2024 has been an incredible year for animation! From the wild and the paranormal in Dan Dan Dan to the sentiment and nostalgia of Inside Out 2, we have been in the presence of a myriad of award contenders. That being said, this year’s Animation is Film (AIF) has only further highlighted a year of strong animation offerings. Showcasing a fantastic range of past and present animated films/TV from across the world.
The Colors Within began my evening on Friday. The film centers on two young girls in Catholic School trying to figure out their life’s purpose and passions, and finding commonality in playing music together. In this sonic journey, they meet a young man, positioned in a similar life predicament that leaves him yearning for his love of playing music and the duty he feels he owes his family. A perfect outing for director Naoko Yamada, her blend of nostalgia through music and adolescence was an incredible hit as one of the festival’s openers, garnering explosive applause at the end and many in-seat dancing throughout the movie. The Colors Within joins Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s Look Back as being my top movies of the year. This was a fantastic start to my film-going experience at this year’s AIF.
From here, I transitioned to the adrenaline, techno-fueled world of Redline. This screening was celebrating the 15th anniversary of Takeshi Koike’s masterpiece. Being in line for this, I truly thought I was about to see Wayne Gretzky come back on the ice, and in some sense, the two racers who this film revolves around really did bring the essence of the “Great One” to their driving. Imagine Jet Set Radio, mixed with Speed Racer and Trigun; that’s Redline. I can say I’ve never seen anything like it. Almost every other moment made me want to get out of my seat and start yelling at the racers on the screen. It’s truly one of those films that elicits the call-and-response nature of a person. I’ve never wanted to be a race car driver so badly in my life, to the point I considered buying a Porsche after the movie.
I’ve never had a Ghibli morning before, but the documentary Miyazaki: The Spirit of Nature became my brunch companion. While I can’t say this film met the expectations I had, it went in a direction I did not anticipate and I learned about one of my favorite storytellers more deeply than I thought I would. While Miyazaki: The Spirit of Nature revolves around his love of the natural world, there was a deeper focus on the man and his physical connection to the natural world, including his overall confidant-like relationship with it. What I thought was going to be a retrospective of how the natural world impacted his films became a telling of how the natural world impacted and healed Miyazaki through various moments in his life. A beautiful way to say good morning to a wonderfully sunny noon in Los Angeles. As I stepped out of the theater, I felt a mildly coolish wind blow past. Breathing it in, I smiled at the day having seen the beauty of someone’s world, only to realize that it’s connected to my own.
While I could not attend the Sunday programming of AIF due to illness, I can only give high praise for the quality of films brought to this year’s event on both an international and domestic level, AIF resoundingly brought a deep bag of imaginative people to the festival this year. I was happy to see Ghost Cat Anzu, Yoppaman, and Memoirs of a Snail make appearances in the lineup. With a strong outing this year, I’m anticipating an even more incredible AIF in 2025, and I’m looking forward to being in the vivacious crowds once again!
Additionally, here is a recap of this year’s AIF winners:
GRAND PRIZE:
FLOW Directed by Gints Zilbalodis
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE:
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL directed by Adam Elliot
AUDIENCE AWARD:
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL directed by Adam Elliot & THE COLORS WITHIN directed by Naoko Yamada
GRAND PRIZE – SHORTS:
WANDER TO WONDER directed by Nina Gantz
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – SHORTS:
A CRAB IN THE POOL directed by Jean-Sebastien Hamel and Alexandra Myotte