It has been announced that the animated feature film "Innocence" (directed by Mamoru Oshii), based on the popular manga "Ghost in the Shell" by Masamune Shirow, will be screened as the opening film of the "3rd Niigata International Animation Film Festival," a feature-length commercial animation film festival. Director Oshii, who served as the head of the jury for the feature-length competition category at the first festival, will be making a triumphant return. A talk event will also be held, with producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa of Production IG, who worked on the film, appearing.
The films to be screened in the all-night section have also been announced. Themed around "Japanese CG Animation: A Turning Point," the film will include "Mini-Pato" (directed by Kenji Kamiyama ), a full CG short series based on the worldview and characters of " Mobile Police Patlabor ," "Appleseed" (directed by Aramaki Shinji), which is based on the popular sci-fi manga by Shirow Masamune, and "Blue Submarine No. 6" (directed by Maeda Masahiro), which is based on the manga by Ozawa Satoru.
The festival aims to be one of the largest festivals in Asia with a competition category for feature-length animated films, with the aim of spreading anime culture from Niigata to the world. The first festival was held in Niigata City from March 17th to 22nd, 2023, and the second from March 15th to 20th, 2024. The third festival will be held from March 15th to 20th.
