Bandai Namco Launches Animation Short Film Project With Talent Behind ‘Akira’ & Oscar-Nominated ‘Possessions’
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- Bandai Namco Filmworks launched the "Pursuing The Future" project, commissioning six original 3D CG animated short films across six studios and led by Sunrise Studios, aimed at "carrying the history of animation forward into the future."
- Sunrise Studios produced "Dice With Demon," directed by Hidekazu O'Hara — a key animator on Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira and Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind — set in Heian-era Japan and inspired by classical illustrated scrolls.
- Yamatoworks produced "Metafear," directed by Shuhei Morita, whose "Possessions" (Tsukumo) was nominated at the 86th Academy Awards in the Animated Short Film category, with character and visual design by Tatsuyuki Tanaka.
- The first two shorts are already completed, and Bandai Namco confirmed "internationally acclaimed creators" are lined up for the remaining four films, whose specific details have yet to be announced.
- The full project will be presented at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France next week.
Why it matters: Veteran talent (O'Hara from Akira, Morita from Oscar-nominated Possessions) pairs with next-gen 3D CG under Bandai Namco's curation, debuting at Annecy — one of the world's most prestigious animation showcases. The six-studio format gives Bandai Namco editorial control over a slate explicitly aimed at carrying animation history forward.
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