ANIMEST+ brings film screenings in Zemeș, Bacău

ANIMEST+ project, developed by the Animest Association, meets the urgent needs of the animation industry in Romania, of young animators, of future audiences, and communities lacking in cinematic cultural life. Animation in Romania is still a neglected, underfunded sector, where few films are produced and, despite the remarkable results, are hardly distributed at all.

During 2023, Animest will organize a cultural education program in rural areas of Romania, a filmmaking camp for high school students, a film caravan through small towns with limited access to culture, and an industry conference.

ANIMEST+ starts on Sunday, April 23, with a whole day dedicated to animation and education through culture in Zemeș commune in Bacău county. In the first part of the day, there will be an animation workshop for children, facilitated by Anna Florea.

Anna is an illustrator, animator, and director, co-founder of RIVULET studio, and co-author of two animated short films "Mr. Anxiety goes on a date" (2016) and "invizibilii" (2020), made together with the 4inaroom collective.

The workshop will introduce children to the world of animation, explaining basic concepts and allowing them to create a simple, team-based animation.

In the evening, there will be a screening of the animation "Bunny Academy: Easter is in danger" (2022, 1h16 min, Germany). An introduction to the world of animation with a film for the whole family that addresses the theme of trust and friendship, in the context of the Easter holidays.

In the coming months, the Animest team will introduce the world of animation to other municipalities and cities in Romania. All information will be published on the project website https://www.plus.animest.ro 

The ANIMEST+ project meets the urgent needs of the Romanian animation industry, young animators, future educated cinephiles, and communities lacking in film culture. The project is run by ANIMEST Association in partnership with Kool Produktion. Throughout 2023 the project proposes a series of acitivities: education through culture in rural areas of Romania, a summer school for highschool students, itinerant cinema in Romanian cities and a conference dedicated to professionals and young people interested in the film industry. The total budget of the project is 979.185,85 lei (199.066,02 euro), out of which 952.781,52 lei (193.698,09 euro) is the value of the non-reimbursable financial support.

The EEA Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe. There are two overall objectives: reduction of economic and social disparities in Europe, and to strengthen bilateral relations between the donor countries and 15 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. The three donor countries cooperate closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). The donors have provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. For the period 2014-2021, the EEA Grants amount to €1.55 billion. More details are available on: www.eeagrants.org and www.eeagrants.ro.

RO-CULTURE is implemented in Romania by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Management Unit. The Programme aims at strengthening social and economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. The total budget amounts to almost 34 million EUR. For more details access: www.ro-cultura.ro