Making the most of the animation festival

Provided you have ever enjoyed an animated film (and who hasn’t?) at least a cameo appearance at this event should be on your itinerary for this week. After all, it’s not every day an international film festival comes to town. More precisely, it’s only once every two years. Making sense of the exhaustive programme, however, is daunting. When to go? What to see? How can I get the theme tune from Ponyo out of my head? Fear not, we are here to help. For answers to the first two questions, simply follow our easy day-by-day guide. For the last one, no known cure exists. Please send any suggestions to the usual address.

Daily recommendations

Thursday, August 7:

• Cinderella
  9:15 am, Grand Hall

  In the year that Disney returned to hand-drawn animation with the lovely Enchanted, here is a rare chance to catch the undiluted, feature-length magic of yore. The 1950 classic Cinderella opens this year’s festival. Bring your own tiara and tissues.

  
  
  

This is by far the most promising day in the programme. If you have to choose one day out of the five, this would be the day to get a day pass.

• Night on the Galactic Railroad (Ginga tetsudou no yoru)
  11:30 am, Medium Hall

  Those of a philosophical bent should check this 1985 Japanese animation, shown with English subtitles. Directed by Gisaburo Sugii, one of this year’s panel of judges, it’s based on a novel by Kenji Miyazawa, and caused somewhat of a stir when it came out as it depicted the main characters of this cherished work as cats. Rest assured, however, for these are the thinking man’s cats. Watch as they ponder the nature of existence and look out for lots of Esperanto in this film, an homage to Miyazawa’s interest in the language.

  
  
  

• Retrospective and seminar: Paul Driessen
  11:45 am, Grand Hall

  This Dutch-born Canadian resident is this year’s International Honorary President, so this is a great chance to see the man himself as well as his back catalogue. His impressive CV includes The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, and the short film 3 Misses, which was nominated for an Oscar. Much like the man himself, his shorts are colourful and charming. However, there is often a delightfully surreal and dark heart to his little tales of wonder.

  
  
  

• Screening and seminar: Presto
  4:45 pm, Medium Hall

  To sweeten the wait for Pixar’s Wall-E, we are treated to the Asian premiere of the short film that runs before it, along with a talk by director Doug Sweetland and associate producer Jay Ward. Sweetland has worked as an animator on Every Single Pixar Feature Ever, which clearly makes him tantamount to God. Come hear God speak Friday afternoon. Other faiths are available.

• Finding Nemo
  9:45 am, Grand Hall

  And while we are on the topic of Pixar, bring any children and enjoy what is often regarded as the best of the bunch (although I prefer Toy Story myself) on the big screen. After, take them along to

• Animation for children
  All day, Medium Hall

  Animation is often wrongfully regarded as an exclusive domain of children's entertainment, but many films shown at this festival will give your offspring nightmares. Rejoice then at this event made for your babies.

• Retrospective and seminar: Osamu Tezuka
  1:45 pm, Grand Hall

  There are famous last words and there are famous last words. For sheer pathos, it’s hard to beat, “I’m begging you, let me work!” said by Hayao Miyazaki’s idol and the greatest animator of them all before he died at 60. Himself inspired by Disney, Osamu Tezuka is considered the creator of manga and anime as we know it, creating the classic Astro Boy as well as Kimba (later Leo) the Lion which, in turn, inspired Disney’s The Lion King. Episodes of both series will be screened here, along with other works from his incredibly prolific and varied career. Unfortunately they do not have English subtitles, nor will the subsequent talk be interpreted. Do not let this deter you. As unmissable as the man himself is missed.

Japanese animation today
11:15 am, Medium Hall

On this last day, take a look at what modern Japanese animation has to offer. Japan has by far the largest animation industry in the world. Feature film anime spans all genres, from the strange, dreamy and sexy world of Satoshi Kon to the, well, strange, dreamy and blockbustery world of Hayao Miyazaki. Some 80% of all cartoons shown on TV worldwide are Japanese. At the same time, modern technology is making it easier than ever for budding filmmakers to make their debut. Expect weird and wonderful things from this round-up.

• Festival competition screenings
  6:30 pm Thursday, 6:45 pm Friday – Sunday. Winners screened Monday evening. All in the Grand Hall.

For the curious, the daily screenings of new animated short films from around the world can’t be recommended enough. Here is a chance to catch some real gems. Past years have included shorts by the aforementioned Driessen and Tezuka, as well as Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park and Belleville Rendez-Vous Sylvain Chomet. Watch the greats of today and tomorrow, and decide on your own favourites. Check the festival website for details.

Finally, the best advice is to just explore. The website, which is constantly updated with more and more exhaustive information, and the event itself. There is a real Slavonic slant this year, with special features on Russian, Bulgarian and Polish animation. There is a comprehensive look at Finnish animation. There is a documentary about the first animated feature ever. There is plenty to keep you more than happy. Plenty to keep you occupied enough, even, to forget that Ponyo song. There. Answered all three questions after all.

More details about the animation festival on GetHiroshima here and look out for updates from the festival by Sofie on the GetHiroshima Blog.