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Atsushi Wada's 'Bird in the Peninsula' Anime Short Premieres at 72nd Berlin International Film Festival

Japanese animator Atsushi Wada, France's Miyu Productions, and Japan's New Deer's animated short titled "Bird in the Peninsula" premiered at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on February 11. The short had its public premiere on February 15 and won a special mention from the International Short Film Jury.

The Berlin International Film Festival describes the short:

The boys are rehearsing a dance for their traditional initiation ceremony into adulthood; their teacher instructs them. A girl observes the scene but is not allowed to join in. When one of the boys chases after a strange bird, she follows him without knowing why. One day, the boy will no longer be able to see the bird either.

Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron, and Nobuaki Doi co-produced the short film. Mio Adachi composed the music with Masumi Takino on sound design.

Wada had stated that in addition to showing ritualistic movements where participants move in a circle in unison, he wants to explore the meaning and role of the "ritual." Wada had been planning this project for more than ten years and pursued it when offered the opportunity.

Wada handled the "Autumn" segment for animation based on Antonio Vivaldi's classical concerto series The Four Seasons. A crowdfunding project funded the animation in 2017.

Wada previously won the award of The Silver Bear for the Best Short Film and the Special Prize award at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival for his "The Great Rabbit” anime short in 2012. Wada directed the seven-minute short with French backing. The film held its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2012.

Wada's "Anomalies" short film was a Jury Selection at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in 2013. The film is described as follows: "We try to enrich ourselves through prayer, faith and devotion to someone or something else. Similarly, we believe in the existence of 'anomalies,' such as unknowable and uncontrollable monsters." Wada animated the "In a Pig's Eye" ("Wakaranai Buta") short in 2010.

Thanks to Jordan Scott for the news tip.

Source: Berlin International Film Festival's website