Niigata Int'l Animation Film Festival Honors Kazuki Higashiji, Takeshi Honda, Others

The Niigata International Animation Film Festival announced on February 16 the winners of the Kōji Fukiya and Hiroshi Ōkawa awards, which include maboroshi film art director Kazuki Higashiji and The Boy and the Heron animation director Takeshi Honda.

The awards honor technical achievements in animation and are named after Toei Movies founder Kōji Fukiya and Toei’s first president Hiroshi Ōkawa, who were both from Niigata.

The first Niigata International Animation Film Festival was held in March 2023, and featured Mamoru Oshii as the judging committee chairman.