Animest.17: international animation superstars, online screenings, and a show stopping cine-concert

The 17th edition of Animest (October 7-16, Bucharest) is starting soon! Over 340 animated films are coming to Bucharest silver screens this year, as our festival returns to its original, in-person format. Prepare for screenings, special events, parties, and masterclasses facilitated by industry professionals, our special guests coming to Bucharest. This year’s edition of Animest also has a little somethin’ somethin’ for the many animation fans around Romania, who’ve enjoyed our selections on the festival’s streaming platform for the past two years. In 2022, they’ll be able to watch all the films in the competition sections via the Virtual Cinema.

• Buy your Animest.17 tickets and passes on https://eventbook.ro/festival/animest!

• To watch the competition sections online, from anywhere in Romania, get tickets and passes directly on our streaming platform, https://online.animest.ro/. The films will be available starting on the day and time in the official schedule, until the end of the festival on October 16, 11:59 p.m. 

#MeetTheJury

Following tradition, the winners in Animest’s competition sections will be selected by juries of professionals in the international animation industry. Their presence in Bucharest will be the perfect opportunity for Romanian directors, producers and animators to meet them at festival events or during the masterclasses our guests are facilitating.  

Part of the juries for the International Short Film Competition and for the Student Film Competition, and hailing from Portugal, the Animest.17 guest country, Abi Feijó is an iconic director, producer, and instructor, and the director of the Casa Museu de Vilar  cinematography museum. Fans and local animation professionals will get to meet Abi on Thursday, October 13, at the Cervantes Institute, during the cinematographer’s free masterclass, starting at 4 p.m. Serving alongside Abi on the two shorts juries are Balázs Turai, director of the multi-awarded Amok, winner of this year’s Cristal award at the Annecy Festival, and Ioana Nicoară, a visual creator and animator who contributed to productions such as The Magic Mountain (2015) and The Blissful Accidental Death (Splendida Moarte Accident, 2017).

Florence Miailhe, winner of the 2015 Annecy Cristal d'honneur lifetime achievement award and 2021 Animest Feature Film Competition winner for La traversée, joins both the Feature Film and the Romanian Competitions. An animation legend famous for her technique combining paints, pastels, and sand directly under the camera, using a covering process, Florence will also host a masterclass at the Cervantes Institute on Friday, October 14, starting at 4 p.m. On the two juries, she is working with Fernando Galrito, MONSTRA Lisboa Animation Film Festival artistic director, and Norwegian producer and director Frank Mosvold, who’s made a name for himself in the world of animated series.

Răzvan Exarhu, host of the Morning Glory show on Rock FM – Animest.17 media partner – is on the Animusic jury alongside artist Sașa-Liviu Stoianovici (Balkan Taksim). They are joined by Oksana Kurmaz, the Ukrainian artist who designed this year’s official Animest poster. 

The VR Competition continues showcasing the strongest works in the field. In 2022, the jury includes transmedia Romanian artist Ioana Mischie, Răzvan Vasilache – who has been contributing to animation and digital arts work since 2003, and Andreea Centea, Loop Virtual Reality Solutions co-owner. 

Pitch, Please!, the Animest competition for directors and producers in Romania and The Republic of Moldova working on projects in the pre-production phase, will be juried by Matea Milić, Animafest Zagreb International Animation Film Festival producer, Mirela Vlad, an instructor at The ‘I.L. Caragiale’ National University of Theatre and Film, and Pedro Serrazina, a multi-awarded director, university lecturer, and animation researcher.

How to register for the workshop facilitated by Japanese legend Masaaki Yuasa

Internationally famous for his iconic unconventional style that constantly pushes against the boundaries of the genre and has turned him into one of the most acclaimed creators in the world, Masaaki Yuasa will meet fans on Sunday, October 9, starting 2 p.m., during his masterclass at the Cervantes Institute. Register free of charge using this form: https://bit.ly/3EemFDv. 

Animest is for animation fans across Romania 

The last two years have shown us you really loved the Animest streaming platform, so we’re continuing with the online screenings – first inspired by pandemic restrictions, now an opportunity for viewers all around Romania to enjoy the festival. All of the competition sections will be accessible via the Virtual Cinema, starting from the date and time in the official schedule, until October 16 at 11:59 p.m. Get your tickets or passes directly on online.animest.ro! 

Cine-concert: the premiere of Lotte Reiniger’s Animated Fairy Tales 

Animest.17 revisits the original animations of the famous Lotte Reiniger, the inventor of silhouette animation, in a cine-concert created especially for this event, with Balkan Taksim contributing an original soundtrack. Animated Fairy Tales by Lotte Reiniger is a collection of Brothers Grimm, Wilhelm Hauff, and Hans Christian Andersen classic fairy tales interpreted in a unique black and white style and accompanied by live music by Balkan Taksim. The band is known for combining electronic rhythms and arrangements, Carpathian sounds, and Balkan- and Anatolian-inspired melodies. Music and film lovers may enjoy this special treat on Saturday evening, October 15, starting at 9 p.m. at the Eforie Cinematheque. Get your cine-concert tickets right here.

The complete festival schedule is live on www.animest.ro. Purchase your Animest.17 passes and tickets to get access to screenings and special events alike, at https://eventbook.ro/festival/animest!   

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Animest Festival is a project organized by the Animest Association and co-financed through the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme, Romanian Film Centre, and Romanian Cultural Institute. 

Animest.17 is co-financed by the Municipality of Bucharest through ARCUB, as part of the ‘București afectiv’ 2022 program. For detailed information on the ARCUB funding programs, please access www.arcub.ro.

Partners: Groupama Insurance, Heineken Silver, Pop Cola, Vitamin Aqua, McDonald’s, Autonom, Domeniile Sâmburești, Spor – a Policolor brand, Kafune, LEGO Certified Stores, Arthur Publishing House, ArtHub, Urban DADA, Ogilvy, Studioset

Institutional partners: the Goethe Institute, the French Institute, the Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Bucharest, the Cervantes Institute, The Embassy of Japan in Romania, Japan Foundation, The ‘I.L. Caragiale’ National University of Theatre and Film 

Media partners: Rock FM, AGERPRES, Itsy Bitsy, Radio România Cultural, IQads, Smark, Vice, Zile și Nopți, Ziarul Metropolis, Films in Frame, Observator Cultural, Film Menu, Movie News, LiterNet, Sunt Părinte, Cinefilia, Proanimație.ro, Cinefan, All About Romanian Cinema – aac.ro, AIVImedia.hub, Munteanu

Media monitoring partner: MediaTRUST