Invitational and Special Screening Lineup Announced!

This program brings together the latest releases and acclaimed works from Japan and abroad, as well as significant films that deserve to be revisited today. A diverse range of guests connected to the films will also join us.

This year’s lineup includes “Giovanni’s Island,” directed by Mizuho Nishikubo and produced by ANIAFF jury member Taiki Sakurai. Internationally acclaimed, the film has become a rare opportunity to experience on the big screen.

ANIAFF will also shine a spotlight on distinctive independent works, including “Slaying Holofernes,” directed by Kurumi Hakamata, and “echo,” directed by Asuka Dokai. Both screenings will be accompanied by talk events featuring the directors and other guests.

The special program “AI as Portrayed in Animation” will focus on artificial intelligence. While AI has attracted considerable attention in recent years, today’s technological developments can also be seen as the realization of worlds that animation has imagined for decades.

The program will feature a range of talk events, including a discussion between Yoichiro Miyake, a leading expert in game AI development and an avid anime enthusiast, and director Seiji Mizushima about depictions of AI in anime.

Screenings will include “RAKUEN TSUIHO -Impelled by 10th Anniversary-“; Parts 1 and 2 of “Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet: Far Beyond the Voyage,” with director Kazuya Murata appearing as a guest; and “The Congress,” directed by Ari Folman, which tells the story of an actress who sells the rights to her digital likeness to a film studio.