Ten days of adventure in the magical world of animated films: the 17th edition of the Animest Festival has started!

Animest.17 is here! Our annual celebration of the art of animation kicked off on October 7, at 6:30 p.m., with a special screening of Le Petit Nicolas, winner of the Cristal award in Annecy, and the only animated film included in the Cannes selection this year. A playful tribute to the creators of the series, which was translated and published in over 30 countries, the film marks the start of a dazzling 10-day marathon of national premieres, electrifying parties, animation workshops, and outstanding masterclasses, ending on Sunday, October 16. Our hosts? Seven cultural spaces in Bucharest: the Elvire Popesco Cinema, Eforie Cinematheque, the Cervantes Institute, Arthub, Urban Refuge, CINETic, and The ‘I.L. Caragiale’ National University of Theatre and Film.

Browse the schedule for this year’s Animate the Love edition on animest.ro and on the Animest app (Android & iOS). Tickets and passes are available on the Eventbook platform. 

Not in Bucharest, or feeling like enjoying a film in your cozy home? Watch all the short film competitions and several other selections from anywhere in Romania on our streaming platform, the Virtual Cinema at https://online.animest.ro/, where you can also get tickets and passes. The screenings will start from the scheduled day and time and remain accessible until the festival ends on October 16, 11:59 p.m.

Masaaki Yuasa, Japanese animation superstar, is coming to Bucharest

Animest is starting strong for fans of Japanese animation and of Cartoon Network’s hit show Adventure Time alike. Director, screenwriter, and animator Masaaki Yuasa, one of the most influential figures in contemporary animation, is visiting Romania for the first time as our special guest. The multi-awarded artist will be present at all of the screenings in the dedicated retrospective (Mind Game; Lu Over The Wall; Ride Your Wave; Night Is Short, Walk on Girl; Inu-Oh), and also facilitate a masterclass on Sunday, October 9, starting at 2 p.m., at the Cervantes Institute. 

Animate the Love – a thematic selection where love is center stage

Animate the Love, Animest.17’s key message, has inspired us to create a unique festival experience for you. Love could be the answer to the myriad adversities plaguing the world, as well as a champion of tolerance, self-love, empathy, support, and openness towards those around us. 

As we look to the future with optimism, we invite spectators to join us in a series of special events dedicated to love. Animest director and programmer Mihai Mitrică teamed up with French journalist and film historian Alexis Hunot, our special guest in Bucharest this year, to curate a spectacular animated ode to love. Praised at the Academy Awards, BAFTAs, European Film Awards, and Annecy and Clermont-Ferrand Festivals, ranging from absolute classics to fresh productions, the cinematographic love kaleidoscope will be followed by the What Is Love Karaoke party, at Arthub, on Tuesday October 11 evening.

Animest – the only Oscar-qualifying film festival in Romania

An unmatched study in diversity, 49 animated short films will compete for the Animest Trophy, which comes with a EUR 2,500 prize offered by the Romanian Cultural Institute. Another 32 films are in the running for the Student Film Prize – a selection of the best works from the most prestigious animation schools in the world. The international feature film competition will introduce local audiences to five of the most anticipated animated stories of the year. The Romanian competition, an undisputable testament to the meteoric evolution of our country’s animated creativity, will keep spectators glued to the screen as they wonder which of the daring 14 films we have selected will win the section’s award of RON 5,000, offered by the Romanian Cultural Institute. 

Following tradition, juries of professionals in the international animation industry will decide who gets the Animest competition sections’ awards. The winning films will be screened again on Sunday, October 16, the last day of the festival. Until then, you’ll also be able to watch all of the competing short films online, on the Animest streaming platform. 

Animest.17 special guests: a country, a studio, a school, and a festival

Animest is a meeting place for local creators and international animation professionals, a space where they can interact and share their craft at events targeted at professionals and amateurs alike. 

Every year, your Animest tickets come with a bonus: getting to explore another country through their animated films. In 2022, we’re headed to sunny Portugal! Prepare to be transported to distant shores, to be moved by fado music and scent port wine on the breeze, and to enjoy the incredible animation culture that has collected over 500 important awards in the past 20 years. Romanian audiences will also meet  representatives of our guest animation school, Universidade Lusófona, and of our guest studio, BAP Animation Studio.

This year’s guest festival hails from Africa and has just celebrated 20 years of existence. FICAM – the Meknès International Animation Film Festival has put together a special selection of their winning Arab and international films especially for audiences in Bucharest: From Morocco with Love. 

We stand with Ukrainian artists

Love’s language is universal, so in 2022 Animest has invited Ukrainian artist Oksana Kurmaz to create this edition’s official poster. To amplify the voices of artists in our neighboring country, still in the midst of a military conflict, join us on Friday, October 14, at 1:30 p.m., to enjoy a short film selection curated by Anastasiya Verlinska, programmer at the Linoleum Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

Displaced Ukrainian citizens are invited to enjoy Animest screenings free of charge, as seats allow, by presenting their ID at the venue.  

Minimest – the Animest section dedicated to kids

Animest has reserved weekend mornings for some wholesome family fun! The Minimest section, brought to you in partnership with Groupama, brings to Bucharest silver screens an impressive collection of films for kids of all ages, as well as a series of intensive workshops facilitated by top creators in the industry. Following Animest tradition, a jury of three young cinephiles – recruited in partnership with Itsy Bitsy Radio during the past few weeks – will vote on the best children’s short film. 

The first festival weekend comes with intense experiences

Tech fans interested in unique media experiences should definitely visit Urban Refuge in the first days of the festival! Immersed in the unique universe of virtual reality, audiences will experience the latest VR animation films in the competition, all at their first screening in Romania. Also during October 8-9, Dutch artist and curator Michael Helmerhorst is returning to Animest with the friskiest selection of the animated bizarre. Trippy Animation Night Vol. 9, an all-nighter of scandalous and electrifying films, is happening on Saturday, October 8, starting at midnight, at Eforie Cinematheque. 

Cine-concert: the premiere of Lotte Reiniger’s Animated Fairy Tales 

On Saturday, October 15, Animest revisits the original animations of the famous Lotte Reiniger, the inventor of silhouette animation, in a cine-concert created especially for this event, with Balkan Taksim contributing an original soundtrack. Get your tickets here.

The complete festival schedule is live on www.animest.ro. Purchase your Animest.17 passes and tickets to get access to screenings and special events alike, at https://eventbook.ro/festival/animest!   

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Animest Festival is a project organized by the Animest Association and co-financed through the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme, Romanian Film Centre, and Romanian Cultural Institute. 

Animest.17 is co-financed by the Municipality of Bucharest through ARCUB, as part of the ‘București afectiv’ 2022 program. For detailed information on the ARCUB funding programs, please access www.arcub.ro.

Partners: Groupama Insurance, Heineken Silver, Pop Cola, Vitamin Aqua, McDonald’s, Autonom, Domeniile Sâmburești, Spor – a Policolor brand, Kafune, LEGO Certified Stores, Arthur Publishing House, ArtHub, Urban DADA, Ogilvy, Studioset

Institutional partners: the Goethe Institute, the French Institute, the Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Bucharest, the Cervantes Institute, The Embassy of Japan in Romania, Japan Foundation, The ‘I.L. Caragiale’ National University of Theatre and Film, the Animation Film Network

Media partners: Rock FM, AGERPRES, Itsy Bitsy, Radio România Cultural, IQads, Smark, Vice, Zile și Nopți, Ziarul Metropolis, Films in Frame, Observator Cultural, Film Menu, Movie News, LiterNet, Sunt Părinte, Cinefilia, Proanimație.ro, Cinefan, All About Romanian Cinema – aac.ro, AIVImedia.hub, Munteanu

Media monitoring partner: MediaTRUST