19th edition
October 4-13, 2024
Meniu blog

Animest National Competition issues 14 special invites to the world of imagination

A loyal reflection of the progress of Romanian animation over time, Animest’s competition dedicated to local artists continues to showcase their incredible achievements. Between October 7-16, 14 new productions will hit the silver screen during the Romanian Competition and vie for the section’s award of RON 5,000, offered by the Romanian Cultural Institute. Whether they’re Animest regulars or just starting out in the field, the creators in this year’s Romanian Competition abound in both courage and creativity as they explore fantastical lands or revisit their most personal experiences through animation. 

Animest.17 tickets are now available at https://eventbook.ro/festival/animest.

Two of the short films included in the Romanian Competition are also contenders for this edition’s Animest Trophy, in the main short film competition: Suruaika, a film by Vlad Ilicevici and Radu C. Pop, about a man who adopts a kitten without anticipating the trouble this will cause, and Sasha, directed by Serghei Chiviriga, the story of a teenager who discovers the truth about his own sexual identity in a strange way.

Cate Cherecheș won the 2021 edition of the Animation Incubator – the Animest program for arts high schoolers interested in making animation. This year, Cate’s first film is competing: Tab ou ret is a story about abuse, excess, overconsumption, and the rise and fall of life. The reflective theme also underscores the short film Three, a 2D perspective on separation which debuts in this year’s Romanian Competition, the work of Maria Scutaru, winner of the 2020 edition of the Incubator.

Adrian Băluță returns to the Romanian Competition with 947 – What a Coincidence!, a tale from another world, where nothing is as it seems. Ioachim Stroe returns with It’s a Clown’s Life, the story of a man forced to live his whole life as a clown, depicted through a melange of 2D, 3D, live action, and special effects. Călin Gherghevici’s entry in this year’s competition is The Neighbor, where two children drop their ball in the courtyard of an abandoned house.

A dancer loses touch with reality as her memory deteriorates in Ruxandra-Maria Socor’s Forget-Me-Not, while Familiar Feeling, the result of the collaboration between visual artist Tudor Prodan and musician Alex Halka, explores a unique take on battling depression. The relationship between Artist and Creation inspired Alina Gheorghe to create Glass Fingers, while The Child and Her Ugly, directed by Victor Andrei-Ionescu, journeys into a boy’s imagination, where ‘The Ugly’ is the villain.

A band of mobster pandas successfully robs a bank in The Great Cane Robbery (directed by George Sorinca), while a boy unsuccessfully tries to steal a girl’s long sleeves in Stop It! End That! Cease (directed by Eugen Munteanu). The Joy, by Bianca Sava, is the story of a girl who is mocked by those around her because of her  – in fact – absolutely normal physical transformations. Over time, the negative effects of bullying turn into acceptance and self-love.

Outside of the competition, fans of animated films will be able to see Amok on the big screen. The Hungarian-Romanian co-production, directed by Balázs Turai, received this year’s Annecy Cristal, the most important award for short films, at the world’s greatest film festival dedicated to animation.

The Animest.17 full schedule will soon be available on www.animest.ro. Buy your ticket(s) now on 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, Domeniile Sâmburești, Kafune, Studioset, ArtHub, Urban DADA, Arthur Publishing House, LEGO Official Stores, Ogilvy

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

Monitoring partner: MediaTRUST


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