This stop-motion animation depicts the romance and struggle of a telephone pole standing in a downtown area. The texture of its images, produced painstakingly over months and years by hand, its moving music, and its story, while nostalgic and painful, all simultaneously contribute to the tenderness and warmth of the work.

I am really pleased that ELEMI, a quiet, small piece of work, which I had spent several years working on, won high acclaim in this significant arts festival. I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, everyone involved for their support and also the viewers who celebrated the award with me. Thank you very much.

In 3D animation, especially when it uses dolls for human characters, the design and movements of characters reveal the quality of the work instantly. However, in this excellent work, the design of the characters renders personality precisely, and the movements of the characters convey emotions carefully. The quality of this work is not only found in the characters themselves but also in many other things. The sets and properties fully revive the good old days. The elaborate design of the sparrows pausing on the wire with their wings folded shows the creator’s extreme sense of delicacy. It is the creator’s tenacity reflected in all these details that makes the fantasy of personifying lifeless electric poles with emotional realism possible. Above all, I would like to applaud the persistence of the creator, who spent eight years producing this quiet, heart-warming piece of work, confidently selecting a three-dimensional technique.