Animest.20: National Premiere of Little Amélie or the Character of Rain Will Open Festival’s Anniversary Edition

Opening Night of the 20th edition of the Animest International Animation Film Festival (October 3-12, 2025) is set to bring to Bucharest silver screens an unforgettable journey through childhood, memories, and the magic of discovering the world and our role in it. Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes), the story of a Belgian girl born in 1960s Japan – an adaptation of the famous memoirs of Francophone writer Amélie Nothomb – will premiere in Romania on Friday October 3 at 7 PM, at Sala Luceafărul (formerly  Cinema PRO). Tickets are already available on the Eventbook platform: https://bit.ly/DeschidereAnimest20 

The many reasons you should catch Little Amélie include its reception on the international stage: this year, it got the Audience Award at Annecy Festival, the most prominent animation event in the world, and was screened in a special section of Cannes Film Festival, where critics lauded its uniquely accessible and emotional approach to complex topics such as life, death, and belonging.

Debut directors’ Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han 2D animation centers on almost-three-year-old Amélie, who seemingly doesn’t interact much with the world around her, echoing the Japanese belief that until three, children are like little gods, more divine than human. This period ends abruptly following an event that awakens Amélie to reality, and she begins to discover language, her family, the nature that surrounds her, and its rhythms. The film focuses on the first years of her childhood and the special relationship she develops with Nishio-san, a caregiver who helps her discover the wonders of the world and open up emotionally.

Inspired by Japanese animation aesthetics and the likes of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, the film’s “minimalist visual style elegantly matches the young character’s naiveté, forgoing hand-drawn outlines” for “fuzzy, slightly pixelated edges.” Variety goes on to explain that “human faces are represented with as few as four colors, concentrating our attention on Amélie’s intense chartreuse eyes.” The gouache-like “always delicate, busy visuals come from an artistic team including director Rémi Chayé (The Roof of the World), and both western and Japanese stylistic influences are  visible in a film which is partly about whether Amelie truly belongs in Belgium or Japan.” (Screen Daily) Befitting this optimistic film teaching us “that memories can overcome the power of loss, and our humanity is our greatest gift,” Little Amélie features original music by Mari Fukuhara (Futon).

The film will be distributed in Romania by Independența Film in 2026.

Animest.20 and Little Amélie: Presented by ING Bank

For the past 20 years, Animest has grown into a vital platform for Romanian artists, bringing the best animations in the world to local audiences. Ever since its inception, the festival was dedicated to supporting and developing Romanian animation, transforming passion into profession and daring dreams into reality. Consistently adapting its programs and initiatives to emerging opportunities and challenges, the festival has become an incubator for local talent, providing resources, mentoring, and helping Romanian animation projects reach the international scene (in time, we actually created an Animation Incubator for teenage artists).

What started as an independent project in 2006 has, over a 20-year journey, attracted a varied network of partners and supporters. Our 20th edition marks an important milestone in the festival’s history – and the beginning of a new important partnership. ING Bank is joining Animest as main sponsor, thus supporting new destinations on the festival’s journey as we consolidate Animest into a cultural beacon on the local and international animation landscape.

Animest.20: One Festival, Seven Locations

The anniversary edition of Animest widens the festival locations map with a new exciting entry: the  Animest Cultural Center, hosted for all ten days of the festival (October 3-12) by Petőfi Sándor Community Center, already a cultural landmark in the heart of Bucharest. Animest Cultural Center is co-funded through the Bucharest.Together program – a Bucharest Municipality initiative facilitated by ARCUB.

For the duration of the festival, thus, 6 Ioan Zalomit Street will become a cultural hub dedicated to intercultural dialogue, education through animation, and art-aided social cohesion. The Center will be a meeting point for the local community and international festival guests – directors, animators, producers, and educators – inviting audiences of all ages to engage in a truly varied range of cultural activities. We’ve designed cultural-educational activities – Meet the Authors with filmmakers featured during the festival, multimedia exhibits, creative workshops, themed sections and d/Deaf-accessible screenings – which aim to both encourage younger audiences and help the Bucharest community reconnect to its urban spaces.

We are also looking forward to welcoming animation lovers to Eforie Cinematheque (2 Eforie Str.), Elvire Popesco Cinema (77 Dacia Blvd.), National Peasant Museum Cinema (3 Monetăriei Str.), Sala Luceafărul (3 Ion Ghica Str.), Cervantes Institute ( 38 Regina Elisabeta Blvd.), and CINETIc UNATC (3b Tudor Arghezi Str.).

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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
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