Acclaimed Japanese animation director Keiichi Hara is coming to Romania for the 18th edition of the Animest Festival taking place in Bucharest between October 6 and 15, the organizers inform in a release on Friday, write Agerpres.

The artist will engage in dialogue with the audience at the retrospective screenings dedicated to him at the event this year, and will hold a masterclass during which he will share some behind-the-scenes secrets of the projects that brought him international fame. He will be accompanied in Bucharest by his long-term collaborator, screenwriter Miho Maruo, who authored the scripts for many of his successful films.

On October 8, at the Cervantes Institute, Keiichi Hara will talk in a masterclass about where he finds his inspiration, about the anime industry and how it is viewed in the world cinema, but also about his professional career.

„After the meeting with Keiichi Hara, the admirers of Japanese culture are invited to join the celebrations organized in partnership with IZANAGI – Japanese Film Festival. Workshops, presentations and tastings will take place in the foyer of the Eforie Cinema Hall, followed by the screening of ‘The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes’, the latest creation of director Tomohisa Taguchi, winner of this year’s Paul Grimault Award at Annecy.

The story follows the adventures of two teenagers who discover a magical tunnel at the end of which any wish can be granted with the price of losing some years of life,” reads the cited source. The Animest Festival is a project of the Animest Association, co-financed by the EU’s MEDIA Program and the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. Animest.18 is a project co-financed by Bucharest City Hall through ARCUB. AGERPRES National News Agency is media partner of the event.