IZUMI YOSHIDA, an animation graduate of our School, won the most important awards of the international short film festival Short Shorts Film Festival&Asia 2023 in Tokyo! Her animated film "The Bridge" not only won the "George Lucas Award" Grand Prix but was also recognized as the best animated film of the festival. Winning the award in Tokyo opens the way for THE BRIDGE to be nominated for an Oscar. The producer of the film is the Likaon studio in Łódź. Congratulations!

THE BRIDGE, a film created using the stop-motion animation technique, presents a poignant story about "Siberian children", inspired by real events from 1920. These events, which are the historical background of the film, mark the beginning of diplomatic relations between Poland and Japan, when Polish children in Siberia were rescued by the Japanese Red Cross. The film, told from the perspective of a 10-year-old boy, shows the tragedy of orphans who found help in Japan after losing their families. 

Congratulations, Izumi. We always keep our fingers crossed for you! Izumi's works can be seen on her website: https://izumiyoshida.com/

Stills 1 i 2 – from the film THE BRIDGE
photo 3 - IZUMI YOSHIDA during the festival closing gala