Koji Yamamura

An animated film based on one of the renku (collaborative linked poems) in the 1684 collection of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō. The creation of the film followed the traditional collaborative nature of the source material – the visuals for each of the 36 stanzas were independently created by 35 different animators. As well as many Japanese animators, Kawamoto assembled leading names in animation from across the world. Each animator was asked to contribute at least 30 seconds to illustrate their stanza, and most of the sequences are under a minute (Yuriy Norshteyn's, though, is nearly two minutes long).

toco toco is a program where Japanese artists and creators introduce places in Japan that inspire them. No scripted text or guidance, guests speak naturally and are free to choose any place they like. “toco toco” is the onomatopoeia to describe the sound of footsteps in Japanese, for the walks we go on together with our guests.

A look at the life, work and importance of Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman (1910-89), a genius of world cinema, a wizard of special effects, revealing his sources of inspiration and his revolutionary filming techniques.

An indie documentary exploring the art form of hand-drawn animation through a contemporary lens in the digital era. Featuring insights and anecdotes by hand-drawn animation artists from around the world.

A miserly man eats the pits of some cherries he can't stand throwing out. A tree starts growing from the top of his head. He cuts it off; it grows back. After a while, he gives up and lets it grow, but the crowds that gather on top of his head to enjoy the tree (and leave huge mounds of trash) eventually drive him to uproot the tree. This leaves a crater on top of his head, which fills with water, which becomes a popular lake.

How to make this mysterious cake? The ingredients include blue eggs, cookie flowers, pillow stuffing and much more.

toco toco is a program where Japanese artists and creators introduce places in Japan that inspire them. No scripted text or guidance, guests speak naturally and are free to choose any place they like. “toco toco” is the onomatopoeia to describe the sound of footsteps in Japanese, for the walks we go on together with our guests.

An animated film based on one of the renku (collaborative linked poems) in the 1684 collection of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō. The creation of the film followed the traditional collaborative nature of the source material – the visuals for each of the 36 stanzas were independently created by 35 different animators. As well as many Japanese animators, Kawamoto assembled leading names in animation from across the world. Each animator was asked to contribute at least 30 seconds to illustrate their stanza, and most of the sequences are under a minute (Yuriy Norshteyn's, though, is nearly two minutes long).

A miserly man eats the pits of some cherries he can't stand throwing out. A tree starts growing from the top of his head. He cuts it off; it grows back. After a while, he gives up and lets it grow, but the crowds that gather on top of his head to enjoy the tree (and leave huge mounds of trash) eventually drive him to uproot the tree. This leaves a crater on top of his head, which fills with water, which becomes a popular lake.

How to make this mysterious cake? The ingredients include blue eggs, cookie flowers, pillow stuffing and much more.

A child whose head is numerals, a child who winds his own face and has it under his arm. What was left is his identity, a child whose eyes are provided by fishes, a child who cannot say anything because of a zipper across his mouth. Ecology and philosophy of children with sadness and humor.

A little girl reflects on her last summer with her father at his funeral.

A hapless country doctor describes with breathless urgency a night-time summons to attend a young patient. Events soon take on a surreal aspect as "unearthly horses" transport him instantaneously to the bedside. The doctor, preoccupied with personal distractions and grievances against those he is employed to care for, fails to find what is revealed to be a vile, fatal wound. He is humiliated by the villagers, who are "always expecting the impossible from the doctor," and doomed to an endless return trip, losing everything.

In the moments before death, one of the Battling Gods recalls his defeat in a magnificent fight. That battle transcended meta worlds, time and parallel universes as the Battling God faced off with another of his kind. All living creatures celebrated their fight with cries of joy.

Various visions of life and death, as seen from an operation table. Did the operation succeed ? Is the patient still alive ?

Heartbroken, I bought a bottle of wine and drank it walking home. A tipsy journey reconstructed using the Japanese traditional storytelling method "rakugo."

Okinawa is ominous right before the arrival of a typhoon. At first, Anri is excited by the unusual turn of events, but gradually she becomes fearful of the threatening typhoon. Then, her big sister tells her that typhoons have an eye...

The elderly at the nursing home have their heads shaved. The protagonist who works there sees them but can't read their expressions. However, from one instance, he finds himself looking closely at their faces.

A mother goat rescues her kids from the belly of a wolf, but where is her eldest son Toruku?

Short by Koji Yamamura

That moment of refreshing sensation when drinking a soda in the hot summer.

Here, everything is The North. This is an account of the people I met in The North. However, my fragmented memory doesn't capture the essence at all.

Here, everything is The North. This is an account of the people I met in The North. However, my fragmented memory doesn't capture the essence at all.

Here, everything is The North. This is an account of the people I met in The North. However, my fragmented memory doesn't capture the essence at all.

Here, everyone is an outlander. But something's not right. Everyone else has a place to sit at the table, a home to return to at will. Not him. Lonely as it may be, he will look ahead and find his place here.

Deep down the alley the black cat has entered is a town where nonhuman beings live in peace. The cat returns to his home to rest when suddenly he hears a strange sound coming from next door.

A very old crocodile is shunned by his family after eating one of them.

Collaborations between some of contemporary Japan's finest musicians and filmmakers. The Nihon no Uta Executive Committee produced a series of original short films inspired by the classic Japanese songs included in the albums Nihon no Uta Vol. 1–4, released by commmons (founded by Ryuichi Sakamoto). Each film pairs a celebrated musician with an acclaimed filmmaker, creating a unique fusion of music and visual storytelling. Artists: Takoko Oshinaki, Tomoyo Harada, Keiichi Suzuki, Miyuki Hayama, Blue Hats, Kenji Endo, cero, Yoshihiro Takahashi, Tomohiko Mito, Mush Kamayatsu, Nokazu Takemura, Kaori Konishi, Kiyhiko Senami, Rooji Nakanana, ASA-CHANG

The angel of wind exhales, sending fluffy dandelion seeds into a slow dance. Wind and light guide the downy seeds into the magical world of botany.

When immersed in the contours swelling and waning in the forest of needles, the mundane world drifts away, and we only live to breathe.

Brothers eating dinner, a girl watering the plants, a boy awakening in the night… The daily scenery from the house where they all lived at one point or another.

I'm the only one who can't live without an oxygen tank in the underwater world. No matter how suffocated I feel, I preserve peace and harmony by pretending the selfish girl and my friends with complicated family backgrounds don't bother me.

A girl heading home from school is met with a bigger version of herself who poses arbitrary challenges with unspeakable consequences. The little girl tries to keep up but suddenly the stakes are raised.

Mayumi is a spoiled girl whose parents buy her everything she wants. She names her name "Mayumi" to everything she receives, and her room is gradually filled with many Mayumis. Mayumi herself gets swallowed by the characters of her name.

A mix of life tales in modern Japan where fate is predicted by your name and a fingerplay song. Are the members of this society playing into the hands of some higher being or are they living the life of impermanence?

Shiroinu writes down the day’s events before he goes to sleep. One day, he opens a drawer buried in the snow and finds old diary entries. He realizes that he’s forgotten the sensations and emotions from that time to the extent that he feels like he’s reading about someone else’s life.

Nobody in a class loves ‘Kuchao’ who cannot live without. . . gum. When all [his] classmates fly their balloons, he wouldn’t let his go. After school, on his way home, he gets to his own imaginary world with a bubble gum. His balloon turns to be a face and to many things as he chews [his] gum. His imagination doesn’t stop flying. Then comes a bird. . .

Kaibun are palidromes in which words sound the same when read backwards and forwards. Sometimes the meaning changes, and sometimes not. I brought this playful and poetic world to life.

One night Mr. K went for a walk with his pet...

One night Mr. K went for a walk with his pet...

An apple comes out of a man’s mouth. The man’s life goes backward, as video player is reversed. Many kinds of food accelerated to come out of his mouth and the man becomes younger and younger. Time goes back without end.

One day, while the main character is dozing off, he is abandoned by the owner of the shadow that he lives in. This creature who has lost his home wanders through the night city in search of his shadow.

Big cities are glutted with information. Unconscious curiosity, hidden under apparent indifference, invites us into a noisy loop.

We go to sleep in hopes for a better tomorrow. The moment of truth nears as our eyes slowly open to the new day…

"You're right. There was a bug–I killed it." Late at night, only one voice wafts around the room. What lies on the other end of the telephone line is anyone's guess...

The beach is packed in a Chinese resort. People are enjoying the summer holidays. An abrupt thundershower makes them run around in a flurry.

On days I don't want to leave the house, I enjoy watching TV and videos on my smartphone. I'm supposed to be at home but the screen keeps taking me elsewhere and I lose my grip on my whereabouts and reality.