Fri 26th Nov 2010
10:00 Ponyo – C2
18:00 Short Film Programme – Atrium
Sat 27th Nov 2010
All Day Japanese Marketplace
11:00 Ponyo – C1
15:00 Ponyo – C1
18:00 Barry Purves Masterclass
Sun 28th Nov 2010
All Day Japanese Marketplace
14:00 Cardmaking Workshop
14:30 Short Film Screenings – C2
18:00 Summer Wars – C1
Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival is happy to present a special Japanese themed teddy bear called, rather affectionately, ‘Akiko’. Aki in Japanese means “Autumn”, and female given names often end in the syllable -ko, written with the kanji meaning “child” (子). So this teddy is a girl of Autumn, or “Autumn Girl”. Akiko is a limited edition Teddy, handmade by Jules Bears and Crafts in Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales, GB. She is made out of 100% mohair, with glass eyes, hardboard cotter pin, and polyester filling. She is one of a limited edition of 25. Akiko is only being made especially for the Festival, and she will be on display at Chapter during the festival weekend. She can be purchased through Isabella’s, at the bargain price of £80. Please feel free to say hello to her when you come to the festival.
I visited Cardiff in 1992, when I co-operated to curate special programs of Japanese animation for an international animation festival held in Cardiff at that time. I remember that I felt very relaxed during my stay, where I enjoyed the comfortable atmosphere of this historical city, and also, by many people I met at the shopping centre who were so kind and warm. I even thought of living in a city like Cardiff! Perhaps, the Welsh language might have given me a warm impression too.
Then, in HIROSHIMA ’98, I was very pleased to show a very strong special program of Welsh Animation, having originality and individuality in variety, and I also showed the program in Okinawa after our festival. At that time, I was delighted to learn the unique history and climate of Wales, reflected in the films. As such, I truly hope the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2010 will provide a good opportunity for Japanese animation film-makers to spread their animation culture in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, as well as to study the very high-quality British animation art too.
I also hope that the Festival will serve as a good site for friendship and exchange, just like a family gathering at Kotatsu, supporting many Japanese animation film-makers to become very successful internationally.
Sayoko Kinoshita
Festival Director
International Animation Festival in Japan – HIROSHIMA
We are very honoured to have received a personal message from the one of the biggest and most respected names in Japanese animation, Isao Takahata, Film Director, and Co-head of Studio Ghibli
I am delighted to hear that this Japanese Animation Film Festival will be held at Cardiff, a city with a tradition of hosting film festivals. When I was informed that the title of the Festival was to be KOTATSU, I immediately felt something of a personal affinity; it was very much a serendipitous moment for me. By sheer coincidence one of my own films “Hohokekyo Tonari no Yamada-kun” (My Neighbors the Yamadas) has many scenes based around the kotatsu, a Japanese style of room/body heater. The image of sitting around the kotatsu symbolizes the pleasure of happy family life in Japan. If you ever have the opportunity to see the film you will understand what kotatsu means. And that’s why I am particularly pleased to be able to wish every success to the KOTATSU Film Festival.
Isao Takahata
Message translated by Midori Matsui
Lots of cool prizes are up for grabs in our raffle to be drawn on Sunday 28th November at 8pm. Tickets are £1 each, and will be available during the event, with the prizes being donated by various companies and festival supporters.
Prizes include:
Animation Software: Stop Motion Pro by AnimationSupplies.net
Animation DVDs by MVM entertainment
Welsh gifts by Isabella’s
Handmade cards by Inspired Bliss
Crochet gifts by Sharon Meredith, Crochet teacher
Postcards by Chie Arai, Japanese animator
Flipbook by Chie Arai, Japanese animator
Screenplay
by Barry Purves
Hello everybody, Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival has some great news. One of the greatest animation directors, Barry Purves, has agreed to do a guest talk for our festival. He made a beautiful Japanese-themed short film ‘Screenplay’ in 1992. At the event he is going to talk about the making of the film and his current work. Tim Allen will be the interviewer.
This event will be held at 20:00hrs on Saturday November 27th. We are also arranging a book signing event too.
The Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2010 has been announced and will take place from the 26th – 28th November at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, South Wales, UK.
“We really hope it’s a big success and will lead to closer working relationships between Wales and Japan. We are in negotiation with various special guests to come along and give workshops and talks for the general public and anyone who is interested in getting into the animation industry.”
Festival Director Eiko Meredith.