Press Release from Toei Animation:
TOKYO, JAPAN -- Toei Animation has been nominated for Feature Film in Competition at the 2012 Annecy International Animated Film Festival for their dramatic new feature film, Asura. The announcement was made by the film’s producer Yoshi Ikezawa.
The Annecy International Animated Film Festival, which takes place from June 4 to 9 in Annecy, France, recognizes the most visually striking and acclaimed animated films of the year. Asura is celebrated for its use of Hybrid Animation, a new technique developed by Toei specifically for the film that fuses 2D animation with CGI to mimic a living water color painting. Directed by acclaimed Japanese director, Keiichi Sato, and based on the classic George Akiyama manga, the film follows Asura, a young boy who is abandoned in the barren wasteland of Kyoto and forced to survive like a beast until the compassion of a young woman allows him to embrace humanity.
“Asura is a deeply moving film reflecting the destructive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan just over a year ago,” said Sato. “It personifies the collective consciousness of a people heartbroken by unimaginable disaster, only to embrace humanity and find strength in each other.”
Ikezawa adds “Asura represents the vision of an outstanding director supported by an unprecedented crew, and we are honored to join such a strong line-up of nominees for this year’s Annecy.”