# Hiroshima International Animation Festival

The International Animation Festival Hiroshima, founded as International Animation Festival for the World Peace in 1985, was a biennial film festival for animated films held in Hiroshima, Japan. Its last edition was held in 2020.

## History

The festival was founded in 1985 by the Association International du Film d'Animation (ASIFA) as the International Animation Festival for the World Peace. The city of Hiroshima was one of the sites of nuclear bombings in 1945 at the end of World War II, and it was chosen to inspire thoughts of unity through the arts. The festival was considered one of the most respected animated film festival, along with Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival, and Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films. The founding of the festival is largely credited to Sayoko Kinoshita and her late husband Renzo Kinoshita. The married couple were renowned figures in the independent animation world and also founders of ASIFA's Japan chapter.
The first two festivals were held in odd years: 1985 and 1987. Since 1990, the festival has been held biennially in even years. In 2008, the 12th Festival took place for five days (August 7–11).
In the festival's first year in 1985, the Grand Prize was awarded to Broken Down Film by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka became one of the members of the jury for the following festival. This cycle has often repeated and many of the grand prize winners have become judges for the following festival.
In 2010, the Festival had nearly 1,937 entries from 58 countries and regions, and had more than 34,516 participants.
In November 2020, the city of Hiroshima announced ending its partnership with ASIFA, and plans to replace the festival.

## Description

The city of Hiroshima co-hosts the festival, which takes place in JMS Aster Plaza near the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park at the center of Hiroshima city.
Sayoko Kinoshita has been the festival director since the first festival and is now also the president of ASIFA.

## Grand Prize winners

| Year | English title | Director(s) | Country |
| 1985 | Broken Down Film | Osamu Tezuka | Japan |
| 1987 | The Man Who Planted Trees | Frédéric Back | Canada |
| 1990 | The Cow | Aleksandr Petrov | Soviet Union |
| 1992 | The Sandman | Paul Berry | United Kingdom |
| 1994 | The Mighty River | Frédéric Back | Canada |
| 1996 | Repete | Michaela Pavlátová | Czech Republic |
| 1998 | The Old Lady and the Pigeons | Sylvain Chomet | France |
| 2000 | When the Day Breaks | Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis | Canada |
| 2002 | Father and Daughter | Michaël Dudok de Wit | Netherlands |
| 2004 | Mt. Head | Kōji Yamamura | Japan |
| 2006 | Milch | Igor Kovalyov | United States |
| 2008 | A Country Doctor | Kōji Yamamura | Japan |
| 2010 | Angry Man | Anita Killi | Norway |
| 2012 | I Saw Mice Burying a Cat | Dmitry Geller | Russia |
| 2014 | The Bigger Picture | Daisy Jacobs | United Kingdom |
| 2016 | The Empty | Jeong Dahee | South Korea |
| 2018 | The Blissful Accidental Death | Sergiu Negulici | Romania |
| 2020 | Daughter | Daria Kashcheeva | Russia  Czech Republic |

## Notable Hiroshima Prize winners

* 1985 - The Big Snit - Richard Condie (Canada)
* 1987 - The Dreamless Sleep - David Anderson (U.K.)
* 1990 - The Hill Farm - Mark Baker (U.K.)
* 1992 - Cat and Company - Alexander Guryev (Russia)
* 1994 - The Village - Mark Baker (U.K.)
* 1996 - The Monk and the Fish - Michael Dudok de Wit (France)
* 1998 - The Mermaid - Alexander Petrov (Russia)
* 2000 - One Day a Man Bought a House - Pjotr Sapegin (Norway)
* 2002 - Dog - Suzie Templeton (U.K.)
* 2004 - Louise - Anita Lebeau (Canada)
* 2006 - Wolf Daddy - Chang Hyung yun (Republic of Korea)
* 2008 - La Maison en Petits Cubes - Kunio Kato (Japan)
* 2010 - Divers In The Rain - Priit Parn, Olga Parn (Estonia)
* 2012 - Kali the Little Vampire - Regina Pessoa (Portugal/France/Canada/Switzerland)
* 2014 - Symphony No.42 - Réka Bucsi (Hungary)
* 2016 - Among the black waves - Anna Budanova (Russia)
* 2018 - Bond - Judit Wunder (Hungary)
* 2020 - Am I a Wolf? - Amir Houshang Moein (Iran)

## Best of the World (Honorable Mention)

* 2020 - Ah - Ying-Fang Shen (Taiwan)
* 2020 - CASTLE - Ryotaro Miyajima (Japan)
* 2020 - Falafel Cart - Abdullah Al-Wazzan (Kuwait)
* 2020 - don’t know what - Thomas Renoldner (Austria)
* 2020 - After the eclipse - Bea R Blankenhorst (Argentina)