News

Women Make Animation Online Programme From March 13

The online "WOW" film festival will include a programme entitled "Women in Animation," showcasing short Japanese animated films by female animators. It will become available on Sunday March 13 at 1 a.m. and be available for the next seven days. Once a viewer begins the programme, they will have 48 hours to finish it.

The programme is available for pre-order here; the event can be pre-ordered at the same link. As of writing, there are 175 'unlocks' available.

The event is described as follows:

"To celebrate International Women's Day, WOW Women's Film Club invited Eiko Meredith, the director of Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival, to hand-pick a selection of animated shorts made by up-and-coming female animators working in Japan.

"Among the films that will be screened online are some from students of Tokyo Zokei University's animation course such as the bizarre bee-filled story about a young woman learning to be brave, “To Be Continued” by Aki Ezure. We have a number of shorts from independent animators such as "Good Night", an award-winning short about two warring siblings which was directed by Makiko Nanke, who is herself a mother of three children.

There are also shorts by Arisa Wakami, an animator who uses a variety of materials, such as sand, to tell stories. Here, we have ones dedicated to mothers. We hope that these shorts will provide some support to mothers who may be feeling under pressure due to the pandemic."

In addition, Japanese animator Chie Arai will present a creative workshop on Saturday March 13 at 1.45 p.m. The livestream will be available until noon on Sunday March 22. There are more details here; the event can be pre-ordered at the same link.