Japan’s Niigata International Animation Film Festival (NIAFF) has announced 12 feature films that have been confirmed for the competition from 14 different countries.
The festival received 69 entries from 28 countries and regions, a majority of them being from Latin America and Middle East. The films incorporated diverse approaches in animation – fusion of rotoscoping and digital technologies, AI, traditional timelapse photography and stop-motion animation.
The films selected for the competition are:
- Balentes
- Clarice’s Dream
- Ghost Cat Anzu
- Living Large
- Look Back
- Memoir of a Snail
- Olivia & The Clouds
- Papercuts: My Life as an Indie Animator
- Pelikan Blue
- Pig That Survived Foot-And-Mouth Disease
- The Worlds Divide
- They Shot the Piano Player
NIAFF has announced the names of the three jury members who will evaluate the 12 nominated films for the festival’s awards. Spanish film producer Manuel Cristóbal, who is also an Annecy International Animation Film Festival-award winner, is the head of the jury. Other two members are American animator Christine Panushka and Japanese stop-motion producer Noriko Matsumoto.
The festival’s awards ceremony is scheduled from 15 to 20 March in the city of Niigata, Niigata Prefecture in Japan.