Born in 1980, Atsushi Wada started making his self-produced animated films in 2002 after studying at Tokyo University of the Arts. He has now made 15 short films which have screened at numerous festivals worldwide and been awarded several times over, including the ‘Silver Bear’ Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for ‘The Great Rabbit’. These films, beautifully rendered in fine pencil-line drawings with understated splashes of colour, are more than just animated stories – watching them you can literally feel movement and experience sudden but subtle emotional jolts to the subconscious. Atsushi is very interested in the Japanese traditional concept called “Ma”, the tension produced between movements. These minimalist films, influenced by Noh Theatre, music and dance, shine a light on strange worlds and take a sideways look at human relationships with humans and human relationships with animals using only what is essential – nothing is superfluous. LIAF is very proud to present a comprehensive retrospective of one of Japan’s most singular, fascinating and independent animators, in partnership with <a href="https://www.jpf.org.uk/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Japan Foundation</a>. Find out about our other online BFI Japan 2021 programme:&nbsp;<a href="https://watch.eventive.org/liaf2021/play/617c2973235004005bb26fab" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Into the Unknown: The Trippy Worlds of Indie Japanese Animation</a> Recommended age 15+

Atsushi Wada Introduction

Based on a poem by Kenji Miyazawa. A worm in this river looks shiny to me.

Dancer of Vermicular

For whom does the girl keep rotating? A story of a weird relationship between a child and adults.

The Thing of Rotation of Child

A clerk does his own work. This is what a clerk should do.

A Clerk in Charge

Nucnuc means pleasant in English. We cannot be without Nucnuc for long – if we are, we become unpleasant.

Day of Nose

A lot of mistakes may happen, but no problem. A whistle, a bird, a stone, a human, they are gentle.

Gentle Whistle, Bird, and Stone

If there is a fixed number of words that a person speaks within his/her lifetime, and if that number is controlled from somewhere by someone, then it would probably be like the story in this film.

A Manipulated Man

How was this made? Why? For what purpose and using what materials? What is this anyway? There are lots of things we need to find out about.

Well, That’s Glasses

A huge pig lies near a house. The family of the house go about their everyday life, pretending to ignore the pig’s existence.

In A Pig’s Eye

Everybody is excited to see the arrival of spring. This film tries to depict the excitement spring brings.

The Mechanism of Spring

If you believe in the Rabbit, it means that you’ll believe anything. If you don’t believe in the Rabbit, it means that you won’t believe anything. Your choice.

The Great Rabbit

Some people have faith in religion. Others believe in the existence of anomalies, such as unknowable and uncontrollable monsters.

Anomalies

The activities of cats, kobito, carp, and an uncle dressed as a woman on a swamp.

My Marsh

Dear Mr. Vivaldi, I apologise for setting your music to animation without your permission. But I wanted to depict “autumn” in my own way with various animals. Thank you for understanding. Yours sincerely, AW.

Autumn from Antonio Vivaldi “The Four Seasons”

My Exercise

BFI Japan 2021: Atsushi Wada - A Jolt to the Subconscious

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London International Animation Festival 2021

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