#ScreeningHistory - 100 years of Romanian Animation Celebrated by Animest no. 15

100 years ago, the first Romanian animated film was shown on the big screen, an important moment which Animest International Animation Film Festival is marking this year, in an ample retrospective dedicated to the essential moments in the history of local animated cinema.

Under the tag #ScreeningHistory, the visual campaign of the 15th edition of the festival brings together some of the beloved characters created by Romanian artists in the last one hundred years, and invited all fans of animated film to discover a rich selection of archive films, some of the most notable titles, sketches and illustrations from the collections of outstanding Romanian creators.

The story started in 1920, on April 4, when the Military Cinema Hall in Bucharest showed the first ever Romanian animated film, Păcală în lună (Păcală on the Moon), the first of a series of 80 creations of artist Aurel Petrescu. The press of that time announced the film as “a slapstick comedy with animated drawings” and enjoyed great success, opening a new chapter in local cinematography. Unfortunately, the film is not in the archive, but its story will be part of a dedicated exhibition, alongside a collection of film posters from the last 100 years, curated by film critic Dana Duma.

Dana Duma is also the author of “The History of Romanian Animated Film”, a book edited by the Romanian Academy Publishing House. She worked with the Animest artistic team on a relevant selection of short animations from the National Film Archive, digitalized with support from Groupama. These short films are grouped in two programmes and they include titles such as Haplea, a successful film directed by Marin Iorda in 1927 – which is the oldest Romanian animated film that is kept in the Archive – or O scurtă Istorie (A Short History) (1957), the animation that turned Ion Popescu Gopo into the first Romanian to win the Palme d’Or.

The selection of the best animations in the last one hundred years includes recent productions, as well. A #BestOf selection of films from the Romanian Competition of Animest will complete the anniversary retrospective and will outline the evolution of this local industry. The youngest animation fans will explore this fascinating world in a time travel documented by Radu Vasile Igazsag and told by Horațiu Mălăele. O scurtă poveste (A Short Story) is a feature film whose characters are beloved heroes of Romanian animated films, engaged in a true adventure through film.

“The year 2020 is reference point for the Romanian animation community. 100 years ago, the first animation film was born in our country, Păcală în lună (Păcală on the Moon), a work of Aurel Petrescu, much talked about at that time. Unfortunately, the film does not exist as such anymore. Under the tag #Screening History, Animest dedicates this year’s edition – be it in an online version only – to this special anniversary. The visual campaign is a homage paid to Romanian animation and to the city which has been hosting the festival for the last 15 years, and was designed by our colleague Andra Mirea, graphic designer and illustrator” (Mihai Mitrică, director and main selector of Animest Romania).

***

The retrospective dedicated to 100 years of Romanian animation is organised by Animest International Animation Film Festival, with the support of the National Film Archive, the Romanian Film Centre and Groupama.