OBON

Germany/ Japan, 2018, 15’
Directors: Andre Hörmann, Anna Samo
Scriptwriter: Andre Hörmann
2D animator: Anna Samo
Producer: Andre Hörmann
Sound: Christioph de la Chevallerie
Production Company: Hoermann-Filmproduction/ Vizion

Akiko Takakura is one of the last living survivors of the atomic blast in Hiroshima. This is her story, her voice, her words. In this visually and emotionally stunning story, she describes how, amidst the terror and nightmares, she found a rare moment of closeness with her father.

AWARDS

Grand Prix, CINANIMA International Animation Festival, Espinho, Portugal, 2018; Silver Dragon Award (Oscar-qualifying) for Best Short Animated Film, 58th Krakow Film Festival, Poland, 2018; Women in Animation Award for Excellence in Animation Filmmaking, 49th ASIFA East Animation Film Festival; Best Short Documentary, Youth Jury – FRONTDOC International Documentary Festival, Aosta, Italy, 2018; Best of German Animation, Trickfilmwochenende, Wiesbaden, Germany, 2018; Grosse Klappe, doxs!, Duisburg, Germany, 2018; Special Mention, DOC NYC, New York City, USA, 2018; Special Mention, Hawaii International Film Festival, USA, 2018; Best in Show Award, 49th ASIFA East Animation Film Festival, New York City, USA, 2018; Special Jury Mention, 6th Insomnia International Animation Festival, Kaluga, Russia, 2018; Special Jury Mention, 46th Huesca International Film Festival, Spain, 2018; Certificate of Exceptional Cultural Value, German Film Evaluation Agency (Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden), 2018.

ANDRE HÖRMANN

Born in 1975, German filmmaker Andre Hörmann studied political science at Humboldt University, Berlin, directing at Filmuniversity Babelsberg, and graduated of Professionals Program in Screenwriting at UCLA. His documentaries have been shown and awarded at many prestigious international festivals. He works as a director, producer, and writer in LA and Berlin.

Filmography

Calcutta Calling (2007), Breathless (2009), Father’s Prayer (2010), Loden – The Little Monk (2012), Bhavini – I only want to Dance (2013), Andrew with Great Fanfare (2014), Crowley – Every Cowboy needs his Horse (2015), Cieras Song (2016), Seanna – Alone in Hollywood (2017), Ari and the Day of the Dead (2018), Obon (2018), Ringside (2019), Nachtwald (2020).

ANNA SAMO

Born in Moscow in 1980, Samo dreamed of becoming a clown – or a superintendent. Became an animator. Her favorite childhood activities were drawing on the wallpaper, declaiming poems, and destroying the family porcelain. In 1999 she started studying architecture in Moscow. After two years she changed to animation. In 2002-2006 she was studying art direction of animated films at VGIK (Film University, Moscow). In 2006-2013 she was studying animation at HFF “Konrad Wolf” in Potsdam, Germany. Since October of 2011, she is a freelance animator in Berlin and New York. Samo’s films were shown at acclaimed film festivals around the world such as Berlinale, Annecy, Stuttgart, Hiroshima, Encounters FF, Cork FF, Aspen Shortsfest, etc.

 Filmography

Hello, Antenna (2008), Hokus-Pokus (2009), Weiß kein weiß (2010), Little Plastic Figure (2012), Eyes Closed (2013), The Man is Big (2016), Obon (2018), The Opposites Game (2019).