The animated feature film “Edge of Time,” directed by four Japanese and Chinese directors, including Shinichiro Watanabe, will be screened and feature an event at the Tokyo International Film Festival! Rooting Co., Ltd. Press Release: October 26, 2025 The animated feature film “Edge of Time,” directed by four Japanese and Chinese directors, including Shinichiro Watanabe, will be screened and feature an event at the Tokyo International Film Festival! ~ A new attempt at an international project where four people weave together a single work ~ https://img.youtube.com/vi/YF6eQVxkPTE/sddefault.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF6eQVxkPTE “Edge of Time ~ Travelers who connect time” PV Rooting Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Satoru Aoki) is pleased to announce that the animated feature film “Edge of Time,” which the company planned and produced, will also be screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival, which begins on Monday, October 27th, following its nomination at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Screenings will be held three times: Tuesday, October 28th, Friday, October 31st, and Monday, November 3rd (national holiday). Directors Shinichiro Watanabe and Shuhei Morita will also appear at an event on the 31st. [Tokyo International Film Festival_Film Introduction URL]
https://2025.tiff-jp.net/ja/lineup/film/38007ANM05 About “Edge of Time” “Edge of “Time: Travelers Connecting Time” is a grand-scale film that brings together renowned Japanese directors Shinichiro Watanabe and Shuhei Morita, along with Chinese directors Li Wei and Weng Ming, to explore the themes of memory, life, and hope. Each director portrays a different episode based on the motif of “Taesu,” a cosmic energy that transcends time and space, weaving them together into a single, ambitious work. The film examines the tragedies caused by the “Taesu” energy, which travels through time and space, in various eras and places, and questions the meaning of war and life. This film was selected for official competition in the animated feature category at the Shanghai International Film Festival held in June this year. At the world premiere on June 15th, the four directors of this film gathered in Shanghai and gave a joint onstage greeting, thrilling the audience. The film was also featured on China Central Television (CCTV), where it was discussed as a new form of collaboration between Japan and China.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/172179/5/172179-5-7bdbbd71137a49792f1cbc21dc5ecf12-2684×1621.jpg Stage greeting at the Shanghai International Film Festival This project, which began in 2017 based on executive producers Sun Bingbing and Wang Yijie’s strong desire to create a work with depth and warmth, faced various challenges, including the difficulty of raising funds, which is common for completely original works, and the impact of COVID-19. However, after eight years, they were able to complete the project. This was a challenging and ambitious project for the production team, and everyone involved considers it a miracle that we were able to get this far.
Director introduction Japanese director Shinichiro Watanabe is known for the global hit “Cowboy Bebop,” and is highly regarded by Hollywood producers, having also produced short animated films for sci-fi films “The Matrix” and “Blade Runner.” This film also brings together animators from around the world, including a French-based animation director and those from the UK, Indonesia, Germany, and the US, making it a world-class team in both talent and name recognition. Director Shuhei Morita is a talented director known for his work on “Tokyo Ghoul,” and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2014 for “Tsukumo.” His company, YAMATOWORKS, has established a solid reputation in the industry by creating skillful 3DCG animations that are indistinguishable from hand-drawn animation. At the same time, the company is also actively exploring visual expressions that cannot be achieved through hand-drawn animation, and in this film, they have beautifully recreated the feathers. Chinese director Li Wei is one of China’s leading directors of feature-length animated films, and his masterpiece, “Jiang Ziya,” grossed 1.6 billion yuan (approximately 33.6 billion yen) at the box office in China. His outstanding sense and drawing skills are so impressive that even the Japanese staff he collaborated with are astonished. Director Weng Ming served as the art director for “Deep Sea” (Chinese box office gross: 920 million yuan, or approximately 19.3 billion yen), which was also shown at the Berlin International Film Festival. He has also participated in numerous international projects, including “Avril and the Curious World,” which won the Grand Prix in the feature film category at the 2015 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. He weaves new worlds from both Chinese and Western perspectives. About Rooting Co., Ltd. Rooting Co., Ltd. was founded by Shanghai Chirying, the planning and production company for this series, and producer Satoru Aoki. Our main business is animation production between Japan and China, music and sound production, and localization (dubbing). However, we also actively participate in works like this one, which convey the strong passion of the creators. HP:
https://rooting.co.jp/
Posters and scene shots
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/172179/5/172179-5-e5745125f78f671d5d43bac11c74da3d-877×1240.png
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/172179/5/172179-5-1542f1be4fbfe3a1d6da2864345eae4e-1651×890.jpg
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/172179/5/172179-5-62861233dc7be4d53184a41d7ad43a17-1424×713.jpg
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/172179/5/172179-5-d4bcc85ab450cf9aaaf1f8e0dfe44b08-1687×907.jpg
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/172179/5/172179-5-81eea1e169d59afc8e8dbf13288be4b7-1920×1080.jpg
