The Colors Within

As one of the few female anime directors, Naoko Yamada has made a big name for herself, directing high-profile anime series such as K-ON!, Sound! Euphonium, The Heike Story, and the 2016 feature film A Silent Voice. In her most recent film, The Colors Within (2024), she continues to explore teenagers’ experiences and the important role of music in their lives. Totsuko is high school student at a Catholic boarding school for girls who has synesthesia. She sees people as colors, but is still searching for what her own color might be. When Kimi, one of her classmates, drops out of school without explanation, Totsuko goes in search of her. Through a chance conversation between the two girls and Rui, a boy they meet in a bookstore, the trio forms an amateur band. From there they use the music they create to sort out their feelings and explore what brings meaning to their lives.

Watch the trailer here.
PG; 101 minutes

Welcome to Anime Fest at the Modern! See the full schedule and more information here. This year we feature two films by Naoko Yamada, one of Japan’s leading anime directors. To showcase her amazing work, we are excited to present Yamada’s award-winning classic, A Silent Voice (2016), and her newest feature film, The Colors Within (2024). Three additional films—Satoshi Kon and Kô Matsuo’s Millennium Actress (2001), Yôko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita’s Ghost Cat Anzu (2024), and Makoto Shinkai and Yoko Suzuki’s The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)—highlight the range and depth of twenty-first century anime. Whether you are a longtime fan or new to anime, this selection invites you to explore the captivating worlds and intricate storytelling that these films offer.

All film screenings will be held in the Modern's auditorium. Tickets are $10 and $7 for Modern members. Cinephiles who plan to enjoy the weekend’s entire selection of films will receive a discount for pre-purchasing all of their tickets at once.

Dr. Marc Hairston, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Dallas, will introduce each film. A professional space physicist, part-time anime scholar, and Fort Worth native, Hairston has hosted annual Japanese animation festivals at the Modern since 2012. He is one of the founding editors of Mechademia, the first academic journal focused on anime and manga studies, and has written numerous scholarly articles about anime. With Dr. Pamela Gossin, also at UT Dallas, he has co-authored two books about anime and manga aimed at high-school-age readers, Cultural Guide to Anime and Manga (2023) and Exploring Anime and Manga (World of Art) (2024).