17th Kodomotachino Kinder Film Festival Tokyo Report (2009)

17th festival held in both Chofu and Aoyama with gorgeous guests!

17th Kodomotachino Kinder Film Festival Tokyo had invited 11 competition films, which were Japan premier screenings, popular animations and films, and reading picture books with their projection. The big events were screenings of “Peter and the Wolf”, “La Maison en Petits Cubes”, both of which were wined Oscar of The Academy Award for Animated Short Film. There were lots of audiences not only children but also many adults, with the programs that made adults as well as children content with.

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Festival’s outlines

Name

17th Kodomotachino Kinder Film Festival Tokyo

Date

Aoyama venue, August 9th (Sun) to 12th (Wed)
Chofu venue, August 20th (Thu) to 23rd (Sun)

Venue

Aoyama Round Theatre/Children’s Castle (Aoyama venue)
Chofu city cultural hall, Tadukuri (Chofu venue)

Entrance Fee

Aoyama venue:
500 yen (Children over 3 and under 18), 700 yen (People over 18)
(These tickets are used as entrance ticket for Children’s Castle as well.)
Chofu venue:
Free (Children under 18 and people over 60), 500 yen (People over 18)

Screening films

23 films from 12 countries (The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, France, UK, Poland, Latvia, Russia, Norway, Germany, Taiwan, Japan)
Competition films：　11 films
Special featured films：　18 films

Audiences

7,944 people (Aoyama venue: 1,953 people, Chofu venue: 5,255 people)

Visitors of workshops

Visitors of workshops (except for Kuru-Kuru animation workshop)
88 people
Voice-over workshop: 15 people (Chofu venue)
Workshops for making animation by international guests:
・Workshop by Raimke Groothuizen  22 people
・Workshop by Reinis Kalnaellis  22 people
・Wall animation workshop  9 people
Workshop for making sand animation by Masako Iimen
Kuru-Kuru animation workshop (many)

Awarded films

• Kinder Film most excellent film award

  

  STORMHEART

  Director: Kaisa Rastimo

  Finland / 2008 / 96min.

• Kinder Film voice actor / actress award

  

  Ms. Chie Minami from Tokyo Animator Gakuin, the voice actress as “child Leopold”.

  The Beginning of the Armadillos

  Director: Jean-Jacoues Prunes

  France / 2008 / 13min.

17th Competition Films, 2009

Proude Mouse
Director : Natalya Berezovaya / 13min. / Russia / 2008
A small mouse undertakes the journey to seek his bride alone. A mouse begins to ask Crescent and Sun for help. He quests the stronger to support himself, so finally he meets…

The Little Crow with the Naked Bottom
Director: Raimke Groothen / 5min. / Netherlands / 2008
The little crow with the naked bottom, crying as everybody does not recognize him as one of them. The little crow visits other companies, or wears underpants but in vain. He is sorry, but finally his naked bottom comes to be downy!

PETER AND THE WOLF
Director: Suzie Templeton / 31 min. / UK / Poland / 2007
ACADEMY AWARD Best Short Film (Animated) USA 2008
Wined Oscar of The 2007 Academy Award for Animated Short Film, co-produced by UK, Poland and Norway. Based on the folk tale “Peter and the Wolf”, Templeton projects her astonishing novelty of direction: puppets play by freeze-frame. No script narrates the story, but the melody of Prokofiev’s symphony effectively delivers the essence of the tale.

Ｒｕｓｓｉａ　ＢＵＤＤＨＡ’ S SMILE
Director: Bair Dyshenov / 20min. / Russia / 2008
Grand Prix of The 59th Berlin Film Festival for Generation.
One day, a boy occasionally finds offered sweets for a family Buddhist alter at the house he strayed into, where all members were out of the house. At the very moment he cannot stop to fetch the sweets there, somebody talks to him…

Just So Stories (The Beginning of the Armadillos)
Director: Jean-Jacoues Prunes / 13 min. / France / 2008
One story of Genesis of Animals. The species of Armadillos originally came from the friendship of Turtle and Hedgehog. For protecting each other from the attack of leopard, they had special “training” and then acquired such an appearance.

Just So Stories (How the Camel got his Hump / The Sing-Song of Old-Man Kangaroo)
Director : Jean-Jacoues Prunes / 13 min. / France / 2008
One story of Genesis of Animals. The lazy Camel did not listen to God’s suggestion to work hard, then are destined to get the hump all the time. Kangaroo, on the other hand, requested God to be the most famous creature in the world as ever. God let dogs chase Kangaroo long way, and finally Kangaroo can be the world-famous jumper as we see.

Frog & the Stranger
Director: Karsten Klllerich, Alna Järvlne / 7 min. / Netherlands / 2008
A traveler Mouse dropped in the village a Frog was living. A Pig and Duck suggested Frog not to be friendly with Mouse, for they thought Mouse is wicked. But Mouse helped Pig when Pig’s house was burning out, to fight a fire and to rebuild Pig’s house. So everyone understands Mouse to be a friend in the end.

When Apples Roll
Director: Reinis Kalnaellis / 7 min. / Latvia / 2009
Grandma Cat falls an apple and finds an egg. Grandma Cat embraces the egg and it hatched, then she can meet a chick.

Marathon girl
Director: Maria Peters / 15min. / Netherlands / 2007
A girl with his brother on the wheelchair occasionally bumped against a marathon runner on the race. The runner dropped his amulet, so a girl ran to chase him over the city of Amsterdam. She approached, had a distance, but was prevented by a dog- Can she return the amulet to the runner?

Boo & Baa have company!
Director: Anna and Staffan Erlandsson / 8 min. / Sweden / 2008
Boo and Baa, a couple of Sheep, are good friends. They are always together, to clean up fallen leaves, etc.. This is a combined film of animation and shooting on the spot, depicting their everyday life. Unpretencious and heart-warming.

STORMHEART
Director: Kaisa Rastimon elokuva / 96min. / Finland / 2008
An abandoned puppy Stormheart in Berlin was saved and gifted to a Finnish family, as a pet of a daughter. They did not know anything about Stormheart at first, then gradually the arrivals of this dog were revealed. Stormheart was born from the parents that guarded Wall of Berlin…

FINLAND-JAPAN 90

17th Special featured films ,2009

La Maison en Petits Cubes
Director : Kunio Kato / 12 min. / Japan / 2008
ACADEMY AWARD Best Short Film (Animated) USA 2009
The watermark coming upwards, the old man, living there long time, enlarges his house upwards. In accordance with this habitual routine, he recalls his family who has left him, the days with his family sank under the water……..

SCHOOL DAYS WITH PIG
Director: Tetsu Maeda / 109min. / Japan / 2008
A new friend comes to our class 2 of the 6th year- that is a little pig “P-chan”. Surprisingly, our teacher Mr. Hoshi invites us to raise up P-chan over a year, and finally to eat P-chan! How should we do with this novice teacher’s idea?

THE FOX & THE CHILD
Director: Luc Jacquet / 96 min. / France / 2007
When coming down from school, a little girl Lila came across a beautiful fox in the forest. Lila’s gentle heart makes the fox’s stick wariness melted, and their friendship comes to bloom. One day, the fox follows Lila to her house…..

The Forgotten Toys
Director: Graham Ralph / 25min. / UK / 1997
Two old toys, Teddy and Annie were thrown away on the day after Christmas. They set out to find a new family who could love them. A heart-warming classical tale about friendship, highly recommended by Kinder Film.

The Hedge of Thorns
Director: Anita Killi / 14 min. / Norway / 2001
Very good friends, Florian and Malene, are inevitably separated by war. ….. A stunning film with a message of war and peace, illustrated by children’s eyes.

Farewell Dear Badger
Director : Jurgen Egenof, Theo Kerp / 7 min. / Germany / 2003
The knowledgeable badger, adored by everybody, has passed away in the end of autumn. The friends of badger were full of sorrow. But they started to talk about their memories with the badger when spring had come.

Aston’s Stones
Director: Lotta & Uzi Geffenblad / 9 min. / Sweden / 2007
One autumn evening, one shining pebble in the puddle captured Aston’s heart. He sympathized with its lonesome looking, and took it to home. From that day on, he collected such lonesome pebble at home- This film’s affectionate story is enhanced by fantastic coloring of screen.

A Fish with a Smile
Director: Alan Tuan, C.Jay Shih, Poliang Lin / 10 min. / Taiwan / 2005
The quiet, wonderful world, depicting the encounter of a little fish and a man with tender and munificent nature. This film leads everyone to the heart-stirring journey with countless generosity, gifted from this delicate and thoughtful man.

Pingu
Director: Otmer Gutman(original) / 5 min. / Switzerland
Pingu, a chick of Emperor Penguin in the South Pole, is a cheerful and curious boy. In his story, you cannot miss a lot of funny things that the naughty Pingu and his joyful family members do. Well, can you guess what is happening today?

Shaun the Sheep
Director: Richard Golesowski / 8 min. / UK / 2007
Bitzer, a sheepdog, is always hectic to stop Shaun, a naughty sheep, and his companies and to make things tidy after them before the farm owner notice. Many attractive characters enhance this cheerful slapstick.

Thomas & Friends
Director: Britt Allcroft / 5 min. / UK / 2005
The imaginary “Iles of Sodor” is a place where the well-known locomotive Thomas is living and working. There are lots of vehicles, all of which are Thomas’s friends, for example, steam and diesel locomotives, cargo cars, buses, helicopters, and so on. Today, as always, Thomas falls into “troubles” with his friends!

Bob the Builder
Director: Sarah Ball / 8 min. / UK / 2005
My name is Bob the Builder and this is my brilliant machine tem- Scoop the digger, lofty the crane, Dizzy the cement mixer, Muck the digger/duper, Roley the steamroller and many more machines. We have been kept really busy in Sunflower Valley building, mending and fixing just about everything in the valley.

Picture books Screening

Lisa & Gaspard
Story: Anne Gutman / Illustration： Georg Hallensleben /France
Lisa and Gaspard are neither rabbits nor dogs…...　
But especially cute residents in Paris are they. Lisa and Gaspard are always together, a couple of special friends, While they keep good company with human friends at school!!

BOOK BIRD
Story: Yurie Sato / Japan / 2009
A mysterious bird, “Book Bird”, exactly like one volume of book. The words of mouth speaks “ No more book is interesting than Book Bird”. One day, a Book Bird darted off from people in the town. But looking at himself, the Book Bird becomes sorrowfully annoyed –While he enjoys to be free, he cannot know what is his role, where is his place, and what is he- The Book Bird, however, encounters to the quest for the place he should be, the position he can contribute, and how he is valuable.

Another Zoo -Threatened Species
Japan / 2009
Today is fine day. Here is the Zoo dedicated to threatened species. Look, many curious creatures enjoys their easy and peaceful life. Well, new comers are joining today…… You don’t have wings? Any feather? You birds are 3 meters high! Who are you?……”Giant More!” Yes, fathers of Giant More sit on eggs.

17th Application for Workshop: Radio Actor/Actress Experience, 2009

The gorgeous and most popular workshop! 　It’s the package from the 2 hours’ practice and presentation of the real dubbing!

Contents

The professional radio actors/actress directly supervise you for short animation films(5-10 min.) and you present your budding on stage.

Venue

“Tazukuri” Chofu-city Chamber of

Date

Thurs day 20th , Friday 21st, and Saturday 22nd August 2009
・The Elementary Grades’ Session (the 1st-2nd of the Primary）　20th Aug
・The Upper Grades’ Session（the 3rd – 6th of the Primary）　21st -22nd Aug

Schedule

・Practice: 12：30～15：00（w/o break）
・Presentation: 15:00- (At the beginning of the program)

Admission

Free

Capacity

6 in each sesion

17th Application for Workshops Film/Animation making ,2009

Shall we have a magical experience in the real animation-making world?

Contents：

Make your own animation films under the supervision of the domestic/international animators. Japanese only.

Venue

Chofu city cultural hall Tadukuri

Date

Thurs day 20th , Friday 21st, and Saturday 22nd August 2009

Schedule

・The Elementary Grades’ Session (the 1st-2nd of the Primary）　
　11：00～12：30
・The Upper Grades’ Session（the 3rd – 6th of the Primary）　
　13：00～15：00
・The Upper Grades’ Session “Animation of Sandy work”
　（the 3rd – 6th of the Primary）　13：00～15：30　
　※Only on the 22nd of Aug

Admission

Free

Capacity

20 people in each session

Workshop supervisors

・The Elementary Grades’ Session：　
　Ms. Raimke Groothuizen (The Netherlands)
・The Upper Grades’ Session：　
　Mr.Reinis Kalnaellis (Latvia)
・The Upper Grades’ Session “Animation of Sandy work”：
　Ms. Masako Iimen (Japan)

Special Guests

Our great supporters! (2009)

LiLiCo
Film Commentator
Profile： Born in Stockholm, Sweden. Moved to Japan when she was 18 years old. Debuted in 1992 as a singer of a film theme song. LiLiCo has enjoyed she gained from her characteristic singing, as well as her unique comments about film, and has expanded her career as a radio actress, MC, talk show guest, etc.. We currently can see her in “Osama no Blunch” on TBS.

Official Blog

Mike MAKI
Singer, Actor
Debuted as a singer in 1966. Mike enjoys his fame as an actor as well as a singer. He is also an expert in motorsport and outdoor activities.

Leo Morimoto
Actor, Narrator
Born in 1943 in Aichi. Since his screen debut in 1967, Leo Morimoto has been the undeniable prince of narration for his tender way of speaking.

Lu Oshiba
Actor, Comedian
The talent of Lu Oshiba was inspired by his multicultural experience in Europe in his youth after graduating high school. After that he trained himself for a long time to be an actor. He attracted people’s attention when he was 34, with the characteristic booming phrasing he calls “Lu-language”. He sings the song “MOTTAINAI” from NHK’s “Minna-no Uta.” Recently he has been interested in various activities for protecting Earth’s environment, following Wangari Maathai’s theory; he has joined a clean-up journey to Mt. Fuji in order to convey the importance of nature and the environment to children.

Official Blog

Kunio Kato
Film Director – Animation Studio Cage,
Communication Planning Division of ROBOT K.K
Kunio Kato completed his B.A. in Graphic Design at Tama University of Fine Arts, and jointed ROBOT K.K in 2001. Since then he has produced various kinds of Web programs, animated cartoons, and movies. Kato entered the world of animated movies with “A Dairy of Traveller” (2003), which was highly appreciated internationally. As is well known, in 2009 his “La Maison en Petits Cubes” was awarded the Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated).

Official Website

Moe Yamaguchi
TV Performer
Born in Tokyo, 1977. Moe Yamaguchi is very popular among people for her easygoing character and gentle speech. She appears in a wide range of TV programs, dramas, theatre, commericals and other entertainment programs. Moe is qualified as Pet Administrator Grade 2 and as Vegetable & Fruit Master. As for her personal life, she married in 2005 and in 2007 became a mother of her first daughter. Her blog describes her everyday life as a mother.

Official Blog

International Guests 2009

Ronja Arvilommi
Film：STORMHEART
Country：Finland
A Child Actress, playing the title role “Muru” in “STORMHEART.”

Raimke Groothuizen
Film：The Little Crow with the Naked Bottom
Country：The Netherlands
The Director of “The Little Crow with the Naked Bottom,” Groothuizen is the organizer of the children’s workshop (under 9yrs) on Aug. 20th and 21st at the Chofu location.

Reinis Kalnaellis
Film：When Apples Roll
Country：Latvia
The Director of “When Apples Roll,” Kalnaellis is the organizer of the children’s workshop (over 9yrs) on Aug. 20th and 21st at the Chofu venue.

Huge Welchman
Film：Peter and the Wolf
Country：UK
Producer of “Peter and the Wolf” (winner of the 2008 Academy Award).

Our fun friends! (2009)

Gachapin & Mucc
I will see you all in Aoyama!
Official Blog

Pingu
Hey! See you around during the Festival!!!
Official Website