The 46th Pia Film Festival / PFF Award 2024
The 46th Pia Film Festival 2024
Dates：Sat. September 7～Sat. 21
Venue: National Film Archive of Japan
Pia Film Festival in Kyoto 2024
Dates: Sat. November 9～Sun. 17
Venue: The Museum of Kyoto
■Films in the PFF Award 2024
『I AM NOT INVISIBLE』24min. ★Grand Prize
Director: KAWASHIMA Yuki
Recording a town with no name for self-discovery
This self-documentary by a “heart-weary” filmmaker delves into her own roots, capturing the resilience of people living in the slums of the Philippines. The film powerfully explores the “way of being” of the soul while being shaken by the realistic words of her grandmother, who has survived in the country.
Ice Rink『アイスリンク』10min.
Director: WANG Ziyin
Mysterious questions and answers in a short animation from China.
Two young people are chatting and waiting for the ice rink to open. The endless, offbeat conversation is a gentle daydream of colorful, bizarre animals and insects flying wildly. A dazzling picture book for adults.
Autumn winds blow (working title)『秋の風吹く』63min. ★Runner-up Prize
Director: INAGAWA Yuji
Seven stories attributed to the lack of money.
A series of comical and socially satirical short films. The overly unique worldview is created using various experimental techniques, including animation, live-action films, puppetry, and Katsuben.
Exhibition Of You Instead Of You『あなたの代わりのあなた展』18min. ★Audience Prize
Director: YAMADA Yu
A love story woven by bizarre conversations.
A man is stood up by a woman he met on a matching app, and a woman who is supposed to go on a date at a museum is stood up by her boyfriend, so they decide to go on a date with each other instead.
『Into a Landscape』2min.
Director: YAMANAKA Chihiro
Fascinating fusion of colors and forms
This two-minute animated short film is a condensed work of the fascination with the art of watercolor. The beauty and overwhelming power of nature created on paper is depicted with awe, moving back and forth between abstraction and figuration. The beauty of this mandala unravels throughout the film.
『END of DINOSAURS』28min. ★Special Jury Prize
Director: Kako Annika Esashi
Screaming in the town of dinosaurs!
A Japanese-American girl arrives to grandmother’s hometown in hopes to reconnect with her heritage but is confronted by the city’s questionable dinosaur-themed redevelopment plan.
Seasonless Love『季節のない愛』84min.
Director: NAKAZATO Yuuki
To be happy climbing a mountain together
Nozomi gave up her dream of becoming a journalist after marrying early, and Yoriko attempted suicide because she could no longer stand the moral harassment by her boyfriend. Once best friends, they meet again one day and recall an old promise to climb a mountain together.
Chains 『鎖』21min.
Director: DU Shiqi
Dancing in a misogynistic society
The filmmaker returns from Japan to a provincial city in China, where male chauvinism remains strong, to explore the state of marriage, childbirth, and homosexuality in the country. The “chains” of convention are depicted through the use of performing art and animation in this earnest and powerful visual expression.
Those days when all these things were Fantasy. (working title)
『これらが全てFantasyだったあの頃。』72min. ★Special Jury Prize
Director: HAYASHI Mako
Joy of creation and the life of an artist
Emi dreams of becoming an actor. While preparing to move house, she finds a DVD of a film in which she once starred in. Her memories come flooding back and gradually fiction and reality start to merge. The actress who played the protagonist in the film is now ready to take on new challenges.
Goodbye Icarus『さようならイカロス』107min.
Director: TANABE Kosei
Teenage apathy and frustration
Ken, a young man who likes to listen to music, is tired of his boring life. One day he meets Kosei, a wild and unruly boy. During the days Ken spends with Kosei and a girl who works at a CD shop whom he has fallen in love with, he faces a number of problems and must deal with painful memories.
Goodbye Peach (working title)『さよならピーチ』124min. ★Entertainement Prize
Director: ENDO Aimi
A film overflowing with love for cinema
Momo is the protagonist of a film who has trouble playing the last scene well. When she watches a silent film for acting reference, the actress in the silent film suddenly jumps out of the screen. A coming-of-age film that depicts the daily worries and struggles of the creators in the world of independent cinema.
sunrise『サンライズ』24min.
Director: YASHIRO Natsuka
A fresh soliloquy by a high school director
Yashiro is unsure whether to continue pursuing his dream of becoming a filmmaker or to give up. When she looks into the camera, she can't help but be fascinated by the vivid world she sees.
The right way to deal with your family (working title)『正しい家族の付き合い方』17min.
Director: HIGASHI Sayu
A terrifying schoolgirl's ego explosion
A girl lives with her alcoholic father but spends her days constantly daydreaming. Her idea of the parent and child is somewhat distorted and although she is powerless to confront the reality in front of her, she still does not give up dreaming.
Chiaki’s odd time signature(working title)『ちあきの変拍子』31min. ★Cinema Fan Prize
Directors: SHIRAIWA Shuya, FUKUDOME Riku
Goodbye to my imaginary friends!
Chiaki is a high school girl who lives her life by putting a lid on her freedom, and Haruki is the persona she has created. When she can no longer tolerate Haruki disrupting her efforts to ignore him, she finally tries to erase ‘him’..
Tulip-chan『チューリップちゃん』18min.
Director: WATANABE Saki
Funny, off beat and fascinating conversation
The dream of Tulip-chan, a fifth-year primary school student, is ‘to have her grandchildren celebrate her 60th birthday’. The unusual and offbeat style and outstanding sense of language draws you into a unique world.
Sense of Separation『分離の予感』64min.
Director: by HE Ying-Jie
Improvisation in a play within a play
A man and a woman meet for the first time at a film audition and begin acting according to the script. Fiction and reality, the past and the future are gradually begin to blend together, depicted with contrasting screen compositions and drifting camera direction, overflowing with a sophisticated authorship style.
Matsuzaka-san『松坂さん』39min. ★Special Jury Prize
Director: Kuroyanagi Taiyo
Love for the woman in the story
A young man, Kijima, meets a woman who perfectly matches the “woman dragging a rake over the ground” in the script he is writing with great difficulty. He tries to finish his script imaging her as the main character.
Somewhere not here『よそのくに』9min.
Director: OAZEKI Ayaha
The subtleties of encounters depicted through the “counterpoints” of sound and image
The lush green hills are enveloped by the echoes of a beach that should not exist. The bold exchange between the two worlds attempts to overwhelm the viewer.
My whereabouts『わたしのゆくえ』23min.
Director: FUJII Kyohei
Suspense or rom-com?
A lonely woman edits the investigative footage of a man at the detective agency where she works. On her next holiday, her feet take her to the flat where the man lives. That's when she makes a startling move.
Dates：Sat. September 7～Sat. 21
Venue: National Film Archive of Japan
Pia Film Festival in Kyoto 2024
Dates: Sat. November 9～Sun. 17
Venue: The Museum of Kyoto
■Films in the PFF Award 2024
『I AM NOT INVISIBLE』24min. ★Grand Prize
Director: KAWASHIMA Yuki
Recording a town with no name for self-discovery
This self-documentary by a “heart-weary” filmmaker delves into her own roots, capturing the resilience of people living in the slums of the Philippines. The film powerfully explores the “way of being” of the soul while being shaken by the realistic words of her grandmother, who has survived in the country.
Ice Rink『アイスリンク』10min.
Director: WANG Ziyin
Mysterious questions and answers in a short animation from China.
Two young people are chatting and waiting for the ice rink to open. The endless, offbeat conversation is a gentle daydream of colorful, bizarre animals and insects flying wildly. A dazzling picture book for adults.
Autumn winds blow (working title)『秋の風吹く』63min. ★Runner-up Prize
Director: INAGAWA Yuji
Seven stories attributed to the lack of money.
A series of comical and socially satirical short films. The overly unique worldview is created using various experimental techniques, including animation, live-action films, puppetry, and Katsuben.
Exhibition Of You Instead Of You『あなたの代わりのあなた展』18min. ★Audience Prize
Director: YAMADA Yu
A love story woven by bizarre conversations.
A man is stood up by a woman he met on a matching app, and a woman who is supposed to go on a date at a museum is stood up by her boyfriend, so they decide to go on a date with each other instead.
『Into a Landscape』2min.
Director: YAMANAKA Chihiro
Fascinating fusion of colors and forms
This two-minute animated short film is a condensed work of the fascination with the art of watercolor. The beauty and overwhelming power of nature created on paper is depicted with awe, moving back and forth between abstraction and figuration. The beauty of this mandala unravels throughout the film.
『END of DINOSAURS』28min. ★Special Jury Prize
Director: Kako Annika Esashi
Screaming in the town of dinosaurs!
A Japanese-American girl arrives to grandmother’s hometown in hopes to reconnect with her heritage but is confronted by the city’s questionable dinosaur-themed redevelopment plan.
Seasonless Love『季節のない愛』84min.
Director: NAKAZATO Yuuki
To be happy climbing a mountain together
Nozomi gave up her dream of becoming a journalist after marrying early, and Yoriko attempted suicide because she could no longer stand the moral harassment by her boyfriend. Once best friends, they meet again one day and recall an old promise to climb a mountain together.
Chains 『鎖』21min.
Director: DU Shiqi
Dancing in a misogynistic society
The filmmaker returns from Japan to a provincial city in China, where male chauvinism remains strong, to explore the state of marriage, childbirth, and homosexuality in the country. The “chains” of convention are depicted through the use of performing art and animation in this earnest and powerful visual expression.
Those days when all these things were Fantasy. (working title)
『これらが全てFantasyだったあの頃。』72min. ★Special Jury Prize
Director: HAYASHI Mako
Joy of creation and the life of an artist
Emi dreams of becoming an actor. While preparing to move house, she finds a DVD of a film in which she once starred in. Her memories come flooding back and gradually fiction and reality start to merge. The actress who played the protagonist in the film is now ready to take on new challenges.
Goodbye Icarus『さようならイカロス』107min.
Director: TANABE Kosei
Teenage apathy and frustration
Ken, a young man who likes to listen to music, is tired of his boring life. One day he meets Kosei, a wild and unruly boy. During the days Ken spends with Kosei and a girl who works at a CD shop whom he has fallen in love with, he faces a number of problems and must deal with painful memories.
Goodbye Peach (working title)『さよならピーチ』124min. ★Entertainement Prize
Director: ENDO Aimi
A film overflowing with love for cinema
Momo is the protagonist of a film who has trouble playing the last scene well. When she watches a silent film for acting reference, the actress in the silent film suddenly jumps out of the screen. A coming-of-age film that depicts the daily worries and struggles of the creators in the world of independent cinema.
sunrise『サンライズ』24min.
Director: YASHIRO Natsuka
A fresh soliloquy by a high school director
Yashiro is unsure whether to continue pursuing his dream of becoming a filmmaker or to give up. When she looks into the camera, she can't help but be fascinated by the vivid world she sees.
The right way to deal with your family (working title)『正しい家族の付き合い方』17min.
Director: HIGASHI Sayu
A terrifying schoolgirl's ego explosion
A girl lives with her alcoholic father but spends her days constantly daydreaming. Her idea of the parent and child is somewhat distorted and although she is powerless to confront the reality in front of her, she still does not give up dreaming.
Chiaki’s odd time signature(working title)『ちあきの変拍子』31min. ★Cinema Fan Prize
Directors: SHIRAIWA Shuya, FUKUDOME Riku
Goodbye to my imaginary friends!
Chiaki is a high school girl who lives her life by putting a lid on her freedom, and Haruki is the persona she has created. When she can no longer tolerate Haruki disrupting her efforts to ignore him, she finally tries to erase ‘him’..
Tulip-chan『チューリップちゃん』18min.
Director: WATANABE Saki
Funny, off beat and fascinating conversation
The dream of Tulip-chan, a fifth-year primary school student, is ‘to have her grandchildren celebrate her 60th birthday’. The unusual and offbeat style and outstanding sense of language draws you into a unique world.
Sense of Separation『分離の予感』64min.
Director: by HE Ying-Jie
Improvisation in a play within a play
A man and a woman meet for the first time at a film audition and begin acting according to the script. Fiction and reality, the past and the future are gradually begin to blend together, depicted with contrasting screen compositions and drifting camera direction, overflowing with a sophisticated authorship style.
Matsuzaka-san『松坂さん』39min. ★Special Jury Prize
Director: Kuroyanagi Taiyo
Love for the woman in the story
A young man, Kijima, meets a woman who perfectly matches the “woman dragging a rake over the ground” in the script he is writing with great difficulty. He tries to finish his script imaging her as the main character.
Somewhere not here『よそのくに』9min.
Director: OAZEKI Ayaha
The subtleties of encounters depicted through the “counterpoints” of sound and image
The lush green hills are enveloped by the echoes of a beach that should not exist. The bold exchange between the two worlds attempts to overwhelm the viewer.
My whereabouts『わたしのゆくえ』23min.
Director: FUJII Kyohei
Suspense or rom-com?
A lonely woman edits the investigative footage of a man at the detective agency where she works. On her next holiday, her feet take her to the flat where the man lives. That's when she makes a startling move.