07 Distribution Work

Kei Oyama

As I mentioned at the end of my previous installment, in this article I will explain another aspect of my work, that of film distribution.

Once artists create their works and start participating in international festivals with their works, they will encounter various short animations and short films: from comical to serious, from experimental to highly artistic, and everything in between. The scope is virtually limitless, and I am always surprised by the rich variety and sheer number of such fascinating works. Moreover, there are several young Japanese animation artists who have received numerous awards at international film festivals in recent years, bringing new momentum to the industry.

Ordinary life in Japan, however, offers almost no opportunities to come in touch with such works. Short films are rarely screened at cinemas or released to DVD or other formats for personal viewing, so, regrettably, only artists who participate in film festivals and researches are aware of the rich variety and large number of such interesting works, and this has been the reality for some time now.

Against this backdrop, I am now affiliated with CALF, a company that I established together with fellow artists and a researcher of my own age. In addition to work on specific projects assigned by our clients, we also engage in activities to release and sell in DVD format works by internationally-recognized Japanese artists, plan screening events, and distribute films for theater release.

I would like to introduce several representative projects.。


Atsushi Wada and Animations from the World


In 2010, we organized a program composed of works by animation artist Atsushi Wada and foreign works, and screened it at movie theaters across Japan. Without Wada, I probably would not have come up with the idea to create CALF. This explains how deeply I am in love with his works.


CALF Short Film Festival in Summer


In the summer of 2011, we collected short films from a broad range of genres--animation, as well as live-action films, music videos, experimental movies, etc.--and screened them as a one week-only event at Eurospace, an art-house cinema in Shibuya. It turned into a very exciting and stimulating event.


Atsushi Wada's The Great Rabbit and Selected World Animation


This is another program composed of works of Atsushi Wada and international works that we screened at movie theaters all over Japan. We had just completed a special program devoted to the works of Wada, so this project happened a bit too early, but because his latest work, The Great Rabbit, won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, we planned the event on very short notice to take advantage of the timing.


Wonder Full!!


Wonder Full!! is a compilation of works of Mirai Mizue, an artist known for his non-narrative abstract animation films, for screening at movie theaters. Unlike the programs that feature works by Atsushi Wada, we decided to go with Mizue's animations only, without combining them with foreign films. Through joint distribution with Makotoya, the compilation was first screened at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya, and then released nationwide on a greater scale than ever.


"Metamorphosis Animation" All Night Screening 2014


Originally organized as a one-night, or an all-night, screening event, this year "Metamorphosis Animation" All Night Screening was held consecutively at movie theaters across Japan. This project, which has brought together an exclusive selection of extraordinary and curious films from all over the world, is a very popular series of events that attract attention even from film fans who previously had no interest in short animation. Next year, we plan to restore it once again to the one-night format, and I am already dreaming of organizing a flamboyant event at a large-scale venue that seats some 1,500 people.


I feel bad for showing you only trailers in this installment, but in fact all these trailers were created by me, so they can rightfully be called "Oyama's works." Hehe!

Going forward, I will continue presenting animation films collected by CALF from all over the world. If any of the projects catches your attention, please come to the movie theater to see it. I am sure this will turn into a novel and unforgettable experience for you.

This is all for now.







This is all for now. Watch out for earthworms during the rainy season.





Kei Oyama
Animation artist. Born in Tokyo in 1978.
In 2005, Shinsatsushitsu (Consultation Room), his graduation project at Tokyo Zokei University, won the Gold Prize for the Campus Genius Award, as well as Best Picture for BACA-JA. Oyama has been formally invited to international film festivals such as the Directors' Fortnight of the Cannes International Film Festival. In 2008 he made HAND SOAP for Aichi Arts Center which won him many awards including the Grand Prix for the Holland Animation Film Festival and the Special Prize for the International Animation Festival Hiroshima. In the live motion movies Watashi wa neko sutoka (I'm a cat stalker, 2008) and Gegege no nyobo (Gegege's wife, 2010) Oyama was in charge of making the animation clips. He is now a member of CALF which he founded with his partners, making Hokago (After School) while producing, distributing, and selling animation works.

Official website: http://www.keioyama.com/
CALF : http://calf.jp/
CALF STUDIO : http://calf.jp/studio/

Page top▲

• Back to previous page
• Next page