The 3rd Niigata International Animation Film Festival has announced its award winners, with Shin-Ei Animation’s Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window and the creative team behind Look Back taking home top honors. The festival, held annually in Niigata, Japan, celebrates excellence in animated feature films and recognizes the technical achievements of individuals and studios contributing to the art form. The event is scheduled to take place from March 15-20.
Award Winners Shine
The festival presented two main awards: the Hiroshi Ōkawa Award and the Kōji Fukiya Award. These awards are named after Kōji Fukiya, founder of Toei Movies, and Hiroshi Ōkawa, Toei’s first president, both of whom hailed from Niigata.
Hiroshi Ōkawa Award: Shin-Ei Animation was awarded the Hiroshi Ōkawa Award for their work on Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window. This award recognizes overall achievement in animation production. The film is based on the autobiographical novel by Japanese actress and media personality, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. The anime feature film previously won the Paul Grimault Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Shinnosuke Yakuwa (Doraemon* anime series) served as director.
Kōji Fukiya Award: The Kōji Fukiya Award, which acknowledges specific technical contributions, was given to several individuals for their work on Look Back. The recipients include:
- Kiyotaka Oshiyama: Director and animator
- Toshiyuki Inoue: Animator
- Eriko Kimura: Sound director
Additionally, Yuki Hayashi won the Kōji Fukiya Award for his work on My Hero Academia: You’re Next film.
About the Award-Winning Films
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window
Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window is an anime feature film adapted from the autobiographical novel of the same name by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, a celebrated Japanese actress and media personality. The story follows Totto-chan, a young girl, and her experiences at a unique and progressive school during World War II. The film is directed by Shinnosuke Yakuwa.
Look Back
Look Back is an anime film adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s coming-of-age manga of the same name. The 58-minute film is produced by Studio Durian. The film was released in Japan on June 28, 2024, earning 2.04 billion yen (13 million USD) from its total domestic run. The film also won the “Best Work” award in the feature film category at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2025.
Niigata International Animation Film Festival: A Growing Force
The Niigata International Animation Film Festival (NIAFF) is dedicated to showcasing feature-length animated movies from around the world. The festival aims to be a hub that integrates animation culture and industry, and a place to foster the creation of global animation.
Key Highlights of the Festival:
- Competition: The festival features a competition dedicated to feature animation.
- Global Reach: The festival aims to connect the world and Japan, as well as animation filmmakers and fans.
- Growth: NIAFF has quickly established a firm track record within just two years after its inauguration.
- Schedule: The third edition of the festival is slated for March 15 – 20, 2025 in the city of Niigata, Niigata Prefecture in Japan.
Previous Festival Highlights
- The first Niigata International Animation Film Festival was held in March 2023 and featured Mamoru Oshii as the judging committee chairman.
- At the second festival in March 2024, Mari Okada and MAPPA‘s original anime film Alice to Therese no Maboroshi Kōjō (maboroshi) won the Kabuku Award.
- Winners of the Kōji Fukiya Award in 2024 included maboroshi art director Kazuki Higashiji, The Boy and the Heron animation director Takeshi Honda, and Lonely Castle in the Mirror scriptwriter Miho Maruo.
- Pompo: The Cinéphile anime studio CLAP won the Hiroshi Ōkawa Award.
Awards at the Festival
The festival gives out several awards, including:
- Grand Prix
- The Kabuku Award: Given to a work that is not constrained by conventional values, but challenges and creates something novel and innovative.
- The Evolve Award: The “Evolve Award” is given to a work that is not bound by the various boundaries of production methods such as ‘2D’, ‘3D’ or “stop-motion “, or genres but gives evolution to the world of animation.
- Ohkawa & Fukiya Award: Awarded to technical staff and production companies that have made significant contributions in recent years in the animation production techniques.
2025 Feature Film Competition Nominees
The festival received 69 entries from 28 countries and regions. The 12 films nominated for the festival’s awards include:
- Balentes, directed by Giovanni Columbu (Italy)
- Clarice’s Dream, directed by Guto Bicalho and Fernando Gutierrez (Brazil)
- Ghost Cat Anzu, directed by Yoko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita (Japan)
- Living Large, directed by Kristina Dufková (Czech Republic)
- Look Back, directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama (Japan)
- Memoir of a Snail, directed by Adam Elliot (Australia)
- Olivia & The Clouds, directed by Tomás Pichardo Espaillat (Dominican Republic)
- Papercuts: My Life as an Indie Animator, Eric Power (U.S.)
- Pelikan Blue, László Csáki (Hungary)
- Pig That Survived Foot-And-Mouth Disease, Bum-wook Hur (South Korea)
- The Worlds Divide, Denver Jackson (Canada)
- They Shot the Piano Player
Juries
The NIAFF has also disclosed the names of the three jury members who assessed the 12 films nominated for awards:
- Manuel Cristóbal: A renowned Spanish film producer with multiple accolades from prestigious film festivals, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
- Christine Panushka: An American animator and educator at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
- Noriko Matsumoto: A Japanese producer known for her work in stop-motion animation, including the beloved Domo-kun and Rilakkuma series.
Niigata: An Emerging Animation Hub
Niigata is becoming a significant location for animation in Japan. The city already hosts the Niigata Anime and Manga Festival and Niigata Manga Awards. The establishment of NIAFF and the presence of several anime studios in the region underscore Niigata’s growing importance in the animation industry.
As the Niigata International Animation Film Festival continues to grow, it promises to be an important platform for recognizing talent and promoting the art of animated filmmaking on a global scale.
