Genius Party is an anthology of seven short animated films from Studio 4°C:
Genius Party — directed by Fukushima Atsuko
A bizarre bird-like creature runs through a barren desert and finds what seems to be a smiling egg lying on the ground.
Shanghai Dragon — directed by Kawamori Shouji
An imaginative Chinese boy finds a futuristic device that can make his own drawings come to…
Studio 4C
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Five stories, five maestros, five styles and one common denominator: maximum creativity. Studio 4°C, the coolest label on the planet, invites us for the second time to an exclusive reunion of a talents with a group film, full of freedom and ingenuity, that goes from Mahiro Maeda's classic anime, to Kazuto Nakazawa's intricate urban sketches, Shinya Ohira's bedlam of colour and…
A 13-minute short, Garakuta no Machi (Junk Town) represents the directorial debut of Itou Nobutake. This is a science fiction story about a young boy who discovers and befriends a small robot at a shopping arcade. The robot is hungry and he grows in size as he devours a number of machines of increasing size.
Source: www.studio4c.co.jp
* Based on a suspense sci-fi manga by Tanaka Yasuki.
Upon hearing of Ushio's death, Shinpei returns to his hometown of Wakayama City on Hitogashima and reunites with his childhood friend's family. The funeral goes smoothly, but under the surface something strange is brewing on the island. What mysteries await him on this secluded summer island?
Source: Manga Plus
* Based on a seinen mystery adventure manga series written and illustrated by Igarashi Daisuke.
When Ruka was younger, she saw a ghost in the water at the aquarium where her dad works. Now she feels drawn toward the aquarium and the two mysterious boys she meets there, Umi and Sora. They were raised by dugongs and hear the same strange calls from the sea as she does.
Ruka's…
* Based on Nishino Akihiro's picture book.
There is a town surrounded by a wall that stands 4,000 meters tall. Because the town is full of chimneys, the air is always full of smoke. No one in the town knows what the sky looks like. On one night of the town's Halloween festival, a deliveryman accidentally drops the heart he is supposed to deliver. He cannot find the heart in…
* Based on Nishino Akihiro's picture book.
It is 1942. The Red Army is putting up a violent and effective resistance against the German invaders. 14 year-old Nadya is a medium. In a deadly air raid the girl is shell-shocked. Recovering from her concussion, Nadya discovers her new gift - the ability to foresee the "Moments of Truth" - the most critical moments of future combat encounters, in which one person's actions…
Professor Dan Petory's Blues is an animated short produced by Studio 4°C and directed by Hidekazu Ohara. It appeared on the Grasshoppa 1 DVD, and it is a strange and not altogether coherent academic lesson about UFOs. It features hand puppets, aliens and a man who hates mediocre middle-aged women. As with most 4°C shorts, this is probably not everyone's cup of tea.
Arcam is a secret, worldwide organization investigating artefacts from a lost civilization. When three of their investigators go to Mt. Ararat, in Turkey, they discover what they believe is the wreck of Noah's Ark. Their joy is short-lived, and so are they — the relic projects a powerful, destructive energy which wipes out not only the team but three Pentagon satellites as…