First I’d like to say sorry for not updating this blog more frequently. Life is keeping me busy and I still have to struggle with my insurance about the loss of my equipment. Anyway… life goes on. So what happened in the last few months:

I was busy getting all my interview translations together and the project finally entered a what I call “pre-post production” stage but there are still 3 more interviews with filmmakers and production companies I’d like to shoot later this year, so please be patient. Also I’d like to say thanks to the festival programmers who already started to request for screeners. Sorry, folks we are not there - yet.

Besides that I am looking forward to Nippon Connection 2012 and Wada Atsushi’s new movie.

So long…

Niiya Naoyuki's work

Within the last few weeks and especially days I got a lot of festival requests for my film asking for the status, which made me extremly proud & happy but unfortunately I have say, even though the film has entered post production status, it won’t be finished anytime soon. The loss of my equipment just set me back by half a year or more. Translations, my daily job for TV, my private life and other upcoming projects (something big comin’ soon) keep me busy as well. I am sorry to let my friends at festivals down and please forgive me for not providing you with a lot more information. Please check back with my Twitter account or this blog for upcoming news. If things work out perfectly I might end up with a finished film by summer, but things can’t be predicted exactly – sorry.

Anyway, I’d like to say again: thanks for all the kind words to folks all around the globe and especially to my people in Japan.

Stefan

Unfortunately I have no good news to tell.

About a week ago somebody broke into my apartment in Vienna, stole every single part of my camera equipment I’ve collected over the past 3 years – and simply disappeared. About 15.000€ and hundreds of hours of work – gone. The only good thing: my doc-footage is safe. I’ve seperatly stored the the back-up-harddrives. But to be honest this whole thing will become a major issue within the near future, making it difficult for me finalizing this project anytime soon.

Things are going slowly recently. I had a couple of hardware related throwbacks recently and in the meantime the rest of the interviews are getting subbed. I didn’t expect the workflow to be as complicated as it turned out to be but some things can’t be changed. Especially editing non-hardsubbed videostreams and getting these SRTs with timcodes into CS5. You see there is a lot of time consuming stuff ahead and behind me.

So far I have mid 2012 as release date scheduled. I do plan to send the film to Yamagata (YIDFF) but let’s wait and see. So if you happen to be programming for a filmfestival 2012 – get in touch. I need the pressure!

Stefan

It’s been some time… but Tun Shwe, Nippon Connection’s resident (35mm) photographer, finally uploaded (sorry, Tun!) some of his great shots if this year’s event. Among them pics of Tochka and their light-animation workshop (PiKa PiKa) and nishikataeiga‘s Cathy Munroe Hotes hosting the “Indie Animators Talk“.

• If you want to see all 155 pictures, follow this link.
• There is also a short video of the PiKa PiKa event (edited by Nagata Takeshi, shot by myself). Check it out here: link 

student's work

So… I am back in Vienna. It was a very intense stay in Tokyo. Met a lot of filmmakers, did some nice interviews, watched animation students getting their final films for this semester done and, besides all that, I had a great time as well. I really need to say thanks to all the animators, like Furukawa-san, Yamamura-san, Ktooonz-san, the young guns: Hirano-san and Takeuchi-san AND especially to Niiya-san for helping me (again). Of course also thanks to JVTA’s Ishii-san, Nomura-san, Nojima-san and all the others who helped me this time. Thanks!

The only thing I have to complain about was the humid and the heat. Carrying a 20kg camerabag through Tokyo in July is NO fun at all. And I guess it never will be. What I learned from this trip: Avoid Japan’s summer in Tokyo… at all costs!

Back in Vienna painful processes already started. Getting stuff translated again. Doing backups of the material, buying extra HDDs, sorting things out, converting material, importing… still a long way to go.

PS: I will upload soon some pics… so stay tuned… I am going to post it over at Twitter too. Be sure to follow me there as well.

For those following me on Twitter know that I am still in Tokyo shooting. I am having here some great days, despite the heat and the crowded trains. Meeting Yamamura Koji, Furukawa Taku, Niiya Naoyuki and many other young animators was and still is a major push of creativity. Really enjoy my time here. Back in Vienna I will upload some pictures Niiya-san and myself took and post the links here and on Twitter. Thanks for reading!

Nippon Connection 2011 is right behind the corner and I can’t wait going there. A lot of interesting events and guests are on the festival schedule.

I can already recommend the following happenings:

The Filmmakers’ Talk will start at 20:30, Festivalzentrum K2
Special Guests: Mirai Mizue, Nobuaki Doi, Tochka
Moderator: Cathy Munroe Hotes of Nishikata Film Review

http://www.nipponconnection.com/nippon-2011/de/programm-culture-filmemachergespraeche.html

An Animated Film Workshop with TOCHKA will also take place
Saturday, April 30, 17:00 in the Festivalzentrum KOZ

http://www.nipponconnection.com/nippon-2011/eng/programm-culture-animatedfilm.html

via Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101487989939819

To keep it short an simple: We all are shocked by the happenings in Japan. Words can’t describe what has happened and is still happening there.

• As far as my stay in Tokyo (19-30.03) is concerned, I will have – unfortunately – to cancel it.

Sorry.

Just recently some websites picked up the news about my film, which took me quite by surprise how fast things are moving on the web.

Now I just wanted to say thanks for spreading the word.

Here are some of them:

• Jasper Sharp(English)
• Anipages Daily (English)
• Catsuka (French)
• D’last Frame (Spanish)
• Deculture.es (Spanish)
• Bunkaanime.exblog.jp (Japanese)
  
• Anirepo (Japanese)