Monthly Report: BENCE HLAVAY (August 2026)
As August started, the exhibition and festival felt like they were closing in, so I began gathering my prints and cutting together the film. I had a lot of material, but it was all scattered. First, I found Kinko’s and did some test prints. Once I had everything locked down, I could finally focus on the animation.
Meanwhile, we did some last-minute sightseeing and went to the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum for the Pokémon exhibition(POKÉMON × KOGEI Playful Encounters of Pokémon and Japanese Craft). It was great. The combination of traditional Japanese craftsmanship with Pokémon was such a unique and wonderful concept. While we were there, we also went to Shukkeien Garden, which I think I visited three times during the residency. It was one of my favorite places in the city. The big buildings towering over the beautiful green garden were always breathtaking.
On the sixth of August, we were invited to participate in the Peace Memorial Ceremony and Memorial Ceremony for the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Victims. It was a heavy experience to see people remembering such a horrific day, but seeing how the memorial serves as a caution to humanity against war made it feel like a deeply meaningful and noble act. In the evening, the lanterns on the river were beautiful. Seeing so many people gathered to watch the colorful lanterns floating on the water felt communal and calming at the end of such a heavy day.
The last two weeks before the festival passed so suddenly. All of our projects were finally coming together. It was really nice to see how differently everyone’s projects turned out, while each one still felt important and meaningful. I made so many trips to Kinko’s that, by the end, it felt like I was there every day.
I also did a lot of biking around the city, especially as the weather got nicer towards the end of the month. I discovered some new areas that I had missed before. And, of course, I did a lot of gift shopping. Book Off and Hard Off were a dream for a thrifter.
Before the exhibition, we started installing everything. The team was really nice and helpful, and it was great to finally meet the whole team in person. Koji Yamamura (HAS2026 Artistic Director), Nobuaki Doi (HAS2026 Producer), and Ulin Miula (HAS2026 Festival Coordinator) were people we had been working closely with but had not met before the festival, so it was especially nice to finally have some time to get to know them.
We were really happy when the festival finally started, and we could meet both new and old friends. The screenings were great. I don't think I have ever watched more movies anywhere than I did at Hiroshima Animation Season. The evening parties were always great, and after they ended, we could take some people to our favorite spots in the city to hang out or get something to eat.
After the festival came the hardest part: saying goodbye to everyone and leaving the flat. Zohar and I did take a short trip to Kyoto and Tokyo before leaving for Budapest, which was amazing, but the feeling of endings—and of saying goodbye to Japan—lingered with us.
In summary, H-AIR was an adventure of a lifetime. I had always dreamed of coming to Japan, and the fact that I could spend three months in Hiroshima working on my animation still feels unreal.
I feel honored and grateful to all the people who helped me along the way, and especially to the festival team for making this experience possible.