Mt. Head

| Short animation | 2002 | Japan | 10'00" | 35mm, HD, DCP | Standard | Dolby Digital 5.1ch, Stereo | Japanese, subtitles: English, French, Chinese, Portuguese | Sketches | Storyboards | Drawings | Production Scene | Stills | Trailer | Dialogue | Trailer | On Demand | En | Fr | Portugal |

Direction, Animation, Design & Edit: Yamamura Koji
Narration & Shamisen: Kunimot Takeharuo
Original Story An old comic story (rakugo) "Atama-yama"
Script: Yonemura Shoji
Music: Kunimoto Takeharu, Syzygys, Shimizu Hitomi
Sound Design: Kasamatsu Koji
Production: Yamamura Animation



After a stingy man eats some cherry seeds, a cherry tree grows on his head and he gets into a lot of trouble. This animated film is a modern interpretation of the traditional Japanese Rakugo story "Atama-yama" set in contemporary Tokyo.

Best Historic Selections: 9th rank: 50 Best Animated Films for 50 Years of ASIFA (2010 >List)
70th rank:100 FILMS FOR A CENTURY OF ANIMATION (2007>List)
8th rank at Animation category that specialists selected:100 selections in Japanese Media Art (Agency for Cultural Affairs, 2006)
10th rank at Bunka Films : 77th Kinema-Junpo Best Ten (2004)
90th rank : World and Japanese Animation Best 150 (Fusion Product, 2003)

Awards: 75th Academy Awards 2003 Oscar® Nomination Short Film (Animated):
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Grand Prix (The Annecy Cristal): ANNECY 2003
Grand Prix: 16th World Festival of Animated Film in Zagreb
Grand Prix: 10th Hiroshima International Animation Festival
Grand Prix(BEST ANIMATED FILM International Competition)
MEDIAWAVE 2003
Grand Prix (1.Prize International Competition Animated Film): 15th Filmfest Dresden
The "RICA" Grand Prix for best animated short film: Rencontres Internationales du Cinéma d'Animation de Wissembourg
Best Film Animation: FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE FILMETS DE BADALONA
Best Short Animated Film
The 2nd Annual International festival of animated films AniFest 2003 Trebon
Auszeichnung Computeranimation /Visual Effects
Ars Electronica Festival
Silver Dove: 46th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
Silver Jaberrwocky: ETIUDA&ANIMA 2005
2nd PRIZE: Festival Internazionale Cinema d'Animazione e Fumetto 2004
Special Jury Award: CHIAVARI INTERNATIONAL ANIMATED FILM FESTIVAL
Special Jury Prize: 8th I CASTELLI ANIMATI
Special Jury Prix: the International Animated Film Festival in Vilnius
Excellence Prize: 6th Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festival, 2002
Excellence Prize: Interfilm 19 short film festival Belrin
Guilty Pleasures from each member of the jury (from Konstantin Bronzit): Holland Animation Film Festival
BestAnimation selected by the Jury: Kinofilm 8th Manchester International Short Film festival
Prix du Public for the best short film: 9th CINEMA TOUT ECRAN Festival
Best Soundtrack Creation award: CLERMONT-FERRAND SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
Special Mention: 19th International Short FilmFestival Berlin
Special Mention: 12th Internationales Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart

Official Selection: 35th Montreal World Film Festival (Canada, August 18 - 28 2011) Short Films
Ottawa international Animation Festival (Canada, September 21 - 25 2011)
anima 2012 (Belgium, February 17 -26 2012) International Competition - Short films
32th Genie Awards (Canada, March 08 2012) Nominee: Best Animated Short
11th International festival of animated films AniFest 2012 (Teplice&Duchcov, Czech Republic, 26 April – 1 May 2012) 5-15 min Short Film competition
65th Yorkton Film Festival (Canada, May 24 to 27 2012) Golden Sheaf Awards Nomiatee
Melbourne International Animation Festival(Australia, June 17 - 24 2012) International Competition
Animator 2012 5th International Animation Festival (Poznan, Poland, July 13 to 19 2012) Competition
7th Sapporo International Short Film Festival (Sapporo, Japan September 12 -17 2012) International Competition
Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival (UK, Bristol, September 18 - 23 2012) In Competition
14. Internationales Trickfilm-Wochenende Wiesbaden(Germany, October 18 - 21 2012) International Competition "Best of International Animation
Animpact Max 2012 (Korea, November .28 -December) Ani Inpact

Official screening:
Cannes Film Market, Not Short on Talent (France May 2011, World Premier)
38th Telluride Film festival(Colorado, USA, September 2 - 5 2011) Filmmakers of Tomorrow : Calling Cards
Vancouver International Film Festival (Canada, September 25 - October 14 2011) Canadian Images: Fire
55th London Film Festival (UK, October 12-27, 2011) Short Cuts & Animation » International Animation Panorama Programme 2
24th Tokyo International Film Festival (Japan, October 28, 2011) No Animation, No Future
San Francisco International Animation Festival (USA, November 11 - 14 2011) Top Drawers
Giant Incandescent Resonating Animation Festival (Canada, November 02 -06 2011)
25th International Francophone Film Festival in Acadie (Canada, November 17 - 26 2011) SÉANCE 15 SÉANCE ANIMATION
ANILOGUE International Animation Festival (Budapest - Vienna, Novmber 23 - December 1 2011) World Panorama
8th International Animated Film Festival (Slovenia, December 12 -18 2011) Pierre Yves Drapeau: Film Sound & Music
Taketoyo Animation Film Festival (Japan, December 18 2011) ANIMATION NOW
27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival (USA, January 26 to February 5 2012) Animation Shorts 2
8th Japan Film Festival (Korea, Soeul Juanuary 26~30 2012, Busan February 2 ~ 6 2012) Koji Yamamura and Young animations
Victoria Film Festival (Canada, February 3 to 12 2012,) SHORTS PROGRAM: ANIMATIONS ALIVE! (Odeon Theatre Feb 11)
FUTURE MEDIA FESTIVAL 2012 (Taiwan, January 01 to 19 February 2012) Canadian Digital Animation Works
Nipponconection Film Festival 2012 (Germany, May 2 -6 2012) Spaces in Between: Indie Animated Shorts from Japan
19th Internationales Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart (Germany, May 08 -13 2012) Panorama
Animafest Zagreb 2012 (Croatia, May 29 - June 3 2012) Grand Panorama
Jerusalem International Film Festival (Israel, July 5 - 14 2012) Animation for All
Anima Mundi (Brazil, Rio de Janeiro 13 - 22 July 2012, Sao Paulo 25 -29 July 2012,) PANORAMA - NON COMPETITIVE
16th Seuol International Cartoon & Animation Festival (Korea, July 18 - 22 2012) Non-Competition SICAF Choice
Sakhalin Film Festival (Uzjno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Island, Russia, 24-29 of August 2012) animation program
8th World Festival of Animated Film in Varna (Bulgaria, September 10-15) Retrospective program
SHORTPIECE! Sendai Short Film Festival 2012 (Shendai, Japan, September 15 -17) Animations related Japan with Canada
London International Animation Festival (UK, October 26 - November 04 2012) Retrospective program
Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (Tiwan, November 8 - 22 2012,) Film Cult(URE):Animation Collection Gone Crazy
Japan Media Arts Festival Kobe (Kobe, November 17 - 25 2012)
Japan Media Arts Festival@HYPER JAPAN 2012 Christmas (UK, November 23- 25 2012)
Japan Media Arts Festival@Animahenasyon (Philippines, November 26 - 29 2012)
Japan Media Arts Festival@Toulouse Game Show (France, December 1-2 2012)
Japan Media Arts Festival@J-FEST (Moscow, December 1-2 2012)
35th International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand (France, February 1-9 2013) Particules imaginairess Screenings:
Tokyo Metoropolitan Museumof Photography (Japan, September 17 -October 7 2011, Asia Premier)
Palo Alto International Film Festival (USA, Palo Alto Children's Theater, September 30 2011)
Geidai Arts in Tokyo Marunouchi (Japan, October 29 2011) Animation and Music on Stage, presented by Tokyo University of the Arts
Shibuya UPLINK (Japan, Nomenber 19- Decmber 2 2011)
Nagoya cinéma thèque (Japan, January 2 - 13 2012)
ASIFA-SF Presents Independent Animators (USA, Exploratorium’s McBean Theatre, January 13 2012)
Forza Sogawa (Japan, Toyama, January 14~20 2012)
cinma thque Takasaki (Japan, Gunma, February 4 to 10 2012)
Cine-mondo (Japan, Kanazawa, February 11 to 24 2012)
Theater Kino (Japan, Sapporo, February 18 to 24 2012)
Umeda Garden Cinema (Japan, Osaka, February 25 - March 09 2012)
Nihon no uta Film Festival Koji Yammaura special (Japan, Tokyo, Shinjuku, K's cinema, March 12 201, Official Site, Nihon no uta Caravan)
Kobe Art Villege Center (Japan, Hyogo, March 03 - 16 2012)
Kyoto Minami-Kaikan (Japan, Kyoto, March 24 - April 06 2012)
Theater Ciema (Japan, Saga, April 14 - 20 2012)
Jack & Betty (Japan, Yokohama, June 16 2012)
Association for Studies of Culture and Representation, University of Tokyo(Japan, Tokyo, July 07 2012)
SKIP CITY Sai-No-Kuni Visual Plaza (Saitama, 2012.06.2 - 07.22) Muybridge's Strings: Yamamura Animation & NF
Hatchoza (Hiroshima, August 25 -31, 2012)
Fukuoka independence film festival2012 (Fukuoka Asia art museum, Septmeber 8 2012)

BOOK: Doga de hirogaru Bijutsu no seka
Art for high school for teachers, 2013, Nihon Bunkyou Shuppan, Japan >Site
With DVD for teacher's textbook: Interview of Koji Yamamura, Filp book wokshop, "Mt. Head"(2002)