Mahiro Maeda came to attention to many of
this site's visitors with the "Blue Submarine No. 6" series, a tale of
war, science and the environment from 1998. That was a four-episode
series, but Maeda wanted something bigger. In 2004, Maeda directed
"Gankutsuou," a version of the 18th-century novel "Count of Monte
Cristo." It was a 24-episode series with two dozen main characters and
innovative digital graphics. When Maeda was invited to join the group
of directors contributing short films to the "Genius Party" project, he
knew he'd need to come up with something of smaller scope, based on the
time limit for each film, but similar impact. "[Gankutsuou] was a
story about serious feelings about love and hate," Maeda said. "Those
feelings could cause tragic results. The theme of "Gankutsuou" was very
heavy, but for Genius Party, I wanted to create something that had a
positive feeling toward a life." The result was "Gala," which Maeda
describes as telling a fantasy story in a small plant pot. "I like to
work on an epic kind of a story. For me, it was challenging to work on
a short film. When the time is so limited, you are not allowed anything
unnecessary or allowed any mistakes."
Maeda's "Gala" story reflects the Shinto
belief that everything, no matter how large or small, human or
non-human, has a life. "I wanted to express that belief in a casual
way, not a serious way," he said. The "Genius Party" project gave top
animation directors the freedom to tell the stories they liked with
only time limits, something that wasn't easy for Maeda. "It was
extremely difficult," he recalled. "The maximum time which I was given
to use was 15 minutes. I had to come up with what story I could express
in that limited amount of time. I tried to express myself in a simple,
straightforward way and not with an elaborate story." Maeda said he's
been fortunate during his career to not feel pressured by producers or
sponsors to produce a specific kind of show or story, something that
still happens in a business where animated shows were once considered
little more than toy commercials before they evolved into the kind of
art seen in "Genius Party," and were considered to be films suitable
for screening at the Kennedy Center.
Mahiro Maeda came to attention to many of
this site's visitors with the "Blue Submarine No. 6" series, a tale of
war, science and the environment from 1998. That was a four-episode
series, but Maeda wanted something bigger. In 2004, Maeda directed
"Gankutsuou," a version of the 18th-century novel "Count of Monte
Cristo." It was a 24-episode series with two dozen main characters and
innovative digital graphics. When Maeda was invited to join the group
of directors contributing short films to the "Genius Party" project, he
knew he'd need to come up with something of smaller scope, based on the
time limit for each film, but similar impact. "[Gankutsuou] was a
story about serious feelings about love and hate," Maeda said. "Those
feelings could cause tragic results. The theme of "Gankutsuou" was very
heavy, but for Genius Party, I wanted to create something that had a
positive feeling toward a life." The result was "Gala," which Maeda
describes as telling a fantasy story in a small plant pot. "I like to
work on an epic kind of a story. For me, it was challenging to work on
a short film. When the time is so limited, you are not allowed anything
unnecessary or allowed any mistakes."
Maeda's "Gala" story reflects the Shinto
belief that everything, no matter how large or small, human or
non-human, has a life. "I wanted to express that belief in a casual
way, not a serious way," he said. The "Genius Party" project gave top
animation directors the freedom to tell the stories they liked with
only time limits, something that wasn't easy for Maeda. "It was
extremely difficult," he recalled. "The maximum time which I was given
to use was 15 minutes. I had to come up with what story I could express
in that limited amount of time. I tried to express myself in a simple,
straightforward way and not with an elaborate story." Maeda said he's
been fortunate during his career to not feel pressured by producers or
sponsors to produce a specific kind of show or story, something that
still happens in a business where animated shows were once considered
little more than toy commercials before they evolved into the kind of
art seen in "Genius Party," and were considered to be films suitable
for screening at the Kennedy Center.
