Ciao, Italy! Animest 19
Italian animation is in the spotlight of this 19th edition of the festival, thus continuing a long tradition of annual retrospectives dedicated to countries that have set important milestones in cinematography over time. This year, the public will have the unique opportunity to explore the richness and diversity of Italian animation through an impressive selection of films, guests and special events, which bring to the fore both classics of the genre and renowned contemporary works. The “Ciao, Italy!” program, presented by the guest country of the current edition, is supported by the Italian Culture Institute in Bucharest and Animaphix, the International Animation Film Festival in Sicily.
Corina Sabău, 12.10.2024, 14:00
Italian animation is in the spotlight of this 19th edition of the festival, thus continuing a long tradition of annual retrospectives dedicated to countries that have set important milestones in cinematography over time. This year, the public will have the unique opportunity to explore the richness and diversity of Italian animation through an impressive selection of films, guests and special events, which bring to the fore both classics of the genre and renowned contemporary works. The “Ciao, Italy!” program, presented by the guest country of the current edition, is supported by the Italian Culture Institute in Bucharest and Animaphix, the International Animation Film Festival in Sicily.
Mihai Mitrică, the artistic director of Animest: “We chose Italy for this year because it has a rich tradition in animated films. It is true that in recent years the Italian industry has not had the scope it had a few decades ago, but the tradition of Italian cinema cannot be overlooked. We had been planning for some time to focus on Italian animation, but we only managed to do so at this edition and we thank our colleague and friend from Italy, Andrea Martignoni, for this extensive retrospective. The retrospective curated by Andrea Martignoni, a renowned film sound designer, includes classic and contemporary Italian animation, and the three feature films chosen are representative of what Italian animation is all about: “Allegro non tropo” (dir. Bruno Bozzetto, 1976), “L’arte della felicità” / “The Art of Happiness” (dir. Alessandro Rak, 2013), awarded at the Venice Film Festival, and “Invelle” / “Nowhere” (dir . Simone Massi), also awarded in Venice.”
Increasingly innovative and stylistically complex, the 12 short films included in the Romanian Competition at the 19th edition of Animest paint an overall urban picture of the local contemporary animation. The short films in this year’s selection are a mix of productions signed by students at the beginning of their journey in the field and films created by established animation artists. This year, 32 films entered the Romanian Animest Competition, a very large number that demonstrates the continuous development of this field, as a result of the constant support in the last 19 years.
Animest’s impact on the animation industry in Romania can be seen directly on the big screens in this year’s selection, full of courageous approaches and original stories that focus mostly on relationships and bonding – as a couple, in the family or in the community.
Mihai Mitrică, Animest director: “Every year we receive more and more Romanian animation projects, which makes us happy. Moreover, it is also about the quality of the films, which is getting better and better. This is also due to the fact that the animation school, both within the National University of Theater and Cinematography “Ion Luca Caragiale” in Bucharest, and within the film and theater faculties in Oradea, Cluj and Iași is starting to bear fruit, certainly thanks to the Animest festival. We only show the work of the animators and promote their films, the merit is of the animation schools and of course of the producers. Two of the directors returning to the Animest competition are Tudor Avrămuț and Serghei Chiviriga, who made a children’s film called TIBI. Andreia Dobrotă is also present with a film at Animest. She is a director who lives in the Netherlands and makes a film almost every year. This is an independent project, one of the many projects she is working on. I would also mention a Romania-France co-production, which is based on a Romanian story. It is a film by the French director Mélody Boulissière, whose subject is a love story during the Second World War, based on the photo collection of the well-known photographer Constantin Axinte from Slobozia.”
Alina Gheorghe also returns to the Romanian Animest Competition with a new training film, “Dirty Paradise”, a metaphor about rejecting one’s self and idealizing perfection. The 19th edition of the Animest Festival proposes a series of urban white nights dedicated to the most daring of animated film lovers. Atypical stories, intense experiences, nocturnal screenings and challenging experiments come together in a sophisticated cocktail of thematic events – new and established. Trippy Animation Night returns with an unusual and electrifying collection, Creepy Animation Night gives chills to even the bravest of spectators, Erotica – The Night of Erotic Animation stimulates the imagination outside the comfort zone, and Animusic Night will once again prove that quality parties also find a place in the cinema world. Moreover, this year, the special events are complemented by a new entry, devoted to young people – Fresh Frames, a selection of animated films mostly made by teenagers in the workshops supported by the Animation Incubator during the year. (EE, LS)
