Animation Nation Features Animation from Japan
ANIMATION NATION 2010
DATE: 1 - 8 December
VENUE: The Gallery Theatre, National Museum of Singapore
WEBSITE: http://www.sfs.org.sg/animation/
Animation Nation returns this year from 1 - 8 December 2010 at the National Museum of Singapore. We're delighted to feature some this year's best animation feature films and shorts from around the world, showcasing a variety of animation techniques, from traditional hand-drawn methods to stop-motion animation and CGI.
Beyond the striking originality and visual richness of technique, this year's selection also shows that animators continue to use interesting animation for a wide-ranging scope of topics and genres.
One of the films that we are particularly excited to showcase this year is My Dog Tulip which has won many accolades and is an incredible adaptation of J.R. Ackerley's “classic of animal literature for the refinement of its prose, its dry wit, and its close, unblinking attention to the subtleties of human-animal interaction.” Voiced with great empathy by Isabella Rossellini and Brian Murray, this is a heart-warming film that is nevertheless a clear-eyed observation of human failing.
This year, Japan retains a strong presence in the film festival, but the focus continues to be on unusual works that differentiate themselves from Japan's mass-market anime. Legendary Japanese studio Production I.G's first fully CG animated feature, Oblivion Island is featured as well as Mashima Riichiro's wacky and out-of-control Olympics spoof, Tokyo Onlypic and the provocative sci-fi series, Time of Eve.
Several short film collections are also featured, a staple of the animation industry which showcases up-and-coming animators. This year, besides Stuggart and Baden-Wutenberg, works from Brooklyn, the Electric Picture Show will be showcased which comprises of several innovative music videos for the darlings of alternative music such as Animal Collective and Yeasayer.
We will also be featuring Singaporean entries to DigiCon, one of the premier animation competitions in the world and multiple award winner The Lost Thing, based on Singaporean, Shaun Tan's illustrated book
Many other innovative, unusual and award-winning works from countries such as Sweden and Czech Republic are also included: Goodbye Mr Christie, Metropia, Alisa's Birthday and In The Attic. With the continued development of Singapore's animation industry, we hope animators will be exposed to a wider range of animation and be inspired by them
SCHEDULE
Day Time Film Length
1 Dec (Wed)
7:00pm My Dog Tulip (M18) 83 min
2 Dec (Thu) 7:00pm Oblivion Island (PG) 99 min
9:00pm Metropia (TBC) 86 min
3 Dec (Fri)
7:00pm In The Attic (TBC) + The Lost Thing (TBC) 74 min + 15 min
9:00pm Goodbye Mr Christie (TBC) 78 min
4 Dec (Sat)
2:00pm Electric Picture Show (TBC) 80 min
4:00pm DigiCon with Q&A session (TBC) 60 min
7:00pm Tokyo Onlypic (NC16) 117 min
9:00pm Postgal (PG) 60 min
5 Dec (Sun)
11:30am G.I. Joe (TBC) 75 min
2:00pm Alisa's Birthday (TBC) + The Lost Thing (TBC) 94 min + 15 min
4:00pm Book Girl (PG) 103 min
7:00pm Best of Baden-Wutenberg (TBC) 90 min
9:00pm Best of Stuggart (TBC) 85 min
6 Dec (Mon)
7:00pm Oblivion Island (PG) 99 min
7 Dec (Tue)
7:00pm Time of Eve (TBC) 106 min
8 Dec (Wed)
7:00pm My Dog Tulip (M18) 83 min
*Please note that schedule might be subject to change
TICKETING
Tickets are sold by Tickets.com (http://www.tdc.sg) Please note that tickets are on sale from 22 November (prices are inclusive of booking fee)
S$10 (Public)
S$9 (Concession and SFS members)*
*Students, Senior citizens and Singapore Film Society (SFS) members are entitled to purchase discounted tickets, upon producing a valid ID or SFS membership card at Tickets.com outlets. One discounted ticket per person per screening session.
FILMS
Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror
Dir: Shinsuke Satō
Japan | 2009 | 99min | DigiBeta | PG
Where do the things from our childhood go when we grow up?
16-year-old Haruka encounters a small masked creature at a local shrine one day, which she secretly follows. The creature leads her to Oblivion Island, a strange world inhabited by memorabilia and memories from her childhood.
At once heartwarming and breathtakingly beautiful, Oblivion Island invites the viewer to step aboard a dramatic rollercoaster, taking you on a fantastical, visually-titillating spin through a story which spirals, twists and hurtles in every unpredictable direction.
Oblivion Island is the first full-length film from renowned Japanese anime studio Production I.G, done completely in 3D computer generated animation. The film won several awards, including the Feature Films Competition Special Jury Prize (SICAF 2010), Jury Special Mention (Fantasia Film Festival 2010), Nippon Cinema Award (10th Nippon Connection Film Festival), Animation of the Year (Japan Academy Prizes 2009), Visual Technology Award (9th annual Video Technology Awards), Jury Recommended Work (13th Japan Media Arts Festival).
"Oblivion Island is the best anime film I've seen in a long time.." - The Anime Almanac "With its building made up of strange materials, Rube Goldberg devices and colourful characters, this movie can best be enjoyed if you're in touch with your inner child." - Tor.com
Time of Eve
Dir: Yasuhiro Yashiura
Japan | 2008 | 106min | Digibeta | TBC
High school student Rikuo, like his peers growing up in a time where robots have become part and parcel of daily life, had been taught from childhood that androids are not to be viewed as humans, but rather as convenient tools or household appliances. One day he discovers some strange data in the behaviour records of his family's household android, Sammy. Rikuo and his friend Masaki trace Sammy's movements, only to discover a mysterious cafe that features a house rule that humans and robots are to be treated the same.
Time of Eve is a tightly woven coming-of-age story about friendship, family and confronting society's norms, punctuated at times by slapstick comedy, others with heart-wrenching drama. Adapted from a comic book series, Time of Eve broke opening day box office records at Ikebukuro's Theater Daiya and extended its theatrical runs throughout Japan.
"Brilliant" - Anime Social Scene
Official Website: http://timeofeve.com/e/
Book Girl (Bungaku Shōjo)
Dir: Shunsuke Tada
Japan | 2010 | 103min | DVD | PG
Freshman Konoha Inoue is a senior high student who used to author bestselling female romance novels under a nom-de-plume, until an incident 2 years ago left him resolved to never write again.
One day, Inoue finds himself suddenly a member of the Literary Club, after he stumbles upon a girl eating pages of a book under the Magnolia blossoms. From then on, Inoue writes to feed Toko Amano's literary appetite.
A year later, the now Sophomore Konoha, is writing one of Toko's daily “snacks” when a “Romance Consulting” post box that Toko had put up finally nets a request... or does it? Join in as the story takes an unexpected turn, suddenly unfolding into a mystery of unforeseen consequences... with Konoha and Toko at the heart of it! Yet what kind of story will the myriad relations of the characters ultimately spin.
