animation | Japan Film Festival of San Francisco

★ Oct.7 Sun @ 2:45PM

2018 | 74 min | with English Subtitles | Directors: Xiaoxing Yi, Yoshitaka Takeuchi, Haoling Li

From CoMix Wave Films, the creative visionaries behind the international phenomenon Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name, comes Netflix’s new anime feature film Flavors of Youth, in association with Chinese studio Haoliners. Memories in a bowl of steaming noodles, a fading beauty finding her way and a bittersweet first love — all in these stories of city life in China. This triptych anthology film explores the simple joys of life through sensual memories and how the beating heart of love cannot be defeated by the flow of time.

DigiCon6 ASIA Awards: The Wonders of Animation Shorts

★ Oct.5 Fri @ 7:15 PM 【North American Premiere】

83 min | with English Subtitles
Featured directors: Kaori Iwase, Shinya Hashizume, Takahiro Miyauchi, Takuya Okada, Tomoki Misato, Honami Yano, Woohyun Kim, Sayaka Kihata, Yantong Zhu, Yoko Yuki, Q-rais, Manabu Himeda

DigiCon6 ASIA Awards is an annual competition held each fall, which seeks and recognizes talented creators throughout Asia (ex : Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka) for their outstanding works. JFFSF and DigiCon6 collaborate to showcase 11 award-winning animation shorts to share the wonders of imagination colorfully expressed in a variety of forms and styles of animation. DigiCon6 also provides creators with opportunities to expand their creative ground by supporting their innovative minds and activities year-round internationally.

Way back to the Sea
Directed by Kaori IWASE

KAIJU BATH
Directed by Shinya HASHIZUME

TOKYO COSMO
Directed by Takahiro MIYAUCHI, Takuya OKADA

Look at Me Only
Directed by Tomoki MISATO

CHROMOSOME SWEETHEART
Directed by Honami YANO

S -The Birth of Psycho-
Directed by Woohyun KIM

I Can’t Breathe
Directed by Sayaka KIHATA

My Milk Cup Cow
Directed by Yantong ZHU

Zdravstvuite!
Directed by Yoko YUKI

I like ducks
Directed by Q-rais

Youkosobokudesu4 ~ What is “Youkosobokudesu”?
Directed by Manabu HIMEDA

The Night is Short, Walk On Girl

★ Oct.1 Mon @ 7:15PM

2017 | 93 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Masaaki Yuasa

Award-winning anime director Masaaki Yuasa paints the most mesmerizing romantic comedy adapting Morimi Tomihiko’s novel of the same name.

Set in the enchanting city of Kyoto, Senpai (senior), a male university student is secretly in love with Otome (girl) with the black hair. He searches for her everywhere he goes: into the night alley of Pontocho, at the used book market at Shimogamo Shrine, and at the annual university fair… But she never realizes how he feels, and each time he “happens” to run into her, she simply says “What a coincidence!” Will Senpai ever get her to realize his love?

★ Buy tickets online for a chance to win a film poster!

© Tomihiko Morimi, KADOKAWA/NAKAME COMMITTEE

A Silent Voice: The Movie

★ Oct.3 Wed @ 7:15 PM

2016 | 129 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Naoko Yamada

The animated adaptation of Yoshitoki Oima’s multi-award winning comic about the association between a hearing-impaired girl and the toughest boy at school. It is directed by Naoko Yamada, whose TAMAKO Love Story won the New Face Award at the 2014 Japan Media Arts Festival’s Animation Division.

Shoya Ishida (voice: Miyu Irino), the leader of a group of mischievous elementary schoolboys, is ostracized by those around him on account of an incident involving transfer student Shoko Nishimiya (voice: Saori Hayami). Five years later, Shoya, now an emotionally hardened high schooler, once again pays Shoko a visit.

© Yoshitoki Oima, KODANSHA/A SILENT VOICE The Movie Production Committee. All Rights Reserved. Based on the manga A SILENT VOICE” by Yoshitoki Oima originally serialized in the weekly SHONEN MAGAZINE published by KODANSHA Ltd.

Liz and the Blue Bird

★ Sept.28 Fri @ 7:15 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】

2018 | 90 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Naoko Yamada

Liz and the Blue Bird is the latest film by director Naoko Yamada from Kyoto Animation, with the main staff of her critically-acclaimed film A Silent Voice. As a spin-off feature film of the ‘Sound! Euphonium’ series based on Ayano Takeda’s bestselling novel, Liz and the Blue Bird revolves around Mizore and Nozomi, two best friends in their final year of high school. With Mizore on the oboe and Nozomi on the flute, as members of the school’s brass band club, they spend their time happily together — until the club begins to practice songs inspired by the fairy tale Liz und ein Blauer Vogel (Liz and the Blue Bird).