The San Francisco Film Society presents the fifth annual San Francisco International Animation Festival (SFIAF), a four-day celebration of the Bay Area’s preeminence as a hub for one of the most creative forms in cinema, November 11–14 at Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema. This year’s International Animation Festival ranges from FX-based features to family-friendly cartoons and includes Hayao Miyazaki protégé Sunao Katabuchi’s Mai Mai Miracle, the Decemberists-inspired Here Come the Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized, six wildly diverse shorts programs and a live animation and musical performance by artist duo Semiconductor.
“SFIAF explores the many forms of animation as both an artistic practice and a mode of production,” said programmer Sean Uyehara. “Each year it’s exciting to discover and present a range of work from established artists such as anime director Sunao Katabuchi and this year’s Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award recipient Don Hertzfeldt to works by emerging talents such as Brent Green and Skye Thorstensen to the unique work of the innovative duo Semiconductor.”
Since I'm a fan of Spirited Away, I was looking forward to seeing Mai Mai Miracle at the San Francisco International Animation Festival this morning. Mai Mai Miracle is directed by Sunao Katabuchi, who is a protege of Hayao Miyazaki's and worked as his assistant director on Kiki's Delivery Service. Miyazaki, who has received much critical acclaim for at least a dozen films and is considered the Walt Disney of Japan, is one of the few Anime directors who has managed to make films that hav...
The San Francisco Film Society presents the fifth annual San Francisco International Animation Festival (SFIAF), a four-day celebration of the Bay Area's preeminence as a hub for one of the most creative forms in cinema, November 11 - 14 at Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema. This year's International Animation Festival ranges from FX-based features to family-friendly cartoons and includes Hayao Miyazaki protégé Sunao Katabuchi's Mai Mai Miracle, the Decemberists-inspired Here Come the Waves...
Major premieres for Locarno’s younger audiences: Pokémon and Mai Mai MiracleThe 12th film in the Pokémon saga, entitled Pokémon Diamond & Pearl the Movie: Arceus: To the Conquering of Space-Time, will be presented as an international premiere at the forthcoming Locarno International Film Festival. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, creator of the preceding episodes as of the TV series, the film concludes the Diamond & Pearl trilogy. Following the screening, young viewers will be able to meet Jap...
I had the chance to talk to Mr. Sean Uyehara, founder and programmer of the San Francisco International Animation Festival, about film, animation, and this year's fest.
What's the mission of the Animation Festival?
The idea is to present films that give a good overview of the state of the field. We try to bring the best films in the field to San Francisco, and also try to shine a light on the practice of animation in general.
Any major challenges with this year's festi...
