Jaques-Rémy Girerd - Guest Animator at 2014 Anim'est

Each new edition confirms Anim'est festival’s reputation as one of the most important animation film festivals in Europe, not only because it brings excellent animation films, but also thanks to special guests attending the festival. Well-known animators, representatives of famous animation schools, multi-award winning studios and international animation festivals are the highlights of Anim'est Film Festival year after year.

For this year's edition, which will take place between 3rd and 12th October, the festival invites Jacques-Rémy Girerd to Bucharest. Famous director and film producer, he is the legendary founder of the French animation studio Folimage.

Born in 1952, Jacques-Rémy Girerd attended the National School of Fine Arts in Lyon. After experimenting for a while in modeling clay animation, he founded the Folimage studio in 1981, which produced the Oscar nominated animation Une Vie de Chat / A Cat in Paris and became one of the best known stop-motion animation studios in Europe. His films have been screened at internationally famous film festivals (Annecy, Berlin, Ottawa) and earned him significant awards (César, Cartoon d'Or). The concern for the environment is a recurring theme in Girerd’s films. It is often disguised as satires about childhood, friendship and civilization, combining humor with relevant environmental messages.

In Bucharest, the Anim'est audience will have the opportunity to watch three animated feature films directed by Jacques-RémyGirerd and produced by Folimage: La prophétie des grenouilles / Raining Cats and Frogs (2003), which drew more than one million viewers to the French cinemas and gained him international recognition; Mia et le Migou / Mia and the Migoo (2008) considered the best animated feature film in 2009 by the European Film Academy, and Tante Hilda! / Aunt Hilda! (2013), selected  this very year in the official competition of the Berlin International Film Festival.

The youngest members of the Anim’est audience will enjoy a classic Girerd screening: Ma petite planète chérie (1996), a series of animated films consisting of 26 episodes addressing environmental issues in a humorous and poetic way, and created for children aged 5 to 12. The series won countless awards: the best TV series at the Goias Festival in Brazil, the best film for young audience in St. Petersburg, the UNICEF award and the Golden Angel award.

The help offered by the French Institute in Bucharest has made possible Jacques-Rémy Girerd’s presence at the ninth Anim'est edition and the programme dedicated to Folimage studio.