The 3rd Niigata International Animation Film Festival, an anime film festival, opened in Niigata City on March 15th, with the opening film being director Mamoru Oshii's masterpiece "Innocence." Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, CEO of IG Port, which produced the film, and festival director Shinichiro Inoue took to the stage. "Innocence" is a sequel set in 2032, three years after "Ghost in the Shell," and was released in theaters in 2004, marking its 20th anniversary last year. Director Oshii sent a video message in which he spoke about his thoughts on "Innocence."
As Ishikawa says, "The footage is 20 years old, but it hasn't faded," and "Innocence" is a work filled with timeless appeal.
Regarding the film's timeless appeal, director Oshii said, "As with Ghost in the Shell, I wanted to make a work that would not go out of style even after 10 or 20 years. One reason is that I think the issue of the amount of information animation can contain is important. How much information can it contain purely as an image? I think that's an important thing for a film. It's not about increasing the resolution. How densely can the worldview be expressed? Drama and characters may be a product of the times. When you think of films on the level of expression, it incorporates all the technology available at the time. Not just in a digital sense, but expressed through the skills of the animators, the drawing techniques. It's a rare work that was made to the limits of what was possible at the time. I think this will be an incentive for people to watch it even after so much time has passed."
It also contains a message that seems to predict the future. There are some things that are only becoming clear now that AI is becoming more prevalent in society. "The theme hasn't become outdated. I'm proud that the theme of the work is still relevant today. I don't think we'll ever see a work like this again. No matter how much digital technology improves, the skills of animators and artists will not be passed down. It all comes down to work that is created by hand. I don't think I could ever do something similar myself," he said.
This is the third time the festival has been held. Director Oshii served as the chairman of the judging committee for the first festival, and sent a message saying, "I thought it would be good if it continued for three years. After that, it will be decided based on the standard of the works that are submitted. I sincerely hope that this film festival will attract social attention. Please do your best to collect good works. Maybe one of my works will be submitted."
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.
