Bandai Namco Filmworks has unveiled a new animation initiative titled Pursuing The Future, which brings together six leading Japanese animation studios to produce a series of original 3D CG animated short films. The project is spearheaded by Sunrise Studios and involves collaboration between Bandai Namco and five additional studios.
Project Overview
Each studio is producing one short film, collectively aiming to showcase new technologies and creative approaches in Japanese animation while carrying the history of animation forward into the future, according to the company. The first two completed shorts have been produced by Sunrise Studios and Yamatoworks.
First Short: Sunrise Studios
The film draws inspiration from traditional Japanese illustrated scrolls and is set in Heian-era Japan. Its story follows three noblemen drinking in a rain-soaked pavilion, where one reveals he once played a high-stakes game with a demon in exchange for resurrecting his wife.
Second Short: Metafear
Produced by Yamatoworks and directed by Shuhei Morita, whose earlier work Possessions was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, Metafear also features character and visual design oversight by Tatsuyuki Tanaka. It is described as a fast-paced fantasy centered on a girl tormented by nightmares and the manifestations of fear that emerge from them.
Creative Talent
Bandai Namco stated that the two completed films were created by some of Japan's most distinguished veteran animators and exceptionally talented creators, describing the project as one that could only have been realized at this moment in time.
Future Installments
Details of the remaining four short films have not yet been disclosed, although the company confirmed that participation from internationally recognized creators has already been secured. The project will be showcased at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France next week, where further information is expected to be shared.
