Glenna Burmer was honored with an award for Best Director of an Animation Film at the Los Angeles Movie & Music Video festival in July for her 2025 film, Yokaitopia.
The online film festival focuses on projects that offer unique storytelling, innovative visual styles and compelling narratives. Its chosen film entrees celebrate diversity, pushing the boundaries of artistic expression.
Yokaitopia introduces Western audiences to the mysterious world of Yokai — strange, sometimes terrifying, Japanese spirits that inhabit all living and inanimate objects. The animated short follows a Japanese boy on a bike ride through a forest when he suddenly encounters a mysterious black cat; within minutes his life changes. As he follows the cat to a remote house deep in the forest, he rescues a group of broken toys trapped by a snow demon. The film’s message of kindness and generosity is brought to life with sumptuous animation, a rich vibrant color palette and stirring all-original musical score.
Portland Under the Stars – August 14-15, 2026
Yokaitopia will also be screened August 14-15 at Portland Under the Stars, a film festival in Portland, Oregon hosted at McMenamins Mission Theater. The in-person festival brings together filmmakers, screenwriters and film aficionados from around the world while remaining deeply connected to Portland’s vibrant and distinctive creative community.
Burmer’s film is one of four animated shorts that will open the Portland festival on Friday, August 14. In all, a total of 45 official film selections will be screened in all genres, from feature-length to documentary to comedy. This is the second year that Portland Under the Stars will be presented.
In other award news
In other awards news, Yokaitopia won awards this spring for both Best Animation and Best Score from the Little Penguin Festival. This online festival showcases family-friendly films that inspire, encourage and entertain audiences.
A classical composer and award-winning concert and animated-film producer in Seattle, Glenna Burmer’s music and original voice create compelling stories that resonate with audiences worldwide. Yokaitopia and Bippy the Little Robot, in addition to her first film Nana korobi, Ya oki, were produced by a multi-award-winning collaboration between Glenna Burmer and the animation studio Deep Sky.