Short Anime Film Competition

Information

The AnimeGO! Japan Pop Culture Festival aims to promote and celebrate Japanese pop culture in Australia. Anime from Japan has become a worldwide phenomenon, and we would like to celebrate this through a short anime film competition in order to promote up and coming creators both locally and worldwide. Each year, a Japanese cultural theme is introduced to encourage cultural learning and understanding of Japan. The focus of the competition is the incorporation of the theme and overall quality. We encourage everyone who enjoys creating animation to apply with an entry.

Check out previous year’s entries: AnimeGo! Pop Culture Festival on YouTube

This year’s theme is 「義理・人情」[giri / ninjyou] refers to one’s duty to one’s social obligations (giri) and one’s personal desires, feelings and nature (ninjyou). In Japanese culture these dual ideas shape one’s thinking around life decisions.

All films will be reviewed by our juding panel comprised of industry professionals, and the shortlisted films will be screened at this year’s AnimeGO! Japan Pop Culture Festival.

Registration for the 2024 competition will soon be open!

Please read the latest terms and conditions to ensure your entry will be accepted.

Competition Theme: 「義理・人情」[giri / ninjyou] Refers to one’s duty to one’s social obligations (giri) and one’s personal desires, feelings and nature (ninjyou). In Japanese culture these dual ideas shape one’s thinking around life decisions.

Registration Open: 2nd April 2024 at 8:00am (Australian Central Standard Time)

Registration Deadline: 15th September 2024 at 11:59pm (Australian Central Standard Time)

Submission Deadline: 29th September 2024 at 11:59pm (Australian Central Standard Time)

Results Announcement: AnimeGO! Japan Pop Culture Festival 26th October 202

Keep an eye out for the registration opening of the 2024 competition!

Prizes

Grand Prize

The winner(s) will receive $1000 towards a trip to Japan and an additional supporters prize pack, brought to you by the Japan Australia Friendship Association (JAFA)

Runner-up(s) (2 winners)

The runner-up(s) will receive a supporters prize pack, brought to you by the Japan Australia Friendship Association (JAFA).

Judging Criteria

The Short Anime Film Competition is a competition on the innovative use of the cultural theme. JAFA will appoint an independent judging panel to review the films entered in the Short Anime Film Competition. This panel will be comprised of industry professionals and JAFA committee members and others (Panel). The members of the panel will watch and review the films during October 2024. The judges will short list the 20 films which meet all requirements (top twenty films) and then determine the overall best film that will be the winner(s) of the AnimeGO! Japan Pop Culture Festival – Short Anime Film Competition (winner(s)). The winner(s) will be announced during the award ceremony at the AnimeGO! Japan Pop Culture Festival . The top twenty films and the ultimate winner(s) will be decided based on judging criteria determined by the panel. The panel will be asked to consider the following categories: Theme, Innovation, Technical Skills, and Anime/Cultural Referencing.

The categories will feature these key points:

Theme: How well has the specified theme been incorporated, referenced or conveyed throughout the animation. If there is no evidence of the reference, then the film will be disqualified.

Innovation: The level of innovation incorporated within the animation focussing on the following aspects, narrative style and interpretation.

Technical Skills: Evaluate to what level of success the Twelve Basic Principles of Animation have been utilised throughout the animation.

Cultural referencing: Evaluate the quality of cultural references incorporated throughout the animation. These may be subtle or overt for example: visual cues, compositional style, anime animation technique and storytelling approaches.

The panel’s decision will be final and no communications in relation to their decision will be allowed.

The twenty shortlisted films will be screened during the AnimeGO! Japan Pop Culture Festival on October 26th 2024, or an alternative date specified by JAFA. The creators of those films will be notified of their selection within 12 days of the panel’s decision. The shortlisted films may be placed into a people’s choice competition which will be announced after AnimeGO! Japan Pop Culture Festival. The creators will be provided with necessary details such as competition platform and prize once they are confirmed.

2024 Judges

Judging Panel

Ana María Méndez Salgado

Ana is a visual storyteller passionate about designing stories, characters and worlds for animation, illustration and comics. She finds inspiration in the metaphors and poetry inhabiting film, picture books and sequential narrative, as well as in children’s conversations, Nature, traditional folk tales and old cities. Originally from Bogotá, she currently lives in Adelaide where she works as an animation production designer, freelance illustrator, comic artist/author and University lecturer.

She’s the co-founder of Karu-Karu, a multimedia production company that uses conventional and unusual audio-visual language to connect with the audience, through animation, sequential art, sound design and interactive pieces filled with fantasy and magic realism. Ana has received recognition and awards for her design work in animated productions officially selected into festivals in Europe, Latin America, USA and Australia.

James Segal

Freelance journalist and co-founder and co-director of a promotional agency called Kabuki Boy.

James Fletcher is an active contributor to Filmink, Australia’s longest running entertainment journal. Currently working as a free-lance entertainment journalist, James has been known to have a borderline obsession with Asian cinema and television, incorporating everything from the Korean pop-culture explosion to Japanese anime and horror, Hong Kong action films and everything in between.

During his thirty-plus-year career James has been a presenter on television, web and podcast programmes, while also having written for various entertainment portals and contributed to media outlets in Australia, New Zealand, North America, United Kingdom and Japan.

He also shares a background in DVD distribution, acquisition, programming, publicity, and marketing. James is the co-founder and co-director of Kabuki Boy, a boutique promotional agency which caters to events and special initiatives within the Australian entertainment, movie, music and pop-culture industries.

James lives with his aging pug and a life-size adult Groot, but insists he is a healthy functioning member of society.

Agnieszka Woznicka

Agnieszka Woznicka is an independent animator, visual artist and educator who works across animation, film, drawing and fiber art. In her work she examines the physical and metaphorical dimensions of materials and explores the mysteries of the natural world and human existence.

Her films have been shown and recognized at numerous international film and animation festivals and curated programs, including screenings at MoMA New York in 2003, the Pompidou Center in Paris in 2004 and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Boston in 2007 and 2010.

Agnieszka was Associate Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in USA from 2000-2019. She currently teaches part-time in the Illustration/Animation Program at the University of South Australia and works from her studio in Adelaide Hills.

Peter Pugsley

Associate Professor in Film Studies.

Peter C. Pugsley is Associate Professor in Film Studies at the University of Adelaide. He is the author of Japanese High School Films (2021) and (with Ben McCann) The Cinematic Influence: Interaction and Exchange Between the Cinemas of France and Japan (2022).

David Blaiklock

Program Director of the Bachelor of Design (Illustration and Animation) program at the University of South Australia, School of Art, Architecture and Design.

David is a recognized Illustration teacher and practitioner with a Distinguished Teaching Award from the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools (ACAUDS) and Australian Office for Learning and Teaching.

His practice is internationally recognized through invited representation at International Design Awards and exhibitions, including, 100 Typographic Posters, International Invitational Exhibition, China (2013) Graphic Advocacy: International Posters for a Digital World (2012), Hong Kong International Poster Triennial (2010), awarded Gold and Bronze. David’s academic research centers around the nature of Illustration expertise, education and professional practice.

James Segal

Freelance journalist and co-founder and co-director of a promotional agency called Kabuki Boy.

James lives with his aging pug and a life-size adult Groot, but insists he is a healthy functioning member of society.

Dr Aaron Humphrey

Lecturer in Media and Digital Humanities School of Humanities at the The University of Adelaide.

Dr Aaron Humphry’s research combines critical analysis with creative practice to investigate the relationships between images and texts, and between media and society.

His academic writing has been published in the International Journal of Cultural Studies, Media International Australia, Composition Studies, Digital Humanities Quarterly, The Comics Grid and The Conversation. As a cartoonist, his comics are currently used in digital rhetoric courses and for postgraduate medical education. As a filmmaker, his short films have screened in festivals in Australasia and North America.

Kirabunni

Professional Illustrator and Artist – Instagram & Twitter @kirabunni

Kira is a professional illustrator based in Sydney. They have traveled around Australia to different anime conventions selling their artwork.

Kira has worked on many projects, ranging from event illustrations for SMASH!, campaigns with AnimeLab and Hasbro, to a personal kickstarter, all while working on commissions in their own time.

David Blaiklock

David Blaiklock is the Director of the Bachelor of Design (Illustration and Animation) program at the University of South Australia, Creative Unit. He is an internationally recognized Illustration teacher/practitioner, his research centers on the nature of Illustration professional expertise in relation to practice, education, and storytelling.

Ethan Harris

Ethan is an Australian illustrator and comic creator. He has a passion for creating diverse sci-fi/fantasy narratives and bringing them to life through his illustrations and comics.
He has studied a bachelor of Design, Illustration & Animation and a bachelor of Creative Arts (Honours) at the University of South Australia. He now tutors illustration and character model making at the university.
Ethan is a co-founder of the Illustration & Animation community Squish Squash, an Australian community connecting emerging creatives, active professionals and industry sectors. Details can be found here: Squish Squash.

Ari Chand

Ari Chand is an Illustrator and Designer, and Lecturer and Researcher in Illustration and Animation at the University of South Australia. Ari’s work blends traditional techniques with digital tools, creating rich immersive illustrations. Ari is also a dedicated educator, sharing his expertise through teaching. His passion for illustration, art history, storytelling and visual communication have established him as an emerging figure in the illustration community.

Jo Mignone

Jo Mignone is a recognised and awarded illustrator, artist and academic with over 25 years of practice. Jo’s creative practice has been awarded, including as an international finalist by the Mumedi Museum of Design, and three-time international finalist for the Lethbridge Small Scale Art Award, as well as having her creative work displayed in galleries locally and internationally. She has also been recognised for her academic excellence in her field of illustration and drawing as a Fellow by Advance HE and Jo’s current academic research work explores how neurodivergent comic artists may be better supported throughout the creative and publishing process.

James Calvert

James is an educator, researcher and internationally recognised VR director, animated film maker and game designer. With over 20 years’ experience creating engaging content for all screen types, he has an enduring passion for immersive storytelling. James is currently a senior animation lecturer at the University of South Australia. Prior to joining academia, James was a founder and director at the People’s Republic of Animation, where he directed short films and projects for international clients. He is also a video game designer with two successful mobile games released on the app market.

Short Anime Film Competition

Information