Top Animated Shorts of 2008

Midnight Eye asked its writers to contribute to their annual top ten survey. The article is due to be published in the next week or so, but here is a sneak preview of my list. As I am not living in Japan anymore, (nor a major metropolis) I have not yet seen enough of the past year's feature films to make an informed judgement on the top features of 2008. I have, however, been immersed in animated...

KineJun Top Films of 2008

1. Okuribito2. Gururi no koto3. Jitsuroku Rengo Sekigun: Asama Sanso e no michi4. Tokyo Sonata5. Aruitemo aruitemo6. Yami no kodomotachi7. Kabee8. Climbers High9. Seppun10. After School11. Hyakuman'en to nigamushi onnaBest Director: Yojiro Takita(Okuribito)Best Screenplay: Kundo Koyama (Okuribito)Best Actress: Kyoko Koizumi (Tokyo Sonata)Best Actor: Masahiro Motoki (Okuribito)Best Supporting Actress:...

Takashi Ishida and Yuki Kawamura Exhibition

Artists Takashi Ishida (石田高志) and Yuki Kawamura （河村勇樹）are being featured as part of a Projection Series at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal from January 14th until March 15th. The Project Series seeks to feature artists who represent a wide variety of aesthetic and cultural backgrounds including video artists, photographers, playwrights, choreographers and composers. The series explores...

Renzo & Sayoko Kinoshita

This month marks the 12th anniversary of the passing of independent animation pioneer Renzō Kinoshita (木下蓮三, 3 Sept. 1936 - 15th January 1997). Kinoshita, along with his wife and collaborator Sayoko (木下小夜子, b. 1945) made a number of internationally acclaimed films together and were the founders of the biannual Hiroshima International Animation Festival.Kinoshita grew up in Osaka where, according...