Photo/Illutration A scene from “Honekami” (Provided by Koji Yamamura)

Honami Yano became the third Japanese director to win the Grand Prize for Short Animation at the 45th Ottawa International Animation Festival in the Canadian capital with an offering titled “Honekami” (A Bite of Bone).

The Ottawa festival, which ended Oct. 3, is regarded as one of the world’s most respected animation festivals and on a par with those held in Annecy, France, Zagreb in Croatia and Hiroshima.

The 30-year-old follows on the heels of Koji Yamamura and Sarina Nihei, who respectively won the award in 2007 and 2015.

Produced by Yamamura, “Honekami” is a 10-minute film created solely by Yano.

The autobiographical story is about a little girl who reflects on the last summer she spent with her father at his funeral.

Her faint memories are expressed through imagery composed of dots.

“Ottawa is my place of longing, and I was happy just to have my work screened there,” Yano said. “I can’t believe I received the award because previous Grand Prize winners include artists whom I respect and whose works continue to sparkle today.”

After graduating Kyoto Seika University, Yano enrolled at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts. She currently serves as a specially appointed assistant professor in a part-time capacity at the Institute of Innovation for Future Society of Nagoya University.

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