Animated short by Mariam Kapanadze to debut at Hokkaido festival
A still from 'Abandoned Village' by Mariam Kapanadze. Image via New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival.
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A visually narrated story of an abandoned village disappearing under natural phenomena will be screened at the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival in Japan, with director Mariam Kapanadze's work picked for the international competition section.
Showing a day in a location based on a real settlement in upper Imereti province in Georgia's west, the 14-minute Abandoned Village features ambient sounds and no speech to convey the atmosphere of the setting.
The director told Georgian Public Broadcaster visual depictions in the animation were made to closely resemble the real-world reference locations, and added viewers "become an observer of the destruction of the village" while following the unfolding image.
Artist Irakli Toklikishvili, who worked on the visuals, said the work on the animation was his first experience in the field, and that coming up with a workable main scene view for the film had required an extended experimentation. The animation project was supported in its production by the Georgian National Film Centre in 2018
Abandoned Village is one of 100 short works singled out from over 2170 submissions from over 90 countries and regions for the festival. The festival will also have a feature contest in its programme, with the relevant selection to be announced at a later date.
Organisers originally screened their selections at the terminal building of New Chitose Airport, which "connects Hokkaido with the rest of the world". The 2014-launched festival hosted around 43,000 visitors and expanded beyond the airport building.
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