Submissions now being accepted for next year’s event in Niigata; inaugural Grand Prix winner ‘Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman’ by Pierre Földes revealed from 2023 edition.
The Niigata International Animation Festival (NIAFF) has announced the winners of its most recent feature-length animated film competition (March 2023) and issued a call for entries for its second edition coming March 15-20, 2024.
The Jury for NIAFF 2023:
- Mamoru Oshii – directorial credits include Mobile Police Patlabor 2 the Movie, Ghost in the Shell, Innocence (Cannes Film Festival in Competition), and Sky Crawlers.
- Jinko Gotoh – credits include Klaus, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, The Little Prince, The Illusionist, 9, and Finding Nimo—Gotoh is vice president for Women in Animation.
- David Jesteadt – (GKIDS president) credits include executive producer of the Oscar-nominated films The Breadwinner and Wolfwalkers.
The 2023 winners included:
Grand Prix:
- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman - Pierre Földes (France, Canada, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
KABUKU Award:
- Khamsa - The Well of Oblivion – Vynom (Algeria)
Special Mention:
- Vampire in the Garden - Ryotaro Makihara (Japan)
Evolve Award:
- Thee Wreckers Tetralogy – Rosto (Netherlands, France)
Entries for the NIAF 2024 feature film competition are now being accepted – additional information is available here.
Source: NIAFF
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
