Shinichiro Watanabe, Shuhei Morita’s Original Anime Shorts Headline 1st Niigata International Animation Film Festival

 

In yet another get for the first Niigata International Animation Film Festival, the upcoming event revealed today that they will be holding the Asian premiere for two short anime films from two of Japan’s most celebrated directors as the opening presentation for the festival. 

 

Shinichiro Watanabe’s 20-minute original anime short A Girl meets A Boy and A Robot and Shuhei Morita’s original animation Root will be featured on the first day of the event with a talk to be held with both directors after the screenings. 

 

Both films were made as part of the worldwide animation project TAISU project which sees four creators producing four animated films representing Japan, China and New Zealand. All films are connected by the cosmic element TAISU with all four animated films showing hope and love in four different eras. A Girl meets A Boy and A Robot had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2022 and was described by the festival as such:

 

A girl without memory wanders the ruined wastes of the world that once was, where the remnants of automated technology blindly continue to function despite their human masters being (almost) all gone. She comes across a friendly but likewise amnesiac robot, and the two travel into the city, where they meet a brave youth living a feral existence. He seeks the Crystal of Time, to connect with the forgotten past, but unbeknownst to all the forlorn trio, the truth is right there among them.
 

 

 

RELATED: Katsuhiro Otomo’s Unmade Domu Live-action Film Pilot Clip to be Screened in Niigata

 

The first Niigata International Animation Film Festival is scheduled to be held at Niigata Shimin Plaza (Chuo-ku, Niigata City) and other venues from March 17 to 22, 2023. 

 

Source: Mantan Web

 

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Daryl Harding is a Senior Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.