The Aichi Nagoya International Animation Film Festival (ANIAFF) will hold its first edition from December 12 to 17 in Nagoya. Organized by the team behind the Niigata festival, it centers on a competition screening 11 animated films from around the world. The event includes screenings, chat shows, and storytelling.
Japan, renowned as an animation powerhouse, lacked a festival dedicated to full-length animated films until recently. That changed in 2023 with the launch of the Niigata International Animation Film Festival, which held its third edition in March. The team responsible for that event has now established another: the Aichi Nagoya International Animation Film Festival, or ANIAFF.
The inaugural edition runs from December 12 to 17 at venues around Nagoya Station. Sponsored by the city of Nagoya and Aichi Prefecture, it focuses on a Feature Film Competition showcasing 11 films from around the world. Japanese entries include recent titles "Jinsei," "100 Meters," and "The Last Blossom."
International selections feature "Maya, Give Me a Title," the first animated film by Michel Gondry, known for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"; "Nimuendaju," based on the true story of an ethnologist who lived among Indigenous Brazilian communities for 40 years; and "Dandelion's Odyssey," a French-Belgian production directed by Tokyo-born Momoko Seto, following four dandelion seeds on an epic journey.
ANIAFF aims to highlight animation's diversity through screenings, discussions, and storytelling, fostering cultural engagement in the region.