In 2017, Japan and Denmark marked the establishment of 150 years of diplomatic relations with a string of cultural events, exhibitions, symposiums – and Viborg Animation Festival!
Under the theme KAWAII & EPIKKU, VAF celebrated Japan by exposing audiences to the cultural richness of anime and manga.
A broad audience of moviegoers could enjoy an extensive, handpicked film program. More than 60% of the films were of Japanese origin and a good number of these had never been screened in Danish cinemas before. 12,194 tickets were redeemed in total – an increase of 20% compared to 2016.
Download the program (PDF)
KAWAII & EPPIKU - The biggest manga and anime exhibition in Northern Europe
KAWAII & EPIKKU - the biggest exhibition of manga and anime ever seen in Northern Europe presented more than 15 manga and anime artists, including Osamu Tezuka, Koji Morimoto, Tatsuyuki Tanaka, Atsuko Fukushima, Studio 4°C and many more. A total of 850 artworks and pieces were exhibited and 3,721 visitors stopped by.
Solar Walk
Solar Walk was a sold-out concert success. The animated concert played two times for a room of 500 people and offered a spectacular experience that combined beautiful animated images by Réka Bucsi with original big band live jazz performed by Aarhus Jazz Orchestra. Solar Walk was produced by The Animation Workshop/VIA University College, SØNC, and Nørlum.
Conferences
Our conferences had a total of 629 participants stemming from a wide range of fields. Animated Learning focused on building bridges between creativity and knowledge; Manga & Comics discussed the influences between manga and western comics; Animated Health focused on using animation in healthcare when communicating about dementia, and Sci-Vi concentrated on visualization in science dissemination. For the professional Danish animation and game producers, the Japan-Denmark Creative Media Industry Forum established meetings between Danish and Japanese companies and producers within the business of game production, TV-series, and licensing.
Immersion Game Expo
Immersion Game Expo was all about fun and games – and attracted more than 2,000 visitors during the event's three days.
Expanded Animation
Expanded Animation Showcase offered 700 guests a peek into the cross-aesthetic art projects that are currently being produced at the new Centre for Animation, Visualization, and Graphic Storytelling. More than 700 people explored the cinematic virtual reality piece Nothing Happens, the fluorescent animated amoeba pieces of Oden til Kloden, and the interactive installation Forecast.
Manga Artist Battle
Manga Artist Battle was a national contest in cartoon drawing between Denmark and Japan. A live audience cheered the contestants on in Viborg while the event was simultaneously streamed on the internet, garnering nearly 6,000 views. The Japanese team, led by Keiko Takemiya, won the Manga Artist Battle with a beautiful ‘shojo manga’-inspired fairytale mermaid.
VAF Sum Up
The absolute highlight of VAF Sum Up Exhibitions was Andy Holden’s Laws of Motion in a Cartoon Landscape (presented by Viborg Kunsthal and Aarhus 2017 in cooperation with The Animation Workshop), which presented an interesting comment on animation as a phenomenon. Furthermore, the Mitsuki Nakamura Retrospective gave audiences a rare insight into Mecha Anime.