After a successful inaugural year, the Niigata International Animation Film Festival (NIAFF) is returning in 2024 with an even more ambitious program of events. The festival will be held March 15 – 20, 2024.
What makes this animation festival special is its focus on feature length animation films instead of short films. There will also be Special Presentations such as invitational screenings with invited guests; a program featuring World Trends such as new production methods, female animators and a focus on Asia; a Retrospective and an All-Night Movie Marathon.
Shortly before the New Year, the Niigata Anime and Manga Festival (がたふぇす/ GataFes) announced that their festival would be held concurrently with NIAFF on March 16 and 17.
On the 28 November 2023, NIAFF announced that the 2024 Jury would be headed by Nora TWOMEY (Ireland). An Oscar-nominated director, Twomey in the co-founder and creative director of Cartoon Saloon. Her most renowned works include The Secret of the Kells (Tomm Moore/Nora Twomey, 2009) and The Breadwinner (Twomey, 2017).
Michael FUKUSHIMA (Canada) joins Twomey on the jury. He is acclaimed for his work as a producer at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) from 1997 – 2021. His is currently serving as OCADU’s Experimental Animation Executive Producer-in-Residence. You can learn about his 1992 animated documentary about his father’s traumatic life experiences on my website here: Minoru: Memory of Exile.
Rounding out the jury is Yūichirō SAITŌ (Japan), producer at STUDIO CHIZU, which he co-founded with acclaimed anime director Mamoru HOSODA. The works Saitō has collaborated with Hosoda on include The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009) Wolf Children (2012 and the Oscar nominated Mirai (2018).
I have joined the NIAFF team as their international press liaison, so keep an eye on my social media (@nishikataeiga on most platforms) for upcoming announcements. In the run-up to the festival, NIAFF’s official YouTube Channel is posting the highlights from 2023 which I will also post here.
2024 Catherine Munroe Hotes