A screening of the wonderful stop motion animation ‘Komaneko’ directed by Tsuneo Goda, followed by a live Q&A session with the director and Hirokazu Minegishi, stop-motion animator via Skype from Japan.
Komaneko is a stop-motion series of shorts featuring a curious cat, his friends and their adventures. Beautifully animated, with lovable characters, exquisite set pieces and enchanting story lines guaranteed to please all ages.
Tsuneo Goda is also the creator of Domo, internationally famous character and the official mascot of Japan’s NHK television station.
Here is a special message from director Tsuneo Goda.
“The Kotatsu Film Festival is such a lovely name for this festival of animation. Thank you once again for inviting me to participate in the festival. Komaneko is presented using `cat language’. Some parts are also shown in `dog language’. The film should therefore be enjoyed by Japanese and British people, and indeed by people the world over, whatever their language. I would be thrilled and delighted to know that you enjoyed my film.“
The New Diorama Theatre in London with the co-operation of Studio Ghibli, Whole Hog Theatre presents the world’s first theatrical staging of Hayao Miyazaki’s renowned animated film.
Using giant puppets made from recycled materials, visceral, physical storytelling and original live music, Studio Ghibli’s epic ecological fable is re-told for the stage.
Princess Mononoke is a 1997 epichistorical fantasy feature film set specifically in the late Muromachi period of Japan but with numerous fantastical elements. The story concentrates on involvement of the outsider Ashitaka in the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans of the Iron Town who consume its resources. There can be no clear victory, and the hope is that relationship between humans and nature can be cyclical.
Dates and Ticket Prices Tuesday 2nd – Saturday 6th April, 19:30. Saturday Matinee @ 15:30. £13.50 / £11 (Concessions)
Unfortunately due to popular demand, the play is already sold out!!
Hello everyone, we are happy to announce the date for this year’s Kotatsu Japanese animation festival!
The festival will be held on Saturday 1st December at Chapter Arts Centre. We are hoping to repeat the success of previous year’s festival with a selection of films such as studio Ghibli film.
This year we have more spaces available in the market place. Any shops or artists involved with a Japanese/Anime theme, please contact the festival for details.
Thank you very much for all the people who came to the 2nd Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival; again it was another successful year for us.
The Atrium Reception area
Short Film Screenings at The Atrium
Day 1 of the festival opened at the University of Glamorgan, Atrium in Cardiff with the Japanese Short Animation Film Screenings which sported a packed cinema. The audience enjoyed several short films from up and coming, as well as established, Japanese animators followed by some animations from courses taught at the Atrium itself.
Down in the foyer were a selection of local specialist retailers such as Otakuzoku, who sell retro video games, manga, comic books, and toys, anlongside the comic specialist The Comic Man who both laid out their stands for the whole afternoon prior to the short film screenings..
Queuing for tickets by the Japanese Marketplace
Chapter Arts Centre
Day 2 was held at the Chapter Arts Centre with the feature film screenings including:
Arrietty (the latest animated film by Studio Ghibli)
In keeping with last year’s tradition of showcasing a premiere film, Redline had its Welsh premiere in front of a packed cinema.
The Japanese Marketplace
The Japanese Marketplace
Held in the foyer area again this year, the marketplace really adds to the atmosphere of the entire weekend. Food, snacks, sweets, toys, videogames, anime and manga were available to buy, and the stalls which included Otakuzoku,Yakiniku, and The Comic Man helped create an event fit for celebrating Japanese animation.
Haiku Animation Workshop
The Haiku Animation Workshop
This was a great success with lots of children taking part. Gerald Conn, the director of an award winning animation company Gritty Realism Productions, hosted the workshop which taught children how to animate with sand and cutout card on a lightbox. Each frame was captured using a stills camera mounted on an overhead rostrum.
Initially tasked with creating a Haiku poem, they then set about animating a short piece with their poems being read out as a soundtrack.
The result of their efforts is presented here (see video below), and we think you’ll agree they did a wonderful job considering they had no animation experience at all.
Ever wanted to try your hand at writing Japanese? We invited Yukiko Ayres, a London-based professional Calligrapher, whose workshops allow everyone to try their hand at writing in Japanese using a traditional brush and ink.
Whether it was your own name, or the name of a loved one, Yukiko would show you how to do it, and then supervise while you tried to copy the intricate brush strokes.
Japanese calligraphy obeys strict rules when it comes to the number and order of the brush strokes, even down to the posture held whilst writing.
Bet Davies calling the Raffle Prize Draw
Raffle Prize Draw
This year’s raffle draw took place in the foyer near the cinema entrance with an excited crowd waiting to hear their numbers called. Bet Davis who is Head of Corporate Affairs, Wales Millennium Centre and also a member of Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival Committee hosted the raffle prizes.
There were some great prizes, such as a StopMate Motion Animation Armature by Japanese armature maker Tetsu, animation software Stop Motion Pro HD, anime DVDs, a beautiful kimono, books, dolls, badges, gift vouchers, bento boxes and lots more. It was also nice to see the armature being won by an animation student from the Atrium, a somewhat fitting end to a great weekend.
Plans are under way for this year’s festival, and will be published here as soon as they are finalized. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came to this year’s festival, we really hope you enjoyed yourselves. Please spread the word to all your friends and family and we hope to see you all again next year for the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2012.
The UK’s biggest J- Culture event Hyper Japan is being held at Earl’s Court in London. This event features Animation screenings, Cosplay, Japanese Street Fashion Show and much more.
Professional Calligrapher and Kendo master Yukiko Ayres will be giving demonstrations of Joudo, Kendo, and Calligraphy. Joudo is a type of martial arts which uses a wooden stick called Jo or wooden sword.
Yukiko will be attending Hyper Japan on the following dates.
24th February Jyodo 17:00 ~ 17:30 25th February Kendo 12:00 ~ 12:30 25th February Kendo 17:00 ~ 17:30 25th February Jodo 15:00 ~ 15:30 26th February Jodo 15:00 ~ 15:30
On Sunday 26th Yukiko will be supporting the Calligraphy Workshop which is organized by the Japan Society.
Our Festival Steering Committee member Midori Matsui, MBE is organizing a charity concert to celebrate 30th anniversary of The Japanese Saturday School, Whitchurch, Cardiff.
The event will take place on Saturday 18th February 2012 at 7pm (doors open at 6:30pm), at the Canton Uniting Church, Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, CF5 1LQ.
On the bill are Saya Okada (Piano), Yuta Tsubone (Clarinet) and Robert & David Childs with the Cory Brass Ensemble.
Tickets are £10 (£8 concessions), children under 14 can get tickets for just £5.
Our Kotatsu Festival has been mentioned in this month’s NEO, the UK magazine that focuses on East Asian entertainment, with articles on Japanese anime and manga; Hong Kong, Korean and Japanese films; and Japanese pop, rock and visual-kei music and games.
The November issue also has a fantastic article about the film Redline, which is coincidentally enjoying its Welsh premiere at this year’s festival.
Check out the NEO magazine for lots of great articles on Japanese animation and film.
We are happy to announce two fantastic workshops at this year’s festival.
Calligraphy Workshop (12pm ~15pm)
You can learn to write in Japanese at our exciting Calligraphy Workshop. We extended the time 12:00 to 15:00 so more people can experience the beauty of Japanese traditional writings.
This event, suitable for children and adults and it will cost just £5 per person. The teacher is Yukiko Ayres, a London-based highly respected professional Calligrapher, whose workshops and demonstrations are sought after at famous events such as Hyper Japan, the UK’s biggest J-culture event.
A calligraphy workshop is very rare in Wales, and as this is also Yukiko Ayres‘ first workshop in Wales, let’s make sure to give her a very warm Kotatsu welcome.
Haiku Animation Workshop (11am~16pm)
Join animation and education specialists Gritty Realism for this practical introduction to the basic of stop motion animation. The workshop is suitable for 8-14 years olds and is £10 per person. There are limited spaces so please book early by contacting matt.beere@chapter.org.
Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival is in partnership with Chapter’s Young Person’s Film Academy.
The StopMate SM-005 is ball & socket armature kit which can be assembled to create the internal skeleton for your humanoid puppets. Designed by Tetsu, a skilled Japanese machinist, they are also the main stop motion armatures used in Tokyos University of the Arts animation program. The armature moves really smoothly and is very strong, making it ideal for professional animation projects. Sold worldwide by Stop Motion Store.
Stop Motion Pro V7 has been developed in consultation with Aardman Animations (the makers of Wallace and Gromit). The software offers students, animators and animation producers the most comprehensive and easy to use toolset yet.
Signed copy of the book by renowned animator Barry Purves.
The book is packed with tips and suggestions to help you get the most out of your own stopmotion films, accompanied by full-colour illustrations and case studies demonstrating how film-making masters through the years have used it in feature films,short films and TV series. Basics Animation: Stop-motion also examines the evolution of stopmotion, from its almost accidental beginnings to a much-loved form of storytelling in its own right one that continues to push boundaries after 110 years.
Kimono – 3/4 Length Black Polyester Cherry Blossom
This Black Polyester Cherry Blossom Kimono is made from lovely soft printed polyester, which feels very ‘silk-like’ and comes with a matching 4cm wide belt which can be loosely tied off at the waist.
Treat yourself to some excellent cuisine at the renowned Japanese and Korean restaurant on the east side of Cardiff. We have five gift vouchers to give away, each worth £10!
Great fun to be had building your very own origami creations, with full instructions on each and every fold required to make some truly amazing designs out of plain paper. These sets feature sweets such as birthday cake, boats and cars, and Rilakkuma bento box.
