13th Critiques

KIFUNE Sonoko

No Corras Tanto (Take It Easy) , an excellent short animation that animates the sand in Spain, was entered as an OVA, not as a short animation. On the other hand, there was a discussion about the genre of CENCOROLL, whether it should be considered an OVA work rather than a short animation, because it employs the rendering style of commercial animation, and also because a DVD version of the work is already on sale. Hence, there was some confusion this year. Yet, the consistent and unique particular style of this festival is to screen works irrespective of age, professional or amateur status and nationality. I found many short animations that were very impressive, but at the same time, I felt the creator's passion and sweat disappearing little by little. Above all, I succumbed to ELEMI, which was a diligent 3D animation work. In the memorable discussion about the sexual content of HAND SOAP, which drew most attention from the jury, there was no suggestion that this kind of content should be avoided or condemned in animation. The work garnered sympathy from some members of the jury, and received high and sincere acclaim as a piece of work.

Profile
KIFUNE Sonoko
Animation Artist
In 1979, when she was a student at Tokyo Zokei University, KIFUNE Sonoko formed a unit called IKIF with KIFUNE Tokumitsu, started production of independent animation using 8mm and 16mm film, and released experimental animation, visual installations, etc. At the end of the '80s, she got involved in production of CG animation, and in 1997 established the animation production company IKIF+, which mainly produces 3DCG. She produced the animation BUBAGA for Puchi Puchi Anime on NHK Educational Channel from 1995 to 1997. In 2006, she worked as a 3D director for TACHIGUISHI-RETSUDEN, was in charge of OP animation of Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld in 2007 and Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend 2008. KIFUNE serves as an executive board member for both the Japan Animation Association and the Japan Society for Animation Studies, and a professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University.