I thought covering this year's animation festival might be intimidating due to my sparse knowledge of animation and the presence of filmakers of the calibre of Richard Williams of Roger Rabbit fame, experimental animator Paul Bush and Sylvain Chomet- the man behind the brilliant feature length animated film (Academy award nominated) Triplets of Belleville. Chatting with a jet-lagged Chomet in the lobby on the first day, however, I was relieved to discover that he doesn't take himself too seriously. When he told me his next project would be in 3D, I asked, "Will people have to watch it in special glasses?" Chomet replied with a smile, in his sexy French accent, "Well, they could if they wanted to".

I started my festival experience with a fantastic introduction to the different styles of animation by watching Kihachiro Kawamoto's Fuyu no hi (Winter Days) which is based on the renku form of Japanese poetry.
It was a collaborative effort of a huge numbers of animators spanning the globe each representing a stanza of a famous poem written in collaboration by Japanese poets around the country (which was organised by Bassho) in 1684. It was an impressive and inspirational way to learn about both animation and a very famous Japanese poem at the same time.

Over the four day festival, I saw so many friendly and thoughtful interactions between animators. Even legends like Richard Williams sought out young, first-time film-makers to offer advice and encouragement. Welsh Matthew Gravelle who came with his animation debut "Taps" was one of the newcomers sought out by Williams. Gravelle's short film won him the audience prize in Australia. A cute story about drippy faucets, he said it symbolized how he felt fighting against peer pressure as a lad.

Roelof van den Bergh's (Netherlands) Notice was also a hot topic amongst Williams and the judges who were baffled by his technique. Roelof shared how personal his short film became for him as he wasn't sure how he would end his story when he started it, but something happened to a close friend (who his undecided character was based on) which made the ending clear. It is not obvious as a viewer, without hearing stories from the directors, just how deeply personal these films can be. One point some people in the audience should take to heart as they exit a viewing within earshot of animators saying "that was crap!"

Williams, in his well attended seminar the "animator's animator", radiated passion for his art, even after over 45 years in the business. I think a great deal of this dynamic speaker's presentation can be applied to all forms of creativity. For example, following his advice to always put in twice the amount of work for which you are being paid, may not lead you to riches but is likely to ensure satisfaction with your work.
Many animators seem to prefer to remain behind the scenes and are obviously uncomfortable in the limelight, but Williams is a performer and has a wonderfully natural public speaking style and an ability to teach the nuts and bolts of animation. It even got casual listeners turning their thoughts to trying animation for themselves. His explanations of animating "walks" had the audience roaring with laughter, and leaning forward in their seats listening to his stories from projects like "Roger Rabbit" and the "Pink Panther."

The Brits Emerge
Pushing the creative envelope while under pressure from those funding the project to finish as fast and cheap as possible was a major theme among the animators. It is clear that holding your own in the constant struggle between producer and artist is as essential as the artistic vision and skill itself. The psychological imagery and heavy themes of British Lucy Lee's work is just one example. She wanted to make a stronger statement about the conflicted feelings a daughter had toward her abusive father in Waiting, but Welsh television refused to show the beginning which makes the abuse ambiguous and the whole film rather irrelevant as far as Lee was concerned.

It must be terribly frustrating to have put so much emotional energy into your work and it not being allowed to be shown as intended. The British animators seem well supported by the British Arts board, Welsh television and the BBC's rather radical channel 4. The most stylish films in the competition was made by another British animator, Gabriele Zucchelli, who worked with his actress/choreographer girlfriend to create the film For a Tango.

The most famous Brit on site was master of experimental film, Paul Bush, who came off as a soft-spoken, creative genius as he introduced an afternoon tribute to his films as they were shown by period and method. His work has been quite varied over the years and his commitment to a true stylish art-form often mixed with comedy is in its own class. The world premiere of While Darwin Sleeps was an impressive representation of insect evolution and variety which allows you to consider where humans fit into the scheme of things. Paul Bush's strongest advice to animators was the challenge to "visually represent a message that is understood by the audience in their own way, but to make sure it is the same message you intended."

Canada Rules

Winner of the Hiroshima Prize, and the favorite among the Japanese women I talked to, was Anita Lebeau's Louise, a heartwarming film about a spunky grandma who never threw anything out and wrote down everything in her diary and on daily lists. Lebeau said she began back in 1998, but then took time off to raise her two children. So, not only was she thrilled to finally finish it, but to win a prize in her first ever contest 6 years later- it left her ecstatic! She added that she had gone to the awards ceremony feeling emotionally drained after visiting the Peace Park museum. So for her, Hiroshima will always represent the extreme opposites of emotion. Louise apparently was thrilled to have a movie made about her life and family. Canadian animators seem well-supported by the Film Board of Canada and this was reflected in the number of Canadians who entered and also took home awards in the competition. Stormy Night by Michele Lemieux, a children's book writer turned animator, is based on one of her most popular books of the same title.

The book is 250 pages of the poignant questions and musings of a child that Lemieux says she based on her childhood self because "even if you have no answer, the question is still interesting and important." Since the book includes so much more than could fit into the film, Lemieux said that cutting down the story to the most important questions was difficult, but she knew it would be rewarding to see her book come alive.
She told me how amazed she was that whenever people read the book, they seem to stop reading at different questions and share their own personal feelings and experiences. She justifiably considers this a major achievement and although it took over 2 years to draw all the pictures for the film, she hopes the film illicits a similar introspection in viewers.

Another Canadian film which was awarded the Renzo Kinoshita Prize, particularly stood out in this year's competition, Ryan. Shot in documentary style, it centers on an actual interview with a previously successful animator named Ryan Larkin. Director, Chris Landreth started work on the movie in 2001 after meeting the pan-handling drunk who was once an award-winning, innovative force in the animation world. Of filmaking, Landreth says, "If the story is not in place, nothing will be. The story is King!"

In this way, he brings himself into the story as storyteller, but also plays an important part in the interaction with Ryan. He is able to draw him out and get Ryan to talk about his past, people he cared about and the sad state of his life. Although the film seems to end in failure, it is a triumph for sincerity and leaves the viewer with a feeling of hope, but there is also a lingering sense of exploitation here. Ryan stopped doing animation because his creativity was being "ripped off" and although it is a tribute to his work, if Landreth is being fair, I hope the pan-handling star of his film receives some of the significant prize royalties.

Mt.Head Conquers Despite the attention Ryan got, it paled in comparison to the enthusiastic praise Mt. Head got from animators and viewers at the festival. With an Oscar nomination and the Hiroshima, ZAGREB and ANNECY's grand prix awards, the prizes are starting to pile up for director Koji Yamamura who says it took 6 years to finish this film depicting a famous Japanese folk tale. He says when he was 10 years old he heard the story for the first time and when he was 32 it came back to him clearly as a great idea for an animated film. The film's visual style is very striking, and the judges especially loved the traditional Japanese music soundtrack and ryoukyoku-style narration performed by shamisen player Takeharu Kunimoto. It was amazing to watch the audience of successful animators enjoying every minute of the film and saying to each other enthusiastically "it's gotta win!"

For his next project, he is hoping to do an adaptation of a French folktale that was written in 1932.

Other successful Japanese animators, including a bunch of students showing their graduation thesis works, were well received in the competition and "best of students" programs. One impressive student effort, called "The Demon" by Shin Hosokawa, was a dark film set in an old Japanese town. It had a simple, yet strong theme of how even a hero can turn into a demon if he chooses to take the life of another.

The competition films didn't seem to pack quite as powerful a punch as previous years. According to 2004's Hiroshima Animation festival Selection Committee chair, Clare Kitson, they were looking for films which had "a strong idea, skill in communicating this idea clearly, the pacing to carry an audience along, design talent, technical virtuosity and a desire to innovate." She adds that there was disappointment due to a "decrease in films with strong social ideas compared with previous years." The jurors said they had hoped for more films depicting the Hiroshima message of "love and peace" and a "wider range of thoughtful comment."

The local press, and the mayor of Hiroshima bemoaned the lack of interest among the local people, with the majority of visitors to the festival coming from outside. The organisers could perhaps do a better job of publicising the festival. By encouraging the local press to help out by talking up the festival, instead of broadcasting stories about how very few local people are expected to go and that the numbers were low even before the event began. Numbers were up on previous years, and frankly the screening rooms at the Aster Plaza facility could hardly hold any more visitors. Rumors circulated that this would be the final festival, but in the closing ceremony the mayor gave a strong indication that the animation world would once more congregate in Hiroshima in 2006.

• Lizzy Oxby interview
• Sayoko Kinoshita (animation festival organiser) interview

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