Winter Days
Winter Days is a 2003 animated film, directed by Kihachirō Kawamoto. It is based on one of the renku (collaborative linked poems) in the 1684 collection of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō. The creation of the film followed the traditional collaborative nature of the source material – the visuals for each of the 36 stanzas were independently created by 35 different animators. As well as many Japanese animators, Kawamoto assembled leading names of animation from across the world. Each animator was asked to contribute at least 30 seconds to illustrate their stanza, and most of the sequences are under a minute (Yuriy Norshteyn's, though, is nearly two minutes long).
Isao Takahata
Aleksandr Petrov
Raoul Servais
Kihachiro Kawamoto
Yuri Norstein
Koji Yamamura
Břetislav Pojar
Jacques Drouin
Co Hoedeman
Shinichi Suzuki
Reiko Okuyama
Yoichi Kotabe
Mark Baker
Yôichi Kotabe
Also Directed by Isao Takahata
The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humourous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems and joys in their own way.
Horus, a kid living in an unnamed Scandinavian/Eastern Europe culture of the Iron Age, recovers the Sword of the Sun from the rock giant Maug and learns from his dying father that he must return to his ancestral territory. In the process, he defends a village from the attacks of Grunwald, a warlord/ice demon and befriends the enigmatic Hilda, a lonely and beautiful girl who sings haunting songs (and who hides a terrible secret).
Heidi (1974) Japanese anime series by Zuiyo Eizo. It was directed by Isao Takahata, has been dubbed into many languages. The TV series was directed also in Italy, has been distributed in 1978. After divided also in three feature films, Heidi a scuola (1977), Heidi in città (1978), Heidi torna tra i monti (1979), produced by Beta Film and Riccardo Billi and distributed by Sampaolo Film. The third feature, Heidi torna tra i monti, summarizes the latest episodes of the television series. Heidi finally back from his grandfather, but continues to maintain the friendship at a distance with Clara. Which, precisely during a visit to the girl initially hampered by Mrs. Rottenmeier, on this occasion will resume the use of his legs.
Heidi (1974) Japanese anime series by Zuiyo Eizo (now Nippon Animation) based on the Swiss novel Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning by Johanna Spyri (1880). It was directed by Isao Takahata A feature-length film Heidi in the Mountains, aka The Story of Heidi, was edited from the series by Zuiyo (which by then was a separate entity from Nippon Animation, which employed many of the TV series' animation staff) distributed in 1979. All cast were replaced excluding Heidi and the grandfather. This movie is also the only incarnation of the Heidi anime to have been released commercially in the United States in English (on home video in the 1980s). Isao Takahata remarked "Neither Hayao Miyazaki nor I are completely related to any shortening version" on this work.
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.
An (almost) live action documentary movie, this independent movie was produced by Nibariki (Miyazaki's personal office), with the royalty revenue from Nausicaä. At first, it was supposed to be an animated film which took place in the town of Yanagawa. After the success of Nausicaä, Tokuma wanted to produce another animated movie (of course, they wanted a Nausicaä sequel), and Miyazaki was looking for a good project. Miyazaki visited Yanagawa, and was impressed by the beautiful town with its canals, and came up with an idea for a film about high school boys and girls in Yanagawa, and thought that Takahata, who worked as a producer for Nausicaä, should direct such a film...
The family consisting of two pandas and one girl lives happily when suddenly a little tiger appears at their home. It arrives that the circus had come to their town. All of a sudden starts the pouring rain but it can't stop them.
A young Italian boy named Marco is devastated when his mother must leave home to work in Argentina to pay off the family debt. She sends the family letters, but soon the messages stop coming, which worries Marco and sets him off on an epic quest to find her.
Also Directed by Aleksandr Petrov
In nineteenth-century Russia, a teenage boy in search of love is drawn to two very different women.
An animated short film based on the 1877 short story written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It chronicles the experiences of a man who decides that there is nothing to live for in the world, and is therefore determined to commit suicide. A chance encounter with a young girl changes his mind.
Animated short based on the story of the same name by Andrei Platonov.
Released to honor the 1000th anniversary of the city of Yaroslavl, Russia.
An elderly monk, while training the young novice who will succeed him, recalls the mysterious lost love of his past - just as his young successor appears to be encountering her himself.
The Old Man and the Sea (Russian: Старик и море) is a 1999 paint-on-glass-animated short film directed by Aleksandr Petrov, based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film won many awards, including the Academy Award for Animated Short Film. Work on the film took place in Montreal over a period of two and a half years and was funded by an assortment of Canadian, Russian and Japanese companies. French and English-language soundtracks to the film were released concurrently. It was the first animated film to be released in IMAX. Oscar winning animation of the classic Hemingway story.
Firebird is a three-minute animated sequence directed by Russian animator Aleksandr Petrov for the Sochi paralympic games.
Also Directed by Raoul Servais
Jason Goldframe, a film producer, is always the best and the first! It's his ambition to be the very first to achieve the inconceivable: making a 270mm film. Obsessed as he is, he even wants to be faster than his shadow. One evening he succeeds…
Sir Halewyn’s magical song lures girls from afar to his gloomy forest, from where none returns. Based on a medieval song.
In a coastal village a faulty street lantern lands on the rubbish yard. During a storm a fishermen's boat is in trouble. The big lighthouse has fallen asleep, but the street lantern saves the boat.
In a world where people are easily indoctrinated by speech, a reporter wants to know what people think about the actual political situation?
A farmer accidentally creates a self-procreating iron Pegasus.
An invading army destroys all color in a harmless town and brings it in a state of depression. Then a jester arrives.
An unknowing man rescues a rather aggressive and demanding harpy.
On a November day a man deposits a flower garland for his old car at the junk yard. But the place appears to be a labyrinth in which he gets lost.
Also Directed by Kihachiro Kawamoto
Two Brothers, who are both hunters and live with their mother, go to the mountains to set traps for deer. Suddenly, a demon grabs the younger brothers. The older brother shoots and arrow, severing the demon's arm, which they plan to take home. But they make an grisly discovery on the journey home.
A man who is on a pilgrimage spends the night with a woman. After they share a moment of passion, he runs away and she chases him.
The plot concerns a sheltered aristocratic woman in feudal Japan. Bored and unfamiliar with the world outside her estate, she passes the time copying a special Buddhist sutra sent by her father who has been absent on official business for years. While gazing out her window one late afternoon, the setting sun creates a vision of a holy figure in the distant mountains.
A short film based on a story by Japanese writer Kenji Miyazawa in which two young British hunters get lost in the woods and discover a strange restaurant. Are the hunters about to discover how it feels to be hunted?
A cautionary tale about workers who are neglected, lose hope, and fade away while businessmen prosper by selling out to foreign countries. As the greed of the businessmen escalates, the economy collapses, and a young man becomes a poet and gives the people hope.
Rennyo was the key figure responsible for the restoration of Shin Buddhism in Japan, in particular the Honganji lineage that had a slump in its fortunes during the Middle Ages. According to the legend, his motivation was a pivotal childhood incident at the age of six when his mother summoned him and told him about his destiny to revive the fortunes of the Honganji school to which he was the next in line. She then mysteriously disappeared from the temple. Taking her words to heart, from a background of great poverty and hardship, at the age of 16 he set out to spread the word across the land.
An animated film compiled by David Ehrlich consisting of 27 animators from different countries all explaining themselves through their animation.
On her fifteenth birthday the princess finds a diary written by her mother when she was young. The diary tells of the Queen's secret, early love. The Princess goes into the forest to meet her mother's former lover. When she looks into his eyes, she realizes why her mother had fallen in love...
A woman taking a trip encounters a nightmarish landscape juxtaposed against scenes of classical beauty.
Dog racing is used as a metaphor for the futility of human existence.
Also Directed by Yuri Norstein
A little hedgehog, on the way to visit his friend the bear, gets lost in thick fog, where horses, dogs and even falling leaves take on a terrifying new aspect...
The story is based on the legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, which disappears under the waters of a lake to escape an attack by the Mongols.
A short film made by Yuri Norstein for the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, The 25th - the First Day recounts that day using art from the revolutionary period.
A cut-out animation warning for children about the danger of fire and playing with matches, far from the grim warning of your typical PSA and anticipating the complicated human psychology of Norshteyn's subsequent work. And, no doubt, there is a metaphor aimed at the power structure. 1968-69 was a crucial period of transition for the animator, breaking out of the pack at Soyuzmultfilm and beginning to script and co-direct films. Not listed on imdb, this is one - if not the first - of his first solo works as director.
Volume 3 (1979-1985): "Tale of Tales", "Hunt", "Cabaret", "Last Hunt", "There Was a Dog", "Travels of an Ant", "Lion and Bull", "Wolf and Calf", "Old Stair", "King's Sandwich", "About Sidorov Vova".
A story of chilling beautiful wintry St. Petersburg and the child-like main protagonist, whose little joys give him solace in this cold, cruel world.
Skazka Skazok (Tale of Tales) is a 27-minute animated short film, considered the masterpiece of influential Russian animator Yuri Norstein. Told in a non-narrative style by free association, the film employs various techniques including puppets, cut-outs, and traditional cell animation. Using classical music and '30s jazz tunes instead of dialogue.
Montage of still photos with lighting effects.
Volume 2 (1969-1978): "Ballerina on the Boat", "Seasons", "Armoire", "The Battle of Kerzhenets", "Butterfly", "Island", "Fox and Rabbit", "The Heron and the Crane", "Hedgehog in the Fog", "Crane's Feathers", "Firing Range" Contact
Russian animated short film.
Also Directed by Koji Yamamura
The second short in the series Karo and Piyobupt by Koji Yamamura
A festival cut/compilation of the animated segments made by Yamamura Kouji for a TV documentary by NHK, Kojiki Girl Travelogue (古事記ガール 日向路を旅する). The 4 episodes that compose The Hyuga Episode of Kojiki are: #1 The Cleansing (禊/ Misogi, 3’17”) #2 Sun Goddess Amaterasu (天照大御神/ Amaterasu Ookami, 2’11”) #3 Flowering Tree (木花之佐久夜毘売/ Konohananosakuya-bime, 2’31”) #4 Umisachi and Yamasachi (海佐知山佐知/ Umisachi Yamasachi, 3’30”)
A Parade for three managers and four performers. Sketchy drawings in a neatly arranged palette, involving quotes from the French composer Erik Satie, set to the music of Parade performed by the Dutch Willem Breuker Kollektief
Ivory consumption in Japan is a bit of a problem. It needs to be stamped out.
An animated archive of imaginary monsters written by a fictitious mosterologist in Medieval Europe.
North is everywhere solitary. Here is all North. This is a record of the people I met in these Norths.
The painter Kuwagata Keisai lived over 200 years ago. He created 'Ways to Sketch', a series of picture books illustrating humans and animals, all richly expressed. One day he was sketching out a carp, just at that moment he slept and he became a carp in dream. A carp was enjoy to swimming, but a fisherman caught that carp...
Created using "Etching on film" from the NFB's McLaren's Workshop Application.
A seaside school. In the corridor stands the principal, beloved of the high-spirited youngsters. Gazing at a picture of a whale drawn as a child, the head teacher is swept away with sentiment into a flashback from the past.
Also Directed by Břetislav Pojar
This adaptation of a book by Jiří Marek consists of four animated episodes that are interconnected by a live-action element.
A giant statue of the letter "E" arrives in the park. One man sees it as "B"; they are preparing to cart him off to the looney bin when a doctor arrives and determines the man needs glasses. Then the king arrives; he also sees "B". He tries on the glasses, sees "E", and pins a medal on the doctor then has his goon squad come and bash on everyone's head until they too see "B"
A scientist develops an unusual pair of eyeglasses which allows the wearer's mind to see things objectively rather than the usual subjective manner.
Bad moods, denial and constant resentment are spreading like an epidemic, gradually transferring from the individual to the entire society.
A look at the series of sacrifices of a man who wants to save up for his object of desire: an automobile.
Also Directed by Jacques Drouin
Animated short
Animated film about father and son.
In this short, an artist creates a painting of the landscape he sees, then finds he can literally climb into the picture to see the fantastic world inside.
In this non-narrative animated film inspired by composer François Couperin's harpsichord composition "Barricades mystérieuses," Jacques Drouin explores a whole new way of using the pinscreen to create animated images. He pivots the screen and uses low-angled light to capture images in high relief. The result is like a sculpture whose expertly modelled forms are revealed through film. A film without words.
When a man becomes blind, his life is all turned around. He can only use his touch to get around in his house. The objects become enemies. But an angel is looking over him.
Also Directed by Co Hoedeman
In a beautiful garden called Ecos, there are a variety of creatures there who neatly fulfill vital roles in the healthy ecological system of the area. However, this state of reasonable environmental harmony is disrupted when a new species of grub like creatures begin to ravish the land of a needed fruit. This folly leads to the disruption of the environment of the garden while this greed leads to a series of events that have tragic consequences.
It's winter in a thatched cottage, home to a family of teddy bears. The young cub Ludovic dreams of tobogganing but his parents tell him he's too little. He invents wonderful games to share with a doll that miraculously comes to life. This tender tale evokes the cozy relationship between a child and a favourite toy.
A poetic and symbolic animated short film about Maboule, a lively wireframe character. Like a mime, he communicates his feelings by gesture and attitude. At first he is drawn to big, colourful balls, but bit by bit he discovers the wonders of a small, modest, white ball.
It's summer and Ludovic is invited to his grandfather's farm. The little teddy bear finds Grandpa very saddened by the death of Grandma, and Ludovic is fascinated by a room filled with mementos. Grandma's portrait comes to life, and Ludovic is able to kiss and hug her. This poignant tale evokes the closeness and understanding between a grandfather and his little grandson who gradually learn to accept the death of a loved one.
Two children encounter an angry dragon.
On a sandy desert, a man made of sand constructs other sand creatures to help make a beautiful sand castle for themselves.
Octopus-like puppets cut out of foam rubber are the central characters in this delightful underwater fantasy with its message about ecology and conservation. Two Grotoceans sent on a special mission find all kinds of surprises awaiting them as they roam the sea in search of treasure. Film without words.
The magical fingers of master animator Co Hoedeman, whose film The Sand Castle won an Oscar in 1979, has created yet another world of piquant creatures. Papier mâché puppets ride machines and manipulate robots strange to the human eye. A great masquerade is in the planning, and the air crackles with excitement. Plunged into the joys and frustrations of creating costumes, the zealous puppets produce a bumper crop, each one more elaborate than the last. The film illustrates the creative process, with its inevitable pitfalls and rewards. It says that to create is to be alive.
The curtains of a theatre open onto a smaller puppet theatre presided over by Marianne. The ringmaster waves her baton at three shadowy acrobats that climb one by one out of her hat. Each performs his number, although not without some difficulty. The clumsiness of the first, the mischievousness of the second, and the fieriness of the third trigger a few clashes that ultimately lead to chaos. How can Marianne create harmony without losing control? Will her show flop? Who's really calling the shots, the little puppet or her acrobats?
An Inuit tale of familial revenge.
Also Directed by Shinichi Suzuki
Independent animation by Suzuki Shin'ichi.
Independent animation by Suzuki Shiniichi
Tokiwa was the apartment complex where a group of stellar artists lived in 1953. Hiro Terada, Motoo Abiko and Hiroshi Fujimoto, Shotaro Ishinomori and Fujio Akatsuka shared the trials and tribulations of being struggling young artists and writers with no money and no luck with editors or girls, with a spirit of insane youthful enthusiasm that enabled them to survive the lean years and emerge as stars of the manga firmament.
Also Directed by Mark Baker
Join Peppa in this exciting new preschool cinema experience, with plenty of snorts, giggles and jumping up and down in muddy puddles! Leading with ‘Peppa Visits London’, the first of the never-before-seen episodes, Peppa and her friends hop on board a double-decker red bus as the Queen takes them on an unforgettable tour of iconic London landmarks including Big Ben, Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square. The other new ‘oink-tastic’ episodes include ‘The Police, ‘Canal Boat’, ‘The Zoo’, ‘Move to the Music’ and a four-part story in which viewers will join Peppa on an Australian holiday to visit her old friend, Kylie Kangaroo.
Join the party with Peppa and George in their brand new adventures as they dance in the mud at a children’s festival, celebrate Grandpa Pig’s birthday at a restaurant for the first time, and take a trip to the cinema to see Super Potato’s big movie feature!
Tang Yuan, Jiao Zi and their family enjoy Chinese New Year together, learning about traditions, and sharing Peppa Pig stories.
A country couple and their shepherd endure drought, flood, a monstrous bear, hunters and tourists during a somewhat odd few days in their normally quiet life.
An early animated short from the creator of Peppa Pig about the adventures of three hapless knights.
A village is ruled by the church, but it filled with hypocritical sinners who constantly spy on each other.
After marauding and sinking another ship, a band of pirates capture a female passenger, then send her overboard as punishment for her defiance. She vows revenge, and fortunately is rescued by a small passing ship carrying only its captain, his first mate and a cat. They cross paths with the pirates, but both sides - after seeming to have victory within their grasp - meet a fate neither could have predicted.