Sayoko Kinoshita
Dear Friends,
Together with you all, I am delighted to celebrate the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Hungary and Japan.
In the animation field as well, Hungary and Japan have also been maintaining deep relationships for a long time – 35 years. Moreover, I am pleased that Kecskemet Animation Film Festival and Hiroshima Festival, both of which were established in 1985, have deepened the friendship over the years.
At the ASIFA Board Meeting in 1984, when the first Hiroshima Festival was decided unanimously to be endorsed by ASIFA under the presidency of John Halas, I was very happy that György Matolcsy was also there as a Board Member with a big smile. I fondly remember that my late husband Renzo as a Board Member and myself as an observer were attending the meeting being thrilled with joy for this decision.
To the very first international animation film festival being held in Asia, many animation filmmakers submitted their film from around the world. From Hungary, it was Gravity by Ferenc Rófusz, and Augusta Expects a Man for Dinner and Waltzer by Csaba Varga participated in the competition program.
Also, I organized a special program to introduce films from those regions almost unknown to the Japanese audience. The program included The Fly by Ferenc Rófusz and Sisypus and Fight by Marcell Jankovics, which introduced viewers a new allure of philosophical animation with a pure sensitivity and deep knowledge. Additionally, the feature animation Heroic Times by József Gémes inspired many people by the epic scale expressed with Asian lineage which paralleled Japanese historical play.
Since then, many Hungarian films have been submitted to our festival. Based on Hungarian folk tales, animated films of Mária Horváth, and the duo István Orosz and Dóra Keresztes invited Japanese people to this fascinating country throught their traditional stories and picturesque visuals. Also, the experimental films by Gábor Urich have their own different fanatics. Moreover, Ferenc Cakó who participated the Hiroshima Festival as a jury member in 2002 have opened up a new world of art by his sand animation performances. Speaking of the international jury, Marcell Jankovics served this role in 2004, whilr Ferenc Mikulás in 2014, who also contributed to realize our huge Hungary Focus the same year. As for the selection committee, we had the kind cooperation from Péter Szoboszlay and Kati Macskássy as well. So far five Hungarian films have received awards, such as KJFG No. 5 by Alexey Alexeev, Symphony No. 42 by Réka Bucsi, and Bond by Judit Wunder.
I believe that I am not the only one who feels that there has been a marvelous exchange between Hungary and Japan through animation, by discovering similarities in our differring cultures.
Lastly, it is interesting to note that Jumping by Osamu Tezuka was inspired by The Fly by Ferenc Rófusz at Ottawa Festival. I remember how passionate Tezuka was when he was telling me about the idea of his film after getting a hint from The Fly.
I sincerely hope that our exchanging with the wonderfully talented filmmakers in Hungarian animation field will be continued with warm friendship and love & peace at heart.
Sayoko Kinoshita
President of ASIFA, President of ASIFA-Japan
Festival Director of Hiroshima International Animation Festival in Japan
