New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival
The festival took place during November 1st-5th in the domestic terminal of the airport of New-Chitose. Guests are being hosted at the airport hotel during the entire festival free of charge. Breakfast is included and the airport Onsen is available for use for the hotel guests (Unfortunately I had to give up on this experience since tattoos are not allowed). We were already invited to arrive the day before the festival starts, it was a nice opportunity to discover the domestic airport which is unique for its variety of shops, markets and museums. It is built like a maze and it takes some getting used to. The festival offers food vouchers and an amount of 60 Thousand Yen to each filmmaker. The festival venue itself constitutes of 3 movie theatres, the main events take place in the biggest one.
From the opening ceremony, to the screenings and other accompanying events - the entire festival was very well organised. The staff were extremely helpful and kind and everything was right on schedule. This was the 11th edition of the festival and it shows that they managed to establish themselves and think through the small details that help turning the festival experience into a pleasant one. For example, the opening and closing ceremonies are being interpreted to English in real time using the Zoom app, you should bring your own earphones though. Other events were interpreted on stage. One of my favourite parts of the festival was the festival bar in the hotel, where the entire festival attendants and staff met each night to get together and celebrate. Another highlight was the excursion to New-Chitose on the last day of the festival. We visited a shrine and the city aquarium, and had delicious lunch together before returning to the closing ceremony.
Each film is screened twice, which makes the full screenings and talks schedule flexible enough to manoeuvre around. The main screening includes a filmmaker's Q&A at the end of the it, and we were each asked three questions regarding our films. The audience doesn‘t have an opportunity to ask questions, but it‘s very easy to approach the filmmakers after the screenings or at the bar and discuss the films further in depth. Screenings can be sold out and I recommend arriving a bit earlier in the day to collect tickets for the screenings you are interested in.
Staying at the airport for 6 days can be exhausting. I suggest leaving the airport for short trips to get some fresh air and experience the beautiful Sapporo - for example, the Upopoy Museum and park, a museum dedicated to the Ainu indigenous people and culture. Another nearby option is to take the train to the city of Sapporo, which is especially beautiful during the autumn when fall is taking place.
To conclude I would like to point out that the festival was very generous - I felt very well taken care of during my stay, and got to meet interesting filmmakers from all around the world. The attendance is nice, mostly guests from Japan and the area, and a few filmmakers choose to make the long way from American and Europe. The animation selection is great and showcased a variety of styles and approaches to animation filmmaking. I would definitely recommend taking the long trip to experience this unique festival.
