Interview
Award Winners of Competition
＜Grand Prize＞ Takeru MOGI, Taichi NAGASAWA (Director) “Mimesis”
― How do you feel after receiving the Grand Prize?
Honestly, my friends and I were ready to go home empty-handed. But holding this trophy in my hands, I can genuinely feel the dedication of the 30 or so teammates who came together simply because they love animation. Feeling the sheer weight of their support right here, right now, I'm shaking with a mix of shock and pure joy. My co-director, Taichi Nagasawa—who is currently in Vienna—was the one who really pulled me out of my shell. I want to take this incredible feeling home and share it with everyone who believed in the two of us and stayed by our side.
＜SKIP CITY AWARD＞ Yui KUSAKARI(Director) “LONG NIGHT”
― How do you feel after receiving the SKIP CITY AWARD?
A film never belongs to the director alone. I’d love for everyone to give a big round of applause to the cast members sitting in the audience as well. I want to express my deepest gratitude for this prestigious award, for the festival organizers, and to everyone who backed us through crowdfunding. It’s entirely thanks to your support that I’m able to stand here today. Feeling the physical weight of this trophy, I can sense the high expectations for our upcoming feature film. I take this as a sign of anticipation for The Lighthouse Keeper (Tohdaimori). Together with our incredible team, I want to keep pushing forward to make sure we live up to those expectations.
＜Audience Award＞ Tomoya ITABASHI (Director) “How to Build a Secret Base”
― How do you feel after receiving the Audience Award?
Back during the pandemic, amid a constant stream of dark news and unfortunate events, my single-minded focus was simply to make a fun, entertaining movie that both the audience and I could truly enjoy. I am incredibly honored to receive such a wonderful award as the Audience Award.
＜Special Mention＞ Yuka NISHIDA (Director) “Chuckle Chuckle”
― How do you feel after receiving the Special Mention?
I never imagined we’d actually win an award, so I’m incredibly shocked. While I’m standing here as the director, in my heart, I feel like I'm standing here together with the 11 official team members who built this movie with me. Just like the protagonist, I think I’ll keep living my life through a constant cycle—where my ideal self is born, and I fight through it over and over again. Once again, the SKIP CITY film festival is absolutely wonderful. I’ve truly fallen in love with Saitama!
*Comments from the winners are as of the awards ceremony.