The International Animation Festival Hiroshima, founded as International Animation Festival for the World Peace in 1985, was a biennial film festival for animated films held in Hiroshima, Japan. Its last edition was held in 2020.
History
The festival was founded in 1985 by the Association International du Film d'Animation (ASIFA) as the International Animation Festival for the World Peace. The city of Hiroshima was one of the sites of nuclear bombings in 1945 at the end of World War II, and it was chosen to inspire thoughts of unity through the arts. The festival was considered one of the most respected animated film festival, along with Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Festival, and Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films.[1] The founding of the festival is largely credited to Sayoko Kinoshita and her late husband Renzo Kinoshita. The married couple were renowned figures in the independent animation world and also founders of ASIFA's Japan chapter.[2]
The first two festivals were held in odd years: 1985 and 1987. Since 1990, the festival has been held biennially in even years. In 2008, the 12th Festival took place for five days (August 7–11).[citation needed]
In the festival's first year in 1985, the Grand Prize was awarded to Broken Down Film by Osamu Tezuka.[3] Tezuka became one of the members of the jury for the following festival. This cycle has often repeated and many of the grand prize winners have become judges for the following festival.
In 2010, the Festival had nearly 1,937 entries from 58 countries and regions, and had more than 34,516 participants.[4]
In November 2020, the city of Hiroshima announced ending its partnership with ASIFA, and plans to replace the festival.[5]
