“`html
The 31st Busan International Film Festival is celebrating Japanese animation with a comprehensive 13-film retrospective that will welcome legendary director Rintaro back to South Korea for the first time in nearly two decades. Joining Rintaro will be four emerging filmmakers representing the next generation of animation talent. The curated program, designated as a Special Program in Focus, spans a century of Japanese animation history and features works that have rarely screened in Korean theaters.
The selection balances influential classics with recent releases, beginning with Yabushita Taiji’s 1958 “The White Snake Enchantress,” the first full-color Japanese animated feature film that profoundly influenced director Miyazaki Hayao. The program also includes watershed works such as Yamamoto Eiichi’s adult-oriented 1973 experimental film “Belladonna of Sadness,” which became a cult favorite after its 2016 restoration, and Oshii Mamoru’s 1985 visually striking “Angel’s Egg.” Other notable entries include Tezuka Osamu’s “Phoenix 2772” from 1980 and Otomo Katsuhiro’s “Memories,” which returns to Busan three decades after screening at the festival’s inaugural edition.
The lineup rounds out with contemporary works, including Yuasa Masaaki’s award-winning directorial debut “Mind Game” and Morita Shuhei’s technically pioneering 2004 short “Kakurenbo.” Four recently completed films from the attending directors will also premiere at the festival, including “Ghost – End of Night” and “Shiranui,” both anticipated for wider theatrical release.
“`
Originally reported by Variety →
About the Author
