Organizers for the 15th Korea Independent Animation Film Festival on Thursday introduced this year’s opening film, the “relay animation” project and other programs for the annual festival.

The Indie-AniFest, hosted by the Korean Independent Animation Filmmakers Association and organized by Indie-AniFest Executive Committee will take place at CGV Myeongdong Station Cine Library on Sept. 19-24. It features animation films produced in Asian countries -- or have at least one Asian country involved in production -- and works completed after August 2017 and had never been entered in a festival.

The opening film is “Away,” the first feature-length film by Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis.

“‘Away’ is an enchanting 75-minute fantasy adventure that reinterprets the narrative of the hero and focuses on a minimalist aesthetic. It is a meditative poem that takes us on the journey of a boy and his dog,” said Jinny Choo, programmer of the Indie-AniFest.

A notable section of the festival is Korea Special section, which features three animation classics produced in korea, “Robot Taekwon V” (1976) by Kim Chung-gi, “Taegwondongja Maruchi Arachi” (1977) by Lim Jung-kyu and “Fifteen Children Space Adventure” (1980) by Jeong Su-yong.

The three animations, which were all massive hits at the time of their release, had a profound impact on the animation scene here. To this day, Robot Taekwon V remains one of the most recognizable animation figures in Korea.

World special section includes a Koji Yamamura retrospective, a special program featuring Boris Labbe, and screening talk section featuring Ru Kuwahata.

Thursday’s press conference also introduced this year’s relay animation project “Would Be OK,” which is a joint project by six artists to create an animation for musician HerCheck’s new song of the same name.

For more information on the festival, visit http://www.ianifest.org provided in Korean and English.


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)