Director Shinomiya Yoshitoshi’s feature debut, A New Dawn, takes as its starting point Paris green, a pigment once banned for its toxicity. At a 330-yearold fireworks workshop facing demolition, young Keitaro has spent four years holed up, pursuing the legendary firework ’shuhari’ in place of his missing father. When his childhood friend Kaoru returns from Tokyo, the final two days leading up to the launch of the workshop’s last firework begin. Shinomiya, who began as a nihonga painter and worked on the poster for Shinkai Makoto’s The Garden of Words and on your name., handled the original concept, screenplay, direction, character design, and art himself. For 75 minutes, the screen is awash in traditional Japanese pigments honed into what is known as ’shinomiya green.’ Co-produced with France’s Miyu Productions, the film feels almost handcrafted. As the camera turns to the hands of artisans whose craft is disappearing, the debut voice performances of actors Hagiwara Riku and Furukawa Kotone and Hasunuma Shuta’s music come together to reveal the artist’s spirit burning with passion. Winner of the Jury Prize in the Contrechamp section at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. (SONG Kyung-won)