The 1st Aichi-Nagoya International Animation Film Festival (ANIAFF) opened in Nagoya on December 12th. This is the first international anime film festival to be held in Nagoya, and it aims to be an unprecedented film festival with a "creator first" slogan. It will run until the 17th.
ANIAFF aims to be a film festival that "offers a panoramic view of animation from around the world" and "understands the past, future, and present of animation." Creators and producers from across borders will visit Nagoya to discuss and inspire each other through talks, conferences, workshops, and more. One of the festival's highlights, the Director's Focus special screening section, will feature director Mamoru Hosoda, whose latest work, "Scarlet," is also attracting attention.
The opening ceremony was held on the 12th at Midland Square Cinema (Nakamura Ward, Nagoya), with appearances by Aichi Prefecture Governor Omura Hideaki, Nagoya City Deputy Mayor Matsuo Toshinori, judges Aubrey Mintz and Shiota Shuzo, and festival director Inoue Shinichiro. Inoue made the appeal, saying, "You can see cutting-edge animation films from around the world right here in Nagoya."
Governor Omura said, "Aichi and Nagoya have deep ties to anime culture. Japan's most famous creators, such as Akira Toriyama and Kohei Horikoshi, have produced here. There is Ghibli Park and the World Cosplay Summit is also ongoing. We would like to promote and spread Japan's animation culture from Aichi and Nagoya." He expressed his hopes, saying, "As we hold more and more events, we hope to expand the network and make Aichi and Nagoya a hub for animation culture. Aichi and Nagoya are also huge industrial areas. It would be great if the overlap between anime and industry could lead to new development."
