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Academy Award-Nominated Animator Koji Yamamura Talks Style, Indie Animation in French Program
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Animator Koji Yamamura's work is well known among indie animation aficionados and critics. He drew international acclaim for his 10-minute piece Mt. Head (Atama-yama) which took home the short film award at Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 2002 and was nominated for an Oscar. The Animation Show of Shows, an annual screening of the year's best selection of animated shorts, has featured Yamamura's Mt. Head and his adaptation of Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor.
It's hard to describe Yamamura's artistic aesthetic as it changes from work to work. One piece may be intricately detailed while the next is a constant fluctuation of kinetic energy. It might be best to stay the connecting thread between them is 'experimentation.' In a new episode of the French program Toco Toco, Yamamura discusses the origin of his interest in animation, introduces viewers to his workspace in Jiyūgaoka, Meguro, Tokyo and his store Au Praxinoscope, the place he created in hopes of spreading independent animation.
The Japanese government awarded Yamamura the Cabinet Minister Award in the media fine arts category in March.
Yamamura's other award-winning and nominated shorts include "Muybridge's Strings," "Satie's Parade," and "Notes on Monstropedia." Yamamura himself received the Kawakita Award in 2012.
Outside of his work as an animator, Yamamura is a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts' Graduate School of Film and New Media.
Source: Archipel's toco toco web program
