Minimest 2011 – Animation is coming out to play again

This year, the Anim’est International Animation Film Festival has prepared once again a special program of screenings and events destined for its young and very young audience. During festival weekends, 8-9, and 15-16 of October, as part of the Minimest section, the little ones will get to watch internationally acclaimed short and feature films, as well as interactive tasks created in order to awaken their appetite for the world of animation and develop their creativity and imagination. For the first time, parents and children drawn to animation film will also be able to enter the Minimest screenings with a special Pass, at a price of 25 lei, which allows access to all of the section’s 8 screenings.

4 features and 4 short film programs, dedicated mostly to children of ages 4 to 14, are part of this year’s Minimest selection, with screenings on each of the two festival weekends. Among the screened feature films are RIO (USA, 2011), directed by Carlos Saldanha (director of the blockbuster Ice Age), a 3D comedy telling Blu’s story, a macaw parrot who has never learned to fly, but decides to leave his bird cage to learn more about his origins, Kung fu panda 2 (dir. Jennifer Yuh Nelson, SUA, 2011) is about Po, the panda bear who goes on a new adventure alongside his friends, Hop (dir. Tim Hill, SUA, 2011), where the main character is the successor of the Easter Bunny – I.P, who decides to become a drummer, endangering the existence of Easter island, or Toys in the Attic (Czech Republic – Slovakia – Japan, 2009), directed by Jiri Barta,  one of the biggest celebrities in Czech animation and also worldwide. The theme of the film is centered on an old, dusty attic, home to old toys. Similar to humans, they too have their daily rituals, games and joys. At a party, they find out that the King of the Land of Evil wants to steal one of their friend toys, Buttercup.

Aside from feature films, the little ones as well as their older companions will also get to watch four short film programs (one on each day of the festival weekends), three of them – with international productions, the fourth – with titles from the National Film Archive, selected by the film critic Dana Duma.

During the international short film programs, the kids will get to watch films like Robin Hood (dir. Ben Smith, UK, 2011), Grand Prix, directed by Anna Solanas and Marc Riba, or Barko (dir. Allison Craig), the story of a lonesome puppy who ends up working at the circus, in the company of  some noisy puddles, and tries to win the love of those around him, or Dodo and Tic, a Romanian production directed by Gabriel Vasiliu – the pilot episode for a local series created for preschoolers, with Dodo, a tiny yet very clever dragon, and Tic, an extremely cute little mouse.

Aside from the film program, Patria Cinema, the usual host of the Minimest section, is looking forward to welcome the young film lovers over for a series of interactive and educative tasks completing the screenings. Such events are the ones hosted by BluParty: face painting, interactive discussions in the presence of characters popular to children, and balloon games.

Mai multe detalii despre acesta sunt disponibile pe site-ul oficial al festivalului: http://www.animest.ro/workshop-de-animatie-stop-motion.aspx

During October 10-14, 15 children with ages of 8 to 12, will get the chance to create their own little films, using sets and main characters out of the LEGO toys provided by Noriel Toys, as part of the Stop-motion Animation Workshop held by Vasi Alboiu, still opened for applications until the 28th of September. Extra info is available on the festival’s official site: http://www.animest.ro/workshop-de-animatie-stop-motion.aspx

Footage from the Minimest films will be available for viewing in a material made by the Anim’est Video Content, availble here: http://www.youtube.com/user/AnimestRomania#p/a/u/0/UYYLEPkFKGw