Dudok de Wit, Studio Ghibli's The Red schildpad Film Wins Animafest Zagreb Award 

Dudok de Wit, Studio Ghibli\'s The Red Turtle Film Wins Animafest Zagreb Award

The Animafest Zagreb animation film festival in Croatia revealed on June 10 that Michael Dudok de Wit and

film won its Grand Prix – Feature Film category for the festival.

Sawako Kabuki\'s "Natsu no Gero wa Natsu no Sakana" ("Summer\'s Puke is Winter\'s Delight") short anime film was also nominated for the Student Film Competition category, and earned a Special Mention. The short also won the Jury Award in the Graduation Films category at the Annecy International Film Festival on Saturday.

opened in Japan last September, and opened in New York and Los Angeles for an Oscar-qualifying run last November. The film began screening in North American theaters on January 20.

The film was nominated for the Animated Feature Film category of the 89th Academy Awards, but did not win.

is the latest work by award-winning Dutch animator and director Michael Dudok de Wit ("The Monk and the Fish," "Father & Daughter" animated shorts).

co-produced the film with French film production and distribution company

Director de Wit temporarily moved to Koganei in Tokyo (where

is headquartered) to work on the film, completing the film\'s storyboards and the scenario in his time there, while

checked them. Takahata also served as the "artistic producer" for the film. Pascale Ferran (

The film screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2016, and won the Special Jury Prize at the Un Certain Regard section of the festival. The film then opened the 40th Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2016. The film later received the Best Animated Feature - Independent award at the 44th Annual Annie Awards in February.

It\'s time for another lightning round - theme parks in Japan, live-action anime adaptations, the fate of Yahoo Japan auctions and more! ― It\'s time once again to tackle the questions that I couldn\'t get a whole column\'s worth of information out of! Ready? Let\'s go! Chris asks: What will happen to Yahoo! Japan after the finalization last week of Yahoo!\'s merger with / absorption into Verizon? Some of...

Things get steamy on Shelf Life this week as Paul dives into the deep end of a fanservice yuri action extravaganza. Plus, all this week\'s new anime releases! ― I was going to talk about E3 this week, but then I watched the latest episode of Sakura Quest and decided I really wanted to rave about that show instead. I\'ve been watching it all season, but it only just recently hit me that it\'s really wel...

This fantasy adventure based on a mobile game came and went without much fanfare last year, but is it worth a second look? Theron Martin finds out. ― When this mobile game adaptation debuted back during the Spring 2016 season, I was so unimpressed by the first episode that I gave it my lowest rating of that Preview Guide and never bothered to watch another episode. Funimation\'s announcement of a simu...

Grimgar\'s story continues where the anime adaptation left off, becoming far more brutal as our heroes lay siege to an orc fortress. Rebecca Silverman gets into the details. ― Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash\'s third novel is the first to go beyond what the anime covered, and it brings with it more answers about the past and an increased brutality to the combat aspect of the series. It sees Haruhiro and his...

"Season 2 of Attack on Titan has been superb, eclipsing the first season in nearly every way. One of the most exciting, visceral, and gut-wrenching anime I\'ve seen in years."

Beyond the bubble of high school life lies the 9-to-5 grind of the working world, a place many anime fear to tread. These seven shows are prepared to run the rat race! ― The world of adulthood is wracked with responsibilities. There\'s the nine to five grind, house maintenance, bills, and sometimes even a spouse or children to take care of at the end of the day. This isn\'t the world of swords and sor...

Kaneki must find the balance between monster and man within himself if he wants to succeed in his quest to protect his friends. Rebecca Silverman follows this antihero\'s darkening path through these three intense volumes. ― A work doesn\'t need to be subtle to be good, neither in its symbolism nor its references to earlier literature. That\'s a good thing in the case of Tokyo Ghoul, which is being more...

Answerman - Will China or Korea Ever Compete With Anime?

You might expect China and Korea to have their own robust slate of anime for Japan and the world to contend with - but why hasn\'t that happened? ― Marlon asks: It seems that the Chinese and South Koreas want to have their own equivalent of the anime/manga market. With their webtoons and such, Chinese investors seem to be putting a lot into forming their own market like Japan, even licensing or creat...

Making First Contact with KADO: The Right Answer

While it\'s not rare to find space aliens in anime, KADO The Right Answer takes a unique approach to extraterrestrial encounters. Paul Jensen explores the history of first contact with the unknown in anime past and present. ― When visitors from another world show up in an anime series, it\'s usually not a good sign for the inhabitants of Earth. The typical chain of events involves a sudden burst of vio...

The movie may be a phenomenon, but how does Shinkai\'s novelization of his film hold up? Theron Martin finds out. ― In 2002 Makoto Shinkai effectively shouted his name to the anime industry and fandom with the release of Voices of a Distant Star, an OVA that caught attention both for nearly one-man production team and its simple, potent story about teenage lovers trying to stay in contact even as the ...

Friends from the Internet Dave Riley and Graziella Mattie join Zac to stare longingly into the void with Nier: Automata. PLUS: Persona 5 and our most anticipated games from E3! ― ANNCast Episode 299 - Programmed To Feel Pain Friends from the Internet Dave Riley and Graziella Mattie join Zac to stare longingly into the void with Nier: Automata. PLUS: Persona 5 and our most anticipated games from E3! ...