Saku Sakamoto
Description
Saku Sakamoto is a Japanese animator, animation film director, and screenwriter, recognized as the original creator of the anime film Calabi-Yau no Sukima. Born in Tokyo on May 10, 1976, Sakamoto graduated from Tama Art University's Department of Graphic Design in 2000. His early short animated works, such as Makafushigi from 2000 and Fisherman from 2002, were selected for the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, where Fisherman received the first place Kirin Art Award. His short films have also been introduced at more than ten international film festivals, including the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Sakamoto began his career as a freelance animation creator in 2002, working across various formats including short films, television opening titles, commercials, promotional videos, and visual effects for cinema. He is noted for having mastered a wide range of animation techniques, earning him the nickname transcendent painter. His technical skills include creating digital effects for Mamoru Oshii's film Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.
He made his feature film directorial debut with Aragne: Sign of Vermillion, a work he also wrote, animated, and scored. The film was the only Japanese entry nominated for the Grand Competition Feature Film section at Animafest Zagreb in 2019 and was officially screened in the Midnight Special section of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It also received a nomination for the Kon Satoshi Award, the highest animation award at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Sakamoto is the creator of the short film Calabi-Yau no Sukima, which depicts horrors of a six-dimensional world inspired by the Calabi-Yau manifold concept from mathematics and theoretical physics. As with his previous works, Sakamoto is credited with handling multiple roles for the film, including direction, original story, screenplay, animation production, and music. Voice acting and sound effects are provided by other artists.
His artistic identity is defined by an approach that prioritizes creative vision over conventional refinement. He has stated a preference for works that are stuffed with what I really want to do rather than simple, well-made, fine works. In addition to filmmaking, Sakamoto has directed segments for NHK's Minna no Uta and created a tourism anime short for Matsuyama City. He currently serves as a full-time lecturer at the Faculty of Art and Media Studies at Shobi Gakuen University.
Sakamoto began his career as a freelance animation creator in 2002, working across various formats including short films, television opening titles, commercials, promotional videos, and visual effects for cinema. He is noted for having mastered a wide range of animation techniques, earning him the nickname transcendent painter. His technical skills include creating digital effects for Mamoru Oshii's film Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.
He made his feature film directorial debut with Aragne: Sign of Vermillion, a work he also wrote, animated, and scored. The film was the only Japanese entry nominated for the Grand Competition Feature Film section at Animafest Zagreb in 2019 and was officially screened in the Midnight Special section of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It also received a nomination for the Kon Satoshi Award, the highest animation award at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Sakamoto is the creator of the short film Calabi-Yau no Sukima, which depicts horrors of a six-dimensional world inspired by the Calabi-Yau manifold concept from mathematics and theoretical physics. As with his previous works, Sakamoto is credited with handling multiple roles for the film, including direction, original story, screenplay, animation production, and music. Voice acting and sound effects are provided by other artists.
His artistic identity is defined by an approach that prioritizes creative vision over conventional refinement. He has stated a preference for works that are stuffed with what I really want to do rather than simple, well-made, fine works. In addition to filmmaking, Sakamoto has directed segments for NHK's Minna no Uta and created a tourism anime short for Matsuyama City. He currently serves as a full-time lecturer at the Faculty of Art and Media Studies at Shobi Gakuen University.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview