Koji Yamamura is recognised as one of the masters of animation worldwide and undoubtedly the most influential and international Japanese independent animator of his generation.
Breathtaking in their beauty, the free-spirited and surreal animation work of Koji Yamamura has garnered much acclaim throughout the world, including best film awards at all the major film and animation festivals and a nomination for an Oscar for Mount Head in 2003.
In Yamamura’s world, trees grow out of heads, birds dream of fruit, children are swallowed by whales and alligators need haircuts. His delightful animations invite us into a distinctive world that contains echoes of Paul Klee and Monty Python, but is entirely original and accessible.
Koji Yamamura will be present at the London International Animation Festival to introduce this session of films and take part in a Q & A.
Special thanks to the Japan Foundation and Shochiku Films
‘Mount Head / Atama-yama’ (Koji Yamamura, 2002)
After a stingy man eats some cherry seeds, a cherry tree grows on his head and he gets into a lot of trouble. A modern interpretation of the traditional Japanese Rakugo (comics) story “Atama-yama” set in contemporary Tokyo.
Japan, 10’00
‘Fig’ (Koji Yamamura, 2006)
A wonderfully freewheeling impression of life in Tokyo.
Japan, 4’20
‘The Old Crocodile / Toshi wo Totta Wani’ (Koji Yamamura, 2005)
An extremely old crocodile suffering from rheumatism is unable to properly hunt. In desperation, he resorts to cannibalism. His family decides to get rid of him and this disrespect drives him away to a journey outside the Nile.
Japan, 12’53
‘Franz Kafka ‘A Country Doctor’’ (Koji Yamamura, 2007)
A crude groom mysteriously appears with horses when a country doctor is called on emergency. The stranger ushers the old man into the night, staying behind with the maid. Extending limbs, the microscopic sounds of horses in the snow
and the doctor’s disembodied narration all insinuate a tenuous grip on reality.
Japan, 21’00
‘A Child’s Metaphysics / Kodomo No Keijijougaku’ (Koji Yamamura, 2007)
A touching and amusing look at the limitless imagination of children – an episodic series of surreal vignettes involving children with oversized heads as they try to unlock the secrets to their own existence.
Japan, 5’08
‘Muybridge’s Strings’ (Koji Yamamura, 2011)
Can time be made to stand still? Can it be reversed? Muybridge’s Strings is a meditation on this theme, contrasting the worlds of the photographer Eadweard Muybridge and a mother who, watching her daughter grow up, realises she is
slipping away from her.
Japan, 12’39
