We thought about what it was like to be 19.

We were no longer minors at that age, yet we weren’t yet recognized as adults by society. We were taking our first steps as grownups, but each of us came from a different starting point and background, so we couldn’t be defined in a singular way. It was a time in our lives when we took a small step away from conventional ideas and began to look more closely at the contradictions in the world.

The works in the Independent Walk competition may be in a similar place. They are neither works by students nor closely tied to commercial markets, which makes them more honest in a way. Their tough production process may have led to many difficult moments, but that adds to their beauty which coexists with their magical qualities.

For this year’s works, we endeavored to select those submissions that aptly reflected the significance of the Independent Walk competition.

For established creators, if last year was a time to polish their works, this year seemed to be a time to further develop their styles by branching out and experimenting with genres.

We also had more participants from among outsiders which made the preliminary screenings more interesting, though we nevertheless adhered to our high standards for selecting the works to be screened.

An animation is born after much effort, and each one is precious. While they do not all need to fulfill the same criteria to be considered finished, we gave importance to how well a work conveys its message visually using the language of the artform in an appropriate running time.

Knowing that all of the animations were made in an independent way through great difficulty, we watched each submission with fondness in our hearts. We wish to send our encouragement and applause to those works which were not selected for the festival, and we feel certain that they will find opportunities to receive the spotlight.

Finally, we would like to offer our earnest congratulations to all of the selected works.