Animest.20: Accessible Screenings and Events for Festival’s Anniversary Edition

Travel without boundaries through “Animest. Together”

For its 20th birthday, the Animest International Animation Film Festival is continuing its mission to offer increasingly inclusive programming that brings together as wide of an audience as possible, with a wider array of sensory needs. Audio-described screenings for blind audiences, films interpreted in sign language, relaxed screenings and workshops, and a festival hub accessible for disabled guests – these are just some of the must-haves at the foundation of this year’s festival.

Under the Animest. Together banner, the Animest Association has added to its portfolio – led by the most prominent and long-standing animation festival in Romania – a series of educational programs promoting a culture of inclusion, alongside film screenings made accessible to viewers with auditory and sight deficiencies. These include Minimest SUPER – bringing an inclusive twist to the Timișoara cultural environment; Animated Emotions – helping students develop their social-emotional superpowers through interdisciplinary, inclusive film education and creativity; and Animest SUPER – a national, year-long initiative meant to dismantle access barriers and welcome audiences of all ages and abilities into the same space, at the same time.
On September 12-13, Minimest SUPER visited Timișoara with three accessible feature film screenings and an interactive masterclass by Ligia Soare on making cultural events – specifically cinema – more accessible, for cultural managers, film distributors, cultural events organizers, cultural institutions, teachers, students, NGOs, and inclusion specialists.

“Animest. Together is our long-term commitment. We want accessibility to become the norm in all our festival’s facets; every year, we add new accessible events, endeavor to learn from guests who haven’t yet joined us, and use the lessons we’ve accumulated over 20 years of existence to prove to ourselves and others that a festival can truly be a cultural oasis with no barriers.

Festivals are the perfect playground to gather diverse people, regardless of the event specifics or category: music, film, theater. ‘Together’ should really mean everyone, no matter our age, gender, sensorial or intellectual abilities, native language, or ideal level of background noise. A festival can be an excuse to leave the house to socialize or just check out this week’s ‘cool spot.’ And how cool would it be for everyone to be able to join, say, this week’s animated film festival – which just happens to provide spaces open to all?” shared Ligia Soare, who coordinates film inclusion programs at Animest.

The CODA Charm of Silence (CODA Farmecul Tăcerii) Foundation, Animest d/Deaf accessibility partner, will bring festival films and events to life in Romanian Sign Language.

Four Fearless Films to Enjoy Together

The accessible screenings at Animest.20 showcase universal stories, from environmental crises or adolescent trials, to how the power of imagination can overcome grief and life’s challenges.

Savages (directed by Claude Barras, 2024) whisks us to the edge of the Borneo rainforest, where Kéria finds a baby orangutan abandoned in the palm oil plantation where her dad works; her cousin Selaï comes to live with them seeking refuge from the conflict between his indigenous tribe and the logging companies. They join forces to protect their ancestral forest from the highest level of destruction yet, as Kéria discovers her origins. The film premiered at Cannes to positive international reviews – it competed at Annecy, won Locarno’s Kid Award, and was nominated for the César Award for Animated Features and European Film Awards’ Animated Feature Film. Accessible for all audiences: hearing, non-hearing, sighted, and blind.
Accessible trailer:

Soon to premiere in Romania as part of the Animest official competition and made accessible for hearing-impaired spectators, Tales from the Magic Garden (directed by David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar, and Jean-Claude Rozec) is a charming stop-motion anthology about grief, healing, and storytelling. Three siblings spend the first weekend alone with their grandfather since their grandmother passed away. To fill the gap left by their favorite storyteller, the kids start spinning their own fantastical tales. The film premiered internationally at the Berlinale and later won the ECFA Award for Best European Film for Children (Elements +6) at the Giffoni Film Festival in Italy.
Accessible trailer:

Bilingually accessible for hearing-impaired audiences, Hola, Frida (directed by André Kadi and Karine Vezina) is the first animated film about Mexican legend Frida Kahlo’s childhood: a visual universe anchored in the heroine’s changing mood, where imagination and creativity are tools of healing and self-discovery.

Living Large (directed by Kristina Dufková) brings forward humor and heart to explore universal themes related to adolescence. Based on Mikaël Ollivier’s novel of the same title (in the original French, La vie, en gros), the film explores the veritable battleground of self-acceptance, bullying, and true friendship that eschewes social pressure. Ben, a 12-year-old aspiring chef, struggles with weight, bullying, and a crush on Klara. He decides to go on a diet to get his groove back. The film was in the official selection of the Locarno and Annecy festivals – in the latter, it won the Jury Prize in the Contrechamp section. During Animest.20, the film’s screening will be bilingually accessible, with descriptive subtitles and Romanian Sign Language.
Animest.20’s New Inclusive Hub

The Petőfi Sándor Cultural Center on 6 Ioan Zalomit Street in Bucharest will host the Animest Cultural Center, your new festival home-away-from-home: for the ten days of the Animest International Animation Film Festival, this is where both longtime and new fans of animated stories can reunite to chat or enjoy a corner of solitude. The Animest Cultural Center is funded through the Bucharest.Together program, a Bucharest Municipality initiative through ARCUB. The space welcomes visitors with reduced mobility, neurodiversity, or sensory disabilities (seeing, hearing) – the festival team is excited to meet everyone and learn how to be receptive to a wide array of needs.

The Cultural Center will host two accessible screenings for schools, complete with educational activities, on October 8 and 9, as well as the 20 Years of Animest Anniversary Exhibition, during October 4-12 – a collection of posters, photos, and stories from every festival edition since 2006. The exhibition will be available in several accessible formats: simplified written text, audio, and Romanian Sign Language.

Olga’s Films, a project by the Superheroes Among Us (Supereroi printre Noi) Association, returns to Animest on Sunday, October 12, with inclusive short films adjusted for neurodiverse and differently-abled audiences. Sensory-friendly settings will ensure everyone can enjoy the friendly atmosphere. Free entry, while seats last. Registration details coming soon!

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The Animest Festival is a project of the Animest Association, co-financed by AFCN–the Administration of the National Cultural Fund.

This project does not officially represent the AFCN’s stance, nor may AFCN be held responsible for the festival’s content or outcomes – these are fully under the beneficiary’s responsibility.

The Animest Cultural Center project is co-funded by the Bucharest Municipality through ARCUB through the Bucharest.Together 2025 program.

This material does not necessarily reflect the official position of the Bucharest Municipality or ARCUB.

Presented by: ING Bank

Partners: Groupama, Freshful, TVPaint, MyAirBridge, Oglivy

Institutional Partners: The Romanian Cultural Institute, French Institute and French Embassy, Instituto Cervantes, Petőfi Sándor Cultural Center, Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Center in Bucharest

Main Media Partner: PRO TV, VOYO

As Heard On: Radio Guerrilla

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