It all starts with a line. In “A New Dawn,” Yoshitoshi Shinomiya’s directorial debut feature world premiering at the Berlinale as part of the main competition, animation is born out of its very essence: swift lines and bold brush strokes leaping through the screen, echoing the fireworks that Obinata firework factory created for decades.
Now set for an administrative shutdown tomorrow as a major road is planned to be extended directly through the premises, the house located in a lush forest is the main stage of this coming-of-age tale of three childhood friends. A story rooted deep in Japanese culture with a universal appeal, tackling themes of family legacy, childhood bonds and the impact of climate change and untamed urban development against nature and culture.
Ahead of the film’s premiere, Variety spoke with Shinomiya about what it meant for him to be present at this global event.
Trained as a painter in the traditional Japanese style, Shynomiya started his career in animation collaborating on films including Makoto Shinkai’s “Your Name” and Sunao Katabuchi’s “In This Corner of the World,” as well as anime project “Tokino Crossing” and the music video “Adventure Squad: Mori no Yusha”.
All these experiences are vividly present in this first feature, which brings animation back in the Berlinale competition. “To be frank, I wasn’t sure that we would finish the movie in time,” confessed Shinomiya. “but I am delighted to be in Berlin, and to be able to present the film at the festival. I was told it’s very rare to have an animated feature selected here [the previous occurrence was Liu Jian’s chinese animated feature ‘Art College 1994’ in 2023], and I would be very happy if we can, in some way, lay the groundwork for more animation creators.”
Crafted by a (very) small team of artists, “A New Dawn”is also singular as one of the few Japanese-French animated co-productions, brought forth by French indie animation powerhouse Studio Miyu, involved in so much of the great animation coming out of Europe.
“It was an interesting collaboration, because the French teams have a very different way of working, or a different approach to animation than the Japanese teams.” Miyu worked on the stop motion animation scenes, and although there were some differences, Shinomiya underlined that the French side had a very good or deep understanding of Japanese culture, which they managed to skilfully insert in the behavior of the characters in that specific sequence. “Of course, working on such a co-production brings a level of uncontrollability. But I would say that through this uncontrollability, we were able to broaden our horizons as well.”
Expanding one’s perspective is also at the heart of Shinomiya’s story, set in a picturesque town not unlike the one the artist grew up in. “My hometown in Kanagawa Prefecture was very close to the sea, but due to land reformation, parts of the sea were destroyed. We also had this traditional fireworks festival in our hometown, which also stopped at some point due to financial reasons. And finally, I was also not able to continue the profession or the work that my parents and also the generations before that had preserved.”
Yoshitoshi Shinomiya
Courtesy: Youji Shimizu
As the artist (who has been painting since his early age and holds a doctorate in Japanese painting from the Tokyo Graduate School of Fine Arts) became a father himself, he decided it was time to face this past and engage with this story. “It seemed to be the right time for me, to put this emphasis on the past and to focus on people who still try to pass on traditions and unique craftsmanship today, but are prevented from doing that. Even though the protagonists of this movie are quite young, I wanted to bring up these topics through their story because I think that future generations will have to deal more with those issues. Not only energetic or environmental crises, but also the loss of community.”
In luxuriant landscapes, Shinomiya’s trio (voiced by Riku Hagiwara, Kotone Furukawa and Miyu Irino) throw lines at each other with strong alchemy. “It was my first experience directing a voice cast, so I was a bit unsure how it would come out. But I’m glad to hear the result is appreciated and that their relationship translates well on screen. The two actors from the trio were also making their debut as voice actors, but they were very professional and learned very quickly.”
From backgrounds to lighting, “A New Dawn” is a subtly grounded film with bursts of visual splendor in which our three main characters Keitaro, Chicchi and Kaoru navigate in quick, poetic and stylish movements. “For animation we took this unique approach of keeping the protagonists or the characters as simple as possible”, explained Shinomiya. “Through very simple lines and colors. So that no matter where you’re from, you can understand the emotions that are conveyed in a very universal way. This choice also refers to traditional East Asian art, and it allowed our small team to focus on more detailed backgrounds.”
The director, who blended animation and live-action before doing commissioned work, also underlined the importance of blending techniques in his own artistic practice. “To me, it’s like a painting that you create with different kinds of ingredients. As an artist who’s not originally an animator. I find it a strength to be able to bring along external elements not directly linked with anime.”
One of those key elements that blends visual techniques as well as a deeper meaning is the ‘Shuhari’, a magnificent almost legendary firework that Keitaro tries to create as the firework’s factory’s swan song. “In Japanese, ‘Shuhari’ refers to the growth of a human being and reflects the philosophy of life and death itself. Our three protagonists are going through these steps in order to move forward. They protect, they break, and then they transcend and decide to start something new. But it also tells about the people who stayed in these small towns, or people who moved to the city. All these different paths are symbolized with the ‘Shuhari’ firework, and how the characters evolve with it. I think everyone can relate to that.”
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