On Saturday, November 23, 2024, three award-winning video works from the 12th Annual Competition of Art in Hiroshima Prefecture were screened at NTT Credo Hall No. 2 from 11:00 a.m. A film commentator, Ms. Yukiko SUZUKI interviewed two of the three award-winner artists.

Grand Prize "Multi-Hour Etude" by Director Atsushi KONO

The protagonist looks back on her memory of her deceased father while going about her daily life like washing dishes, doing laundry, and brushing her teeth. She starts wondering where her father's soul is, and his consciousness is. Her father loved physics and was interested in elementary particles, their connection to the universe, and the uncertainty principle. Then she remembers the words her father had left before he passed away. "I would be a tiny particle like light, like a wave, and I can go anywhere I want to go."

The narrative is about consciousness, which isn't a common topic people talk about, but many of Director KONO's friends have shared their empathy with him. Human consciousness is a still mysterious arena even physicists have not been able to unravel, but he remarked that the unfathomableness gave him motivation and energy.

Excellence Award "ARAWARE (Appearance)" by Director Yuuki SHINOHARA

The video depicts the beautiful nature of Innoshima Island, one of many islands within Onomichi City proper. The sight of Jizobana Point is especially impressive, with a blurred contrast between the sea and the island. Various scenery and sounds are also feasts for the eyes and ears of the audience, such as stone statues, seascapes changing colors, birds flying in the sky, vivid flowers, waves, wind, and singing insects. The beautiful piano music sounds like a requiem.

Director SHINOHARA used to have a video-related job, but now he is a teacher. "The students are full of vigor like they come out of a film." He said. He explained that he had started shooting without a certain framework of its story, and shooting began after he had taken his time at some places he had wanted to film. He shared his aim that he would like to express a certain form of prayer with just images and sound.

Encouragement Award "Ritalin Concerta!" By Director Natsuki KAIWAI

Characters are depicted by a combination of live-action and animation. The sound which resembles machine noise is also a memorable aspect of this work.
The scene where the protagonist is playing in the park emphasizes its unique perspective, which gives the image a sense of floating. At the end credit roll, the surreal atmosphere changes, bringing the audience relief like they finally come back to the real world.

All the films were interesting and attracted the audience to the world of the boundary between the inner and outer worlds of human beings. After the screening, the audience was deeply touched and filled with empathy.