Talk: Yuasa Masaaki

The vivid, wildly inventive work of Japanese anime master Yuasa Masaaki has an extensive, 10-film retrospective at IFFR 2023. From the phantasmagorical existential parable Mind Game (2004) and the sadomasochistic romcom Kick-Heart (2013) to the melancholy fantasy Ride Your Wave (2019) and the explosive countercultural rock opera INU-OH (2021), IFFR audiences will have a chance to experience a rich cross-section of the filmmaker's singular oeuvre that defies easy categorisation.

Starting out as an animator on popular television series for the studio Ajia-do in the 1990s, Yuasa remained a freelancer until he launched his own firm, Science SARU, with co-founder Eunyoung Choi in 2013. Drawing from a variety of international influences, Yuasa's work is marked by its unpredictability and its consistent heterogeneity in terms of formats, genres, animation techniques and target demographics. Even so, it is steadfast in its preference for stories about compassion and tolerance, coexistence between different communities and acceptance of one's freedom and true self.

In a wide-ranging conversation with animation scholar Dr. Jennifer Lynde Barker, the filmmaker will discuss his professional journey, from his early years as an apprentice artist at Ajia-do to his prolific activity with Science SARU. The conversation will also delve into his eclectic influences, extraordinary use of colour and his attraction to tales of kindness and empathy.

– Srikanth Srinivasan