Japan‘s presence at the 2026 Annecy Animation Festival marks a recent high-water mark, with 25 Japanese films selected across the festival’s aggressive and non-competitive sections – up from 18 final yr – because the nation’s trade our bodies concurrently consolidate their MIFA footprint below a unified sales space construction.
Three cubicles that beforehand operated individually have been introduced collectively for this version: the Japan Sales space, run by UniJapan; VIPO; and the Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities, with the Company for Cultural Affairs offering overarching management of the mixed effort. The consolidation is designed to permit Japan to current a powerful, collective entrance to worldwide companions on the market.
Japan’s 25 Annecy alternatives span nearly each part of the competition’s program. In the primary Options competitors, Kadowaki Kohei’s “We Are Aliens” – a Japan-France co-production – vies for the highest prize. The Contrechamp part carries 4 Japanese titles: Shinomiya Yoshitoshi’s France co-production “A New Dawn”; Kuji Goro’s “Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise”; Takahashi Wataru’s “The Obsessed”; and Christopher Sullivan’s Japan-U.S. co-production “The Orbit of Minor Satellites.”
4 Japanese movies display within the Annecy Presents part: Hirota Yusuke’s “Chimney Town: Frozen in Time,” Taniguchi Goro’s “Paris ni Saku Étoile,” Ito Tomohiko’s “The Keeper of the Camphor Tree,” and Igarashi Yuki’s “The Ribbon Hero.” Kutsuna Kenichi’s “Sekiro: No Defeat” seems in Midnight Specials, whereas works-in-progress embrace Kuribayashi Kazuaki’s “Killtube” and “Monkey Quest,” directed by David N. Weiss as a Japan-U.S. challenge.
Quick movie alternatives embrace Yamamura Koji’s “Haru no Umi,” with Yakata Kanata’s “Bucketman” and Miyajima Ryotaro’s “Rest” within the Views strand, and two Midnight Shorts: Nagaya Seishiro’s “A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin’ in the Schoolyard” and Yamada Ryoji’s “Builder.” Mokochan’s “Dive Into ‘Ghost in the Shell‘” screens as a Particular Occasion.
In TV Movies, Japan has 4 entries: Misato Tomoki’s “Jaadugar: Candy Caries”; Yamada Naoko and Abel Gongora’s “Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia”; Ota Minoru’s “Sparks of Tomorrow Episode 1”; and Iino Shinya’s “Takopi’s Original Sin.” The Commencement Movies part consists of Guo Yini’s “Plankton α,” Sam Kuwa’s Japan-China co-production “So He Grabbed the Knife,” and Yiling Wang’s “Slap.”
Available on the market aspect, the Company for Cultural Affairs is channeling assets by way of its Japan Creator Assist Fund, below which a spread of trade occasions are organized at this yr’s MIFA. A co-production panel, “Finding a Shared Vision: Co-Production with Japan,” takes place on June 25, presenting two function tasks: Shinomiya Yoshitoshi’s accomplished “A New Dawn” and Kawamura Masashi’s work-in-progress “Hidari,” with each administrators in attendance.
The World Anime Problem – a three-year Company for Cultural Affairs-funded program geared toward cultivating rising Japanese anime expertise by way of studio internships overseas – is presenting 12 authentic IP tasks throughout two classes on June 23. Among the many titles pitching in Half 1 is “Lucifer’s Lawyer,” a fantasy dramedy directed by Koide Takushi, whose TV anime “Goodbye, Lara” is about to air this July. Half 2 options tasks from two “Bocchi the Rock!” employees members: Saito Keiichiro, director of the primary season, and Yamamoto Yusuke, director of the upcoming second season. Additionally pitching throughout the 2 classes are Shinohara Keisuke’s “Phantom of the Cadillac,” Takarai Shunsuke’s “Ninja Skooler,” and Kudo Mana’s “Error403.”
VIPO is internet hosting an additional occasion backed by the Company for Cultural Affairs, with particulars accessible by way of VIPO straight. The Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities can also be staging its personal session on the market.
Pushed by the Japan Creator Assist Fund initiatives, a various group of Japanese professionals and college students shall be attending Annecy and MIFA this yr, making Japan’s presence bigger than ever, a month after the nation roared on the Cannes Movie Market as its Nation of Honor.
