TIFFCOM Panel Weighs Co-Production as Anime Slate Unveiled
Producers from Asia and Europe compared funding models at the Tokyo festival, where new features and shorts were presented.
An international animation co-production panel at the 2026 Tokyo International Film Festival and TIFFCOM brought together Ervin Han, Taiki Sakurai of Salamander Pictures and Ilan Urroz of Foliascope, according to cartoonbrew.com. The session set Europe's public funding systems against Asia's reliance on private investment.
Han presented A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts, an animated horror anthology involving studios from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Ireland. The film consists of four tales built around Chinese dishes, each with a distinct visual approach.
Salamander Pictures showed an exclusive trailer for its first short, 20001 An Earth Odyssey. Sakurai founded the company after his time as a Netflix executive and his work as the Ghost in the Shell writer.
Other filmmakers presented work at the festival. Atsushi Nishigori directed the three-part anime omnibus Grotesqqque, while Masanao Kawajiri's Cherry and Virgin combines manga imagery and rotoscoping. Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado co-directed Forgotten Island, which draws on Filipino culture.
Sun Xun's Chinese animated epic Magic Atlas was made over a decade with 500 artists. Han's earlier production The Violinist had found success at the Annecy festival before A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts.
Quick answers
What is A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts about?
It is an animated horror anthology of four tales built around Chinese dishes, each with a distinct visual approach, involving studios from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Ireland.
What is Salamander Pictures' first short?
20001 An Earth Odyssey, which was presented at the festival with an exclusive trailer.
Who directed Grotesqqque?
Atsushi Nishigori directed the three-part anime omnibus.