Animation Conference 2026
How Do You Become a Filmmaker?
— Becoming One, and Keeping on Making
Overview
This lecture explores the idea that becoming an artist is not a single milestone, but an ongoing process of defining oneself through the continuous act of creating.
Presenting works from their student years to the present, the speaker traces how they have engaged with different themes and explored new forms of expression and techniques with each project. The lecture also examines how they have sustained their creative practice by balancing independent and commissioned work, grants, film festivals, teaching, and everyday life.
Through the experiences and ongoing experimentation of one creator, the session invites us to reflect on what it means to begin, develop, and sustain a creative practice in animation.
Speakers
Animation Artist, Filmmaker / nib Inc.
Honami Yano
Honami YANO is a Japanese animation filmmaker born on a small island in Japan.
Her short film A Bite of Bone (2021) won the Grand Prize for Short Animation at the 45th Ottawa International Animation Festival.
Her latest work, Eri (2026), was officially selected for the 58th Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes) at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
Alongside her filmmaking practice, she researches sexuality and gender in animation and curates screenings dedicated to queer animation.
She created the main visual for ANIAFF 2026.
Related Program
Director Honami Yano won the Grand Prize for Short Animation at the 45th Ottawa International Animation Festival in 2021. This year, her latest film, "Eri," was officially selected for Directors’ Fortnight at the 79th Cannes Film Festival. She also created the main visual for the Japan Pavilion at the Marché du Film in Cannes. Continuing to work internationally and attracting growing attention as an animation artist, Yano will be featured in a special program showcasing several of her short films.
For more details, please visit Programs > Invited Screenings / Special Programs > "Honami Yano Special Screening".