KINGSTON, R.I. – Oct. 8, 2026 – Ru Kuwahata, an Academy Award-nominated animation director whose films have garnered worldwide acclaim, will visit the University of Rhode Island on Friday, Oct. 16, from 3-5 p.m., to deliver a master class and screen her new film that recently premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.
Kuwahata, who has received more than 200 international awards in her career, will discuss her creative process in the free public event—presented by the University’s Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures—at Swan Auditorium, 60 Upper College Road, on the Kingston Campus. She will share her insights on leading teams with diverse linguistic and multicultural backgrounds in France, the Netherlands and Japan.
For her master class, Kuwahata will show students her process of stop-motion filmmaking. Kuwahata’s visit will also provide an opportunity to bring together students who are studying different languages at URI, including Japanese and French, and to think about how those borders are blended in a myriad of ways, not just in film.
“We are thrilled that Ru Kuwahata will visit URI to share her experience and knowledge with us. Her unique background will highlight for students how language learning can open doors in unexpected and very exciting ways,” said Leslie Kealhofer-Kemp, URI professor of French and film.
Kuwahata, and her husband Max Porter—who both live in Providence—are widely known for exploring human relationships through distinctive mixed-media storytelling rooted in personal experience. Drawing from their own lives, they translate moments such as marriage, relocation and parenthood into intimate narratives.
Their films have been screened at more than 1,000 festivals worldwide, including Sundance in Boulder, Colorado; and Clermont-Ferrand and Annecy in France. The 2017 short film “Negative Space” was nominated for an Oscar that year and won 134 international prizes.
At URI, Kuwahata will screen her new 10-minute, stop-motion film “Cartoon Physics,” which will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles. A question-and-answer session with Kuwahata will follow the screening with refreshments being provided.
URI Associate Teaching Professor of Japanese Nahoko Collis assisted with the translations of the film script. She marveled up close how Kuwahata could lead people from different backgrounds and perspectives, and have them work in unison to bring the film to life.
“Working with Ru was the first time I saw how the creative process involves so many people with different backgrounds and languages,” Collis said. “I was very intrigued with the international aspect in the film’s creation because, as a language educator, we want our students to learn to work with people who come from different cultures. Ru is a leading example of that.”
“Film Screening and Master Class with Ru Kuwahata” is sponsored by URI’s College of Arts and Sciences, and Center for the Humanities. For more information about the event, contact URI Associate Teaching Professor of Japanese Nahoko Collis at ncollis@uri.edu or URI Professor of French and Film Leslie Kealhofer-Kemp at 401-874-4699 or lkealhofer@uri.edu.