Movie marathon at Animation Nation, watch until shiok.

Anikuri 15
What can you feel in 60 seconds? AniKuri 15, an abbreviation of ‘anime’ and ‘creator’, is initiated and sponsored by NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation, that invited 15 of currently most successful animation directors to do an animated short film each. They can do whatever they want, the only restriction being it must fit within 60 seconds. I have an immense liking to this concept because it challenges the directors to capture an atmosphere and mood accurately in that short span of time. You can find more pre-production pictures and storyboards on the official website.

It’s easy to pick out the better composed shorts that maintained its pace and story content, which include Ohayo by Satoshi Kon, Cat’s gathering by Makoto Shinkai and Princess Ninja by Mahiro Maeda.
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Related links:
AniKuri 15 Official website
Makoto Shinkai Finishes Storyboarding His One Minute Short Animation for AniKuri 15

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Kudan (2008)
Japan, Taku Kimura, Links DigiWorks Inc. 9’ 23”
The word kudan is the name of legendary Japanese monster that has the head of human and the body of a cow. The kudan is born from a female cow, speaks human language, prophecies calamities such as war or disaster and eventually dies in 3 days.

Kudan has a very original story and alluring graphic design which borders on being child-like and fantistical. Both worlds, human and the underworld, have rich visuals; very maximalistic, and are simply mesmerising. Link to trailer

Singapore: Kudan will be screened for Electronic Theatre in Siggraph Asia 2008.
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Most short films in “International Short Showcase 2” have good stories to start with. Down the road by Rune Christensen has enough story material to do a feature length film. The story revolves around a priest picking up a hitchhiker who is surprisingly well-informed about the priest’s life. This story will benefit more if its direction points towards more religious discussion. The priest is skeptical how the hitchhiker could know so much about himself despite being a believer in faith himself. Instead, the story unravels and reveals the hitchhiker to be seeking revenge for a crime the priest committed.

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The Next Move (2006)
Finland, Laura Neuvonen, 10’
The Next Move tells the story of a couple who have moved to their new apartment, and the wife simply could not stop shifting the furniture around. A short with no dialogue, it depends largely on the story-telling skills and acting.

Related links:
Watch The Last Knit (2005) by Neuvonen
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Fear(s) of the Dark is a tad disappointing because it is ‘lukewarm’ scary, and too cartoony even for certain segments. I like the segment by Richard McGuire the most. What you can’t see scares you the most, and with McGuire’s choice of minimalist art, it allows us the audience to be as trapped as the protagonist in the lone house.

Previous post:
Fear(s) of the Dark
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In retrospect, Berni’s Doll (France, 2008) which was screened before Fear(s) achieved more horror and disbelief than the feature film itself. Berni’s is written and directed by Yann Jouette. A self-loathing cat food canner buys a “female companion” (aka lifelike sex doll) in dismembered body parts which he struggles to pay with his salary. A rat is shown scampering through a maze in the beginning and later squashed to become cat’s food that Berni eventually cans. Berni is as hapless as that rat in the chaotic cityscape. Beautifully animated in a style that proves to be less cute and cuddly than first glance would have you believe. Definitely not for kids.

Related links:
Yann Jouette’s Official website
Berni’s Doll Official website
A clip excerpt
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Really looking forward to Koji Yamamura Showcase, The Freedom Project, Aardman and Singapore Showcase(free) ! Let me know if you’re going too!
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Related posts:
DICKI by Hannes Rall / Premiere
Animation Nation 2008
Animation Nation Seminars