Nagoya's first international anime film festival to be held in December

It was announced on June 2nd that a new international animation film festival, the 1st Aichi Nagoya International Animation Film Festival (ANIAFF), will be held in Nagoya from December 12th to 17th. This will be the first international animation film festival to be held in Nagoya, and will be run from the "perspective of the creators" as a global film festival that combines the industrial and cultural power of Nagoya, one of Japan's three major metropolitan areas. The festival aims to be a festival that "provides a panoramic view of animation around the world" and "explores the past, future, and present of animation" by gathering cutting-edge, excellent animation from countries and regions around the world that transcends genres and methods of expression.

The announcement was made at a press conference held in Tokyo on June 2nd. The festival will be held at Midland Square Cinema, Nagoya Mode Gakuen & HAL Nagoya, and other venues, and will feature an international competition section for feature-length films, an invitational screening section showing the latest and most talked-about works from Japan and abroad, a special screening section focusing on directors, production studios, and themes, a new wave section introducing the appeal of anime from a timely perspective, a keynote speech section, and a seminar/conference program section.

General Producer Maki Taro commented, "Thanks to the efforts of Aichi Prefecture Governor Omura Hideaki, Nagoya Mayor Hirosawa Ichiro, and many other people involved, we are able to hold the 1st Aichi-Nagoya International Animation Film Festival. We will strive to make this film festival an engine that spreads, enhances, and evolves the value of animation from all over the world."

Festival Director Inoue Shinichiro said, "I am honored to be appointed as the Festival Director of the Aichi-Nagoya International Anime Film Festival. The craftsmanship that supports the automobile, aircraft, machine tool, and other industries that are rooted in Aichi and Nagoya has something in common with animation production sites. I hope to share with all the fans the joy of being able to hold a new film festival in this area, which has a high affinity with arts and culture."

Artistic director Kazudo Naoshi commented, "Aichi-Nagoya aims to be a new style of film festival that quickly grasps and presents what is going to happen in the world of animation - 'Where is animation headed? Where should it go?' I want to create a six-day festival where you can experience excitement and thrills."

Aichi Prefecture Governor Omura Hideaki commented, "I am very pleased that Aichi Prefecture will be hosting its first international animation film festival. Our prefecture is deeply connected to animation culture, with events such as Ghibli Park and the World Cosplay Summit, and I hope that through this film festival, Aichi's international cultural exchange will be promoted and the vitality of the entire region will be further increased."

Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa said, "Nagoya is the birthplace of the World Cosplay Summit, and we believe that animation is one of the attractions of our city. Taking advantage of this, this film festival will spread the cultural value of animation to the world, create diverse cultural exchange across borders, and help strengthen Japan's brand image as an anime powerhouse."