The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

Okina is a bamboo cutter in ancient rural Japan. One day in the forest, he finds a tiny baby in the folds of a bamboo shoot. He brings the creature home to his wife Ounaa and they decide to keep her and raise her as a princess. She is clearly not of this world. Kaguya grows at an unnatural rate, soon maturing into an uncommonly beautiful young woman. Since Okina has now also found a cache of gold and treasure in the forest, every suitor wants Kaguya. But this is not a fairy tale of courtship and marriage. (Source: Toronto International Film Festival)

Genji Monogatari

Based on the literary work of Shikibu Murasaki, The Tale of Genji is a story of the Emperor`s second son born by a courtier. Made a commoner, he served as a retainer to the court.

Angel's Egg

In a desolate and dark world full of shadows, lives one little girl who seems to do nothing but collect water in jars and protect a large egg she carries everywhere. A mysterious man enters her life... and they discuss the world around them. (Source: Anime News Network)

Doujouji

Based on an ancient legend, Dojoji Temple tells the story of a young priest who finds himself the object of intense infatuation and lust from a young woman. As he rebuffs her advances she becomes more and more desperate eventually turning herself into a gigantic serpent. The priest is hidden under the bell of the temple but the woman's passion is so intense that escape is impossible. A short animation from filmaker Kihachiro Kawamoto. This film utilizes both stop motion and standard animation techniques.

Kataku

Many years ago, a young woman named Unai-Otome lived in the village of Ikuta. As she was beautiful it was no surprise that she had two suitors, both deeply in love with her. The girl was torn apart over which one to choose. In her desperation she chose a third option - taking her own life. Although her intentions were absolutely pure, not even in death did she find the solace she desired. Many decades later, a pilgrim walking by her grave meets a beautiful young woman and her story once again rises from the depths of time.... With a plot based on a classic play of Noh traditional theatre, the film presents the peak of Kawamoto&rsquo;s mastery thanks to its expert mediation of the absurdity of the human condition. Source: <a href="http://www.kviff.com/en/film-archive-detail/20050895-house-of-flames/" target="_blank">http://www.kviff.com/en/film-archive-detail/20050895-house-of-flames/</a>

Kaguya-hime

Stop-motion short-film narrating the fairytale of princess kaguya.

Night on the Galactic Railroad

Based on a short story by the popular children’s writer Kenji Miyazawa, Galactic Railroad offers viewers a slow-paced, dreamlike journey through space and time. When Giovanni, a lonely boy in a hill town, goes to get milk for his ailing mother, he finds himself crossing the Milky Way on a faster-than-light steam railroad. The stations he visits in various constellations, like the planets explored by St. Exupery’s Little Prince, offer curious adventures and an assortment of human "types." Reality and fantasy blur aboard the train, and its travels across the light-years sometimes suggests the journey through life. The characters are depicted as cats, presumably to avoid the problems of animating humans. (Source: AniDB)