The director, screenwriter and animator Masaaki Yuasa, one of the most influential figures of contemporary animation, is coming to Romania, at the 17th edition of the Animest International Animation Film Festival (October 7-16, Bucharest). The Japanese artist will enter into a dialogue with the audience at the screenings in the section that Animest dedicates to him this year, and will hold a masterclass in which he will share behind-the-scenes secrets of the projects he has been involved in throughout his career. Among the best known are the animated series Adventure Time, winner of eight Primetime Emmy Awards and two BAFTA Awards.
Known for his unconventional style that casually pushes the boundaries of genre and has brought him international fame, making him one of the world’s most acclaimed creators, Masaaki Yuasa discovered his fascination with anime from an early age. Although he enjoyed drawing, he was skeptical about his chances of becoming relevant to the industry, but despite his own doubts, he continued to study and create.
Encouraged by animation veterans such as Osamu Kobayashi (one of the creators of Naruto), the artist took on his peculiarities and established himself with a personal style that tested the limits of traditional animation. In the early years of his career, he was involved in television projects with the famous Ajia-do studio, and later, as a freelancer, he collaborated with Studio Ghibli and worked with animation legends such as Kōji Morimoto (The Animatrix) and Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya).
In 2004 Mind Game was released on the big screens, his debut feature film, which shook the world of film, proposing a melange of animation styles and techniques, in a manner different from anything that the audience had seen before. His experiment brought him notoriety among anime fans, and today it is considered one of the cult films of the genre. In 2013, Yuasa founded his own studio – Science Saru. The studio’s first two projects were its following feature films: Night is Short, Walk on Girl! – an animated romantic comedy with teenagers, on which he does not hesitate to put his visual mark that established him – and Lu Over the Wall, the film that also brought him the first distinction at the Annecy Animation Film Festival, about a lonely teenager living a true transformation after falling in love with a mermaid named Lu.
Masaaki Yuasa returns to the Official Annecy Competition in 2019 with Ride Your Wave, where fans can recognize the abundance of vivid colors, the use of spectacular images and music, but also the initiatory nature of the story that gives the characters the chance to transform, overstepping its bounds. In 2021, in absolute premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, Inu-Oh, the latest feature film that he signs, is released – a story from 14th century Japan, about the friendship between Inu-Oh, a born dancer with unique physical characteristics, and Tomona, a blind musician. Through their art, the two manage to conquer the world, despite all the differences that caused them to be rejected by society.
All five films will have special screenings at Animest.17, in the presence of their creator, whom viewers are invited to meet on October 8, 9 and 10, in Bucharest. During the first weekend of the festival, Masaaki Yuasa will also hold a masterclass, during which he will share details about his work, talk about the things that inspire him, and provide information about the entire creative process involved in his involvement in the series animated Adventure Time.
To enjoy the full festival experience, with access to all screenings in the edition’s programme, animated film lovers can claim one of the last subscriptions available here.