| 11:00 |
 |
Panel Discussion with Koji Morimoto and Michael Aria |
 The first day of the festival in Sapporo started with a panel with Koji and Michael, leaders in the world of animation. Michael said that when he first saw Koji's work, "I thought, he seemed too cool. But when I got to work with him, I actually found that he is very down to earth, a very nice guy. The whole crew had a great time working together." "When I first saw Michael's film," said Koji, "I thought he had a very Japanese soul--more Japanese than Japanese people have." By the way, many people might wonder what animation directors do. "There are two kinds of animation directors," explained Koji. "The kind who draws pictures himself, and the kind who doesn't. The first is like a chef who goes out to find his own ingredients, and the other is like a chef who uses the ingredients that are already in the kitchen. I like drawing, so I am the former kind of director." |
|
Michiyo's (left, age 28) favorite genre of film is science fiction, but she said particularly enjoyed the short films because "they are clearer and livelier than long ones." She thought MASS TRANSIT was the most impressive film in the program. Miyuki (right, age 27) is fond of old, black-and-white movies. Her favorite film today was SEVENTEEN SECONDS TO SOPHIE. "I could tell that each film was really made by an individual, unlike big feature movies. I enjoyed seeing these shorts which are so filled with the filmmakers' hearts."
Bruce Luffey (middle), who produced DOMESTIC INCIDENT appeared as a surprise guest today. He came all way down to Sapporo by himself. Before the show, he greeted the audience and introduced his film. "Although it is a suspense, this film doesn't have car-chase scenes or other flashy scenes. But I guarantee that everyone can enjoy this film even without showy scenes." After the film was shown, the audience gave Bruce a warm applause. He was very pleased with that. He is planning to go camping at Lake Shikotsu tomorrow. "I like Sapporo a lot. It's like Oregon. I like small cities full of greenery and nature more than big cities like Tokyo."
Ms. Doshita (left, age 24) and Mr. Tohda (right, age 24) saw all three programs. Ms. Doshita's favorite was THE PERSONALS. "It showed the real lives of senior citizens, which I don't come in touch with in my daily life," she said. "I understood the content of the film even without narration, which was incredible." Mr. Tohda thought ELEVATOR WORLD was the most interesting. "This was the first time I'd ever seen short film. I enjoyed all sorts of films today. Even though the films were short, I was able to get into the film quickly and it didn't even seem like it was short."
