriagari continues to release fantasy and literary series works and other works in a wide range of genres, including satirical four-panel comic strips for newspapers and long-form narrative manga, as well as underground manga. While continuing to release original work, in recent years he has expanded beyond manga into a variety of media, including video and art. "

Picturebook author, critic, translator, and curator. She has sat on the jury of the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB), and the Nami Concours. Her writings include "Japanese Picturebooks: 100 Years, 100 Illustrators, 100 Books", and the series "Picturebooks of Old Tales for Now" Vols. 1-11. Her translations into Japanese include "The Song of the Nightingale","The Toad goes", and "Loudly, Softly, in a Whisper". Lecturer of Rikkyo University, Musashino University. Former chief curator of Chihiro Art Museum Tokyo. JBBY vice president.

Born in Tokyo in 1989. Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Advanced Art Expression in 2015. In 2017, he completed the animation major at the same school. In 2020 he entered the doctoral program at the same graduate school. "RADIO WAVE" "AEON" "CASTLE" have won 18 awards and have been selected for over 120 film festivals.

Born in 1956, Florence graduated from the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs with a specialization in engraving. She began her professional career as a layout artist for the press and exhibited drawings and engravings.
In 1991, she directed her first short film Hammam. Since then, she has imposed a very personal style on animated films. She makes her films with paint, pastel or sand, directly under the camera, using a covering process.
Her work has been noticed in various festivals in France and abroad. In particular, she received the César for the best short film in 2002 for Au premier dimanche d’août, a special mention at the Cannes Festival in 2006 for Conte de Quartier and in 2015 she received a Cristal d’honneur at the 39th Annecy International Animation Film Festival for her body of work. She has wor- ked as a teacher in various animation schools: Les Gobelins, ENSAD, La Poudrière, etc. and continues to work as a visual artist in parallel with her directing.
Most of her films were written in collaboration with the writer Marie Desplechin.
Their feature film The Crossing won the best screenplay award at the Festival Premiers Plans in Angers in 2010 and was the sub- ject of an exhibition at Fontevraud Abbey. In 2017 the film received the Gan Foundation for Cinema Special Award.

Chris Robinson is a Canadian writer and author. He is also the Artistic Director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) and is a well-known figure in the animated film world and was recently given the 2020 award for Outstanding Contribution to Animation Studies by the World Festival of Animation Film - Animafest Zagreb. Most recently he received the Rene Jodoin Prize for his contribution to Canadian animation.
Robinson has been called “one of the stylistically most original and most provocative experts in the history of animation. He made a name for himself with a unique and eclectic magazine column Animation Pimp, which became a book of the same name (the column was later renamed into Cheer and Loathing in Animation).
Mastering different methods and styles in critical and scholarly approaches, Robinson covers a broad range of Canadian and global subject matters in his books Estonian Animation: Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy, Unsung Heroes of Animation, Canadian Animation: Looking for a Place to Happen, Ballad of a Thin Man: In Search of Ryan Larkin, Animators Unearthed, Japanese Animation: Time out of Mind and Mad Eyed Misfits: Writings on Indie Animation
In addition to his writing on animation, Robinson also wrote the Award-winning animated short, Lipsett Diaries (2010) directed by Theodore Ushev.
Currently, Robinson is writing a book on collage animation and is working with German artist, Andreas Hykade on My Balls Are Killing Me, a graphic novel about his experience with cancer. He is also collaborating with Theodore Ushev on a live-action feature film, Drivin’.

An independent Taiwan animation director whose works often explore the dark side of human nature and are filled with horror and suspense. His films have captured attention in many international film festivals. Meat Days (2006) was nominated in the Pusan International and Hiroshima Animation Film Festivals. The Present (2014) was nominated for the Sundance Film Festival and was awarded Best Animated Short Film at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. He collaborated in the production of No. 7 Cherry Lane (2019) which won Best Screenplay at the Venice International Film Festival. Night Bus (2020) was awarded Best Animated Short Film at Sundance Film Festival, Grand Prix Best Short Film at Animafest Zagreb, received Public Prize at Ottawa International Animation Film Festival and was nominated for Best Short Subject at the Annie Awards.