News

Kick-Heart Anime Short Wins Runner-Up at Fantastic Fest

Masaaki Yuasa and Production I.G's crowd-funded animated short film Kick-Heart was runner-up in the "Drawn and Quartered: Animated Shorts" category at Texas' Fantastic Fest 2013. The short came in second to "The Sad House" by Sofia Catalina Carrillo Ramírez.

Kick-Heart premiered in Tokyo in May, and then was shown in competition at this year's Annecy in France in June. The film was also screened at Anime Expo, and then screened at Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival, where it won Best Animated Short Film. The short was also shown at Laemmle's Royale Theatre in Los Angeles in July with the intention of qualifying for an Oscar nomination.

Other winners at the Fantastic Fest 2013 include Sion Sono and his film Why Don't You Play In Hell, which won best director and best picture in the "Gutbuster Comedy Features" category. Kankurō Kudō won best screenplay for Maruyama the Middle Schooler and Fuku Suzuki won best actor for his performance in Kid's Police, both in the "Gutbuster Comedy Features" category.

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip.