Japanese Animation Classics featured at the 14th International Silent Film Festival Manila

Japanese Animation Classics featured at the 14th International Silent Film Festival Manila

The Japan Foundation, Manila pays tribute to the foundations of Japanese animation by featuring classic animated works at the 14th International Silent Film Festival Manila from December 4 to 6 through an online screening at www.iwatchmore.com.

Six (6) unique animated short silent films, digitalized and subtitled in English by the National Film Archive of Japan (NFAJ) were featured in this year’s silent film festival, included the oldest existing Japanese Animation “The Dull Sword.” The four-minute animation classic was directed by Junichi Kouchi and produced in 1917 which is considered the birth year of domestic animation in Japan.

The other Japanese Animation Classics featured were Burglars of “Baghdad” Castle (1926 | 14 mins), The Animal Olympics (1928 | 13 mins), Two Worlds (1929 | 15 mins), Old Man Goichi (1931 | 11 mins), and A Day after a Hundred Years (1933 | 10 mins).

The Japanese Animation Classics in the festival was accompanied by the musical scores created by the HJH Composers Collective. composed of Hiroko Nagai, Jordan Peralta, and Harold Andre Santos, contemporary music composers with a diverse musical palette of pop, classical, folk, jazz, electronic music, and traditional Philippine and Japanese music. HJH frequently collaborate with other artists to create music for film, theatre, dance, and visual arts. Around 1,725 viewers attended the online screenings.

The 14th ISFF Manila also held a webinar entitled “Saving Memory: Making Silent Films Talk to Us,” together with Mr. DAIBO Masaki, Head of Film Collections at the National Film Archive of Japan (NFAJ). DAIBO shared his expertise in the archiving and digitizing of Japanese films and how he manages the preservation of the NFAJ collection alongside with international panelists from France, Italy, Germany, and the Philippines.

The Japan Foundation, Manila

The Japan Foundation, Manila

The Japan Foundation, Manila

The Japan Foundation, Manila