TEAM NEWCHITOSE
Selection Committee for Short Films and NEW CHITOSE Digital Signage
ONO Tomoko
IWASAKI Hirotoshi
TANAKA Daisuke
NIHEI Sarina
Selection Committee for Feature Films
ONO Tomoko
TAGUCHI Ayuri (MADHOUSE)
TANAKA Daisuke
ONO Tomoko
Director
ONO Tomoko (1976, Sapporo) holds a degree in Applied Chemistry from the School of Engineering at Hokkaido University. From 2008 to 2013, she ran an event space in Sapporo, producing film screenings with a focus on independent film. Since 2014, she has served as Director of the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival, where she leads programming and overall operations. She also works as an animation curator, having curated and presented short animation programs at international and domestic film festivals, including the Taichung International Animation Festival (Taiwan), TOPU International Animation Week (China), and the Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions (2025).
Her additional roles include Screening Section Coordinator for Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions (2024–2025), a recommender for the Media Arts Category of the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Arts Encouragement Prize (since 2024), and a jury member for the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ International Co-production Film Support Program (since 2025).
TANAKA Daisuke
Programmer
Daisuke Tanaka(born 1993, he/him) is an animation researcher based in Tokyo. He is the editor-in-chief of tampen.jp, the adjunct professor(Joshibi University of Art and Design etc.), the selection committee for Mainichi Film Awards animation division (Noburo Ofuji Award). He has distributed Xi Chen’s film Chicken of the Mound in Japan, planned Xi Chen’s solo exhibition Ink Myth: A Symphony of Creatures and Contradictions in Japan(CALM & PUNK GALLERY, Tokyo). His other activities include planning and managing of independent animation screening events, writing, lectures and more.
IWASAKI Hirotoshi
Program Advisor
Hirotoshi Iwasaki (born in 1981, he/him) is a filmmaker and artist. He earned a Doctorate in Fine Arts from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2019. He primarily creates experimental animated works using the technique of rotoscoping, in which live-action footage is traced to produce animation. He is also active as a researcher of rotoscoping, having developed an original theory that focuses on the act of tracing itself and the hybrid images that emerge from the process.
His work crosses boundaries between the fields of fine art, film, and advertising, and has been exhibited at galleries and museums both in Japan and internationally. In 2015, he won the Grand Prix at the Holland Animation Film Festival. As a commissioned artist, he has provided animation and illustration for clients such as Calvin Klein, Coldplay, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe. His advertising-related projects with Dentsu Inc. have received awards from THE ONE SHOW, NY ADC, and Tokyo ADC. He has also collaborated on several documentary films, including Beyond Utopia, which was nominated in the Documentary category at the 2024 BAFTA Awards, where he was responsible for the animation segments. His work continues to receive recognition across multiple disciplines.
Since 2022, he has served as a selection committee member for the Short Film Competition at the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival. Currently, associate professor at Nagoya Zokei University, part-time lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Film and New Media Department of Animation.
https://hirotoshiiwasaki.com/
NIHEI Sarina
Program Advisor
Sarina Nihei (she/her) is a freelance animation director from Japan. Being obsessed with Estonian animation, she decided to pursue a career in animation. She is a graduate of London’s Royal College of Art. Her graduation film from the RCA, ‘Small People with Hats’, won prizes at festivals around the world including the Ottawa International Animation Festival, HAFF, and British Animation Awards. Specialising in hand-drawn animation, she loves to make surreal stories.
https://cargocollective.com/sarinanihei
KATO Manabu
Program Cordinator
President, MONSTAR design Inc. After working in the web operation for Kodansha Magazine, Manabu joined a startup of mixi’s Monster Strike as a character director. He has also worked as a producer for various events utilizing Japanese TV anime series. Most recently, he has been collaborating with anime series, which have allowed him to create products that have churned out quite the hype. No matter the extent of his creativity and imagination, the world waits with anticipation for what he has yet to produce.
https://mon-star.net/
YOTSUMOTO Asuka (ROBOT COMMUNICATIONS)
Program Advisor
Asuka Yotsumoto is an animation producer at ROBOT COMMUNICATIONS INC., a film production company based in Tokyo. Her production credits include a lot of animation films, such as branding movies, advertisements and TV programmes for children such as NHK ETV “Otoppe”, “What is Normal, anyway?”, and ”Blue•Yellow”. She has also produced exhibition movies for SNOOPY MUSEUM TOKYO, etc.
https://www.robot.co.jp/
TAGUCHI Ayuri (MADHOUSE)
Selection committee member of Feature Film
Producer, Planning and Development Department, MADHOUSE Inc. She joined MADHOUSE Inc. in 2005 and her major credits include: One-Punch Man (TV series, 2015), Death Parade (TV series, 2015), ACCA:13-Territory Inspection Dept (TV series, 2017), Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues (TV series, 2018), Boogiepop Phantom (TV series, 2019), Afterlost (TV series, 2019), Chihayafuru 3 (TV series, 2019), Sonny Boy (TV series, 2021), Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom (feature film, 2023), Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (TV series, 2023), The Dinner Table Detective (TV series, 2025), Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 (TV series, 2025), A Hundred Scenes of AWAJIMA (TV series, 2025). She is currently producing an original feature film set for release in 2027 together with the animation staff and the production committee team.
https://madhouse.co.jp/english/
