Thinking and Drawing: Japanese Art Animation of the New Millennium
2005 · 86m · Animation
The walls of video rental shops in Japan are lined with hundreds upon hundreds of animation DVDs, but experimental and art animation on DVD are rare. To remedy this situation, Image Forum put together this showcase of the work of contemporary avant-garde animators trained in Kyoto and Tokyo.
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Corner
2022
The corner of a street is matched and mixed with the chant of a bird recorded on that same street. A symbiotic relationship is triggered: the rapid and successively repetitive montage cuts between the image of the street and the corners of the video frame itself produce new textures and shapes in our brain, whilst the sound follows the same rhythmic movements by emphasizing different “corners” (frequencies) from the bird’s singing. The energetic potency stemming from the junction of these elements creates a new image that is almost tactitle, maleable and rippling. The result is a somewhat humorous operation of the portuguese word "corner" throughout the different stages of making the piece, finally unveiling a piercing physical and kinetic experience for all the corners of our eyes and ears.
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2017 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animation
2017 · ★ 7.1
A collection of the animated short films nominated for the 2017 Academy Awards. 1. Blind Vaysha ("Vaysha l'aveugle", Canada, 8') 2. Borrowed Time (US, 7') 3. Pear Cider and Cigarettes (Canada/UK, 35') 4. Pearl (US, 6') 5. Piper (US, 6')
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Genji Fantasy: The Cat Fell in Love With Hikaru Genji
2019
The Tale of Genji Museum in Uji City, Kyoto will be airing a short film blending history and fantasy, the story follows a modern high school girl named Hana who is transformed into a cat and transported back in time. She travels 1,000 years ago to the Heian Era as portrayed in The Tale Of Genji, arguably the most famous novel in Japanese literature. Guided by the novel's titular character Hikaru Genji, Hana experiences firsthand the emotions that the author Murasaki Shikibu depicted in her novel. The short features scenes based on The Diary of Lady Murasaki and other historical materials, such as the real-life noble Fujiwara no Michinaga swiping early drafts of The Tale Of Genji because he could not wait to read chapters as Murasaki wrote them.
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Paprika
2006 · ★ 7.8
Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from merging the dream and waking worlds.
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Shibuya Vernacular
2018 · ★ 4
A four-dimensional short anime will start at the very beginning of Shibuya Crossing, that is, 10,000 years in the past. The anime is part of a collaborative project helmed by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya. It features a hybrid of animation and live-action. The short was screened on Shibuya's Crossing screens and a YouTube-friendly version was posted as well. (Source: ANN)
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Impressions from the Upper Atmosphere
1989 · ★ 6
Sistiaga painted directly on 70mm film a circular (planetary?) form, around which dance shifting colours in a psychedelic acceleration matched by the soundtrack’s deep-space roar and howl. - Cinema Scope
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7362
1967 · ★ 7.8
7362 is concerned with dividing and joining together. It begins with two black circles against a white background, knocking together and gradually moving further apart. The circles fade out, and return as white circles against black inside a square. Images similar to Rorschach blots appear. Gradually the viewer realizes that the images were not originally abstract, but were human forms (dancers, gymnasts, etc.), bridges, and others that have been split down the center of the frame, with their mirror images printed on either side of the split. Red, green, and white tints further abstract the images from their original foundations in the natural world, making dancers appear to be amoebas or dividing cells. The accompanying sound track is a mixture of electronic music and musique concrète ("real" recorded sounds manipulated to sound abstract).
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Vittorio
1971
Made as part of a Triton Gallery show to publicize the poster art of Canadian artist Vittorio Fiorucci, filmmaker Wakefield Poole cut apart posters and hand-animated the film using his 8mm camera to create stop-motion. The film was combined with dancers, lighting and projections to create an innovative gallery show.
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The Bomb
2017 · ★ 7
Filmmakers use archival footage and animation to explore the culture surrounding nuclear weapons, the fascination they inspire and the perverse appeal they still exert.
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Minions: 3 Mini-Movie Collection
2016 · ★ 6.7
The Minions are back along with some new friends in three hilariously fun short films: Competition, Cro Minion, and Binky Nelson Unpacified.
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Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
1999 · ★ 7.4
A member of an elite paramilitary counter-terrorism unit becomes traumatized after witnessing the suicide bombing of a young girl and is forced to undergo retraining. However, unbeknownst to him, he becomes a key player in a dispute between rival police divisions, as he finds himself increasingly involved with the sister of the girl he saw die.
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