Shinomiya's Anime Film "A New Dawn" Selected for Berlin Competition

Berlin, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)--Japanese director Yoshitoshi Shinomiya's animated film "A New Dawn" has been selected for the competition category at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.

The selection, announced on Tuesday, marks the first time in three years that a Japanese film will compete for the Golden Bear award at one of the world's three major film festivals, following anime director Makoto Shinkai's "Suzume," whose Japanese title is "Suzume no Tojimari."

In 2002, Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki won the top award with "Spirited Away," or "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" in Japanese.

Shinomiya, born in 1980, is a Japanese-style painter who has contributed to animation projects directed by Shinkai and others. "A New Dawn," whose Japanese title is "Hanarokusho ga Akeru Hi ni," marked his feature film debut.

Commenting on the film's selection, Shinomiya said, "The efforts of everyone who worked together and was involved in the voices and sounds, as well as each of the many possibilities merged into a crystal and appeared on screen, reaching all the way to Berlin."

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