A Japanese creator of animated films who won the silver prize at this year’s Student Academy Awards says he is full of gratitude. But he adds that he is not fully satisfied and wants to explore new ways of expression.
Kanamori Kei on Monday was awarded the second-place prize at an international competition organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which stages the Oscars. The competition is also known as the Oscars for students. Past winners include Robert Zemeckis, who directed the “Back to the Future” movies.
Kanamori used computer graphics to create the prize-winning short story “Origami” as his graduation project while attending Tokyo’s Digital Hollywood University.
He told reporters in Tokyo on Friday that he is full of gratitude because what he has worked so hard on has taken form. But he added that he is not yet fully satisfied and that receiving the second-place award is a way of telling him not to get carried away.
Kanamori says he has enjoyed origami ever since he started elementary school. He said he had been uncomfortable with past animated works on the art form, as they often failed to describe it in a realistic way.
He said he adhered to a correct depiction of the process of folding origami, taking into consideration such factors as the texture and thickness of the paper. He added that this made him make great efforts in technical realism.
The animator went on to say that he hoped his award will encourage other Japanese students to follow him to the world stage and aim for the gold.
Kanamori said he wants to seek new ways of expression and combine Japanese cultural sensibilities with computer graphics.