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World Festival of Animated Film /
1972.
World Festival of Animated Film / 1972.
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FRIDAY AT ANIMAFEST: ANIMATORS KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL, WHILE THE AUDIENCE GETS A MAGNIFICENT CAKE!
06/08/2018

Like all festival days, Kinoteka on Friday at 9.30am belongs to children and youth: after the Children’s Film Competition 4 and 1 in the Family Programme they will have a chance to see the finest films made by their generation – the award-winning films of the 8th VAFI, the international children and youth animated film festival from Varaždin. But this is only an introduction into one of the central events of the entire Children and Youth Programme – a screening of Frankenweenie at 5.30pm, by the creative genius Tim Burton, a heart-warming story about a boy and his dog. This 3D stop-motion film is a humorous and touching spin-off on the classic gothic novel by Mary Shelley and its other film adaptations in a family atmosphere. Adult audience should after Burton’s masterpiece, because a screening of films nominated for the European animation award Emile follows. At 10pm the programme closes with a screening of classic Croatian horrors.

At Tuškanac, animation industry professionals eagerly await the morning slot of event. First at 10.30am they will be able to see and hear Nicolas Grivel, literary, comic book and animation agent, teacher and scout, with a practical speech about creating an online portfolio, visibility in animation industry and managing an animator’s career. At 11.30am a masterclass by Robert Morgan follows, the British artist (The Cat with Hands, The Separation, Bobby Yeah) and Claymation master, the author of a uniquely horrific work about whose making, leaning on Animafest’s central theme, he will be speaking about in a lecture On Making Films and More. This will be a marvellous accompaniment to the exhibition of sketches, drawings and puppet parts from his films, on display under the title Morgan’s Organs by the end of the festival at ULUPUH Gallery. At 1pm the PRO section will end with a presentation of the initiative for gathering animation professionals and development of animated projects in Central and Eastern Europe CEE Animation. The initiative consists of an animation pitching forum, workshops and promotional events distributing works by young talents, presented by Matija Šitum. The same event will include a presentation of two projects of CEE AnimationCrystal Raiders by Arsen Anton Ostojić and Unwanted by Kolja Saksida. Friday is therefore the central day at Animafest 2018 for the business side of this gathering on the global level.

Films again take over the stage at Tuškanac at 3.30pm, with Short Film grand Competition 2, and a last chance to see outstanding films like Handbook for Gardening, Cyclists, Augur, 5 Euros and The Velvet Underground Played at My High School, followed by the Student Competition 4, also for the last time, including Travelogue Tel Aviv, Spacedogs, Him & Her, The Autopsy of Sven Svensson etc., this time followed by a Q&A session with the authors. At 8pm probably the most innovative title of this year’s festival edition is scheduled: the 4th segment of the theme programme I Know What You Drew Last Summer screens horror films from all over the world made in the last few years. At 10pm, another horror section, this time Blood!!!, which is why lovers of the genre should not miss Tuškanac tonight.

On the penultimate day of the 28th World Festival of Animated Film, Europa cinema opens on 11am with the Student Competition 1 and the radical Flower Found! and My Little Goat, the technically innovative Mixed Materials, Astral and A Love Letter to the One I Made Up, and the focally surprising Augenblicke… At 1pm, a horror slot follows, with genre classics from all over the world (Memento Mori) and psychological horrors at 3.30pm. After Short Film Grand Competition 5, with a fantastic overview of generations (from Leschiov and Schwizgebel to Fine, Snowden, Mousavi and Moren), global distribution of artistic animation (from Latvia, Switzerland and Poland, to Iran, USA and China, to Israel) and themes (from fine art and history to dystopia and psychoanalysis, to feminist and gay matters), a Q&A with the filmmakers will follow. Immediately afterwards, the same competition no. 6 presents Rabbit’s Blood and The Ogre, Cuckoo and The Box, as well as the nun Maria who sees dwarfs and Indian Hide and Seek, closing the adventure with identity doubts and pop cultural references in the lavish 5 Years After the War. After the screening, another Q&A follows. The late slot (10pm) is dedicated to a visit to colonial 19th century Africa in Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels’s film This Magnificent Cake! The winners of Animafest and masters of puppet film should not be missed in the medium-length genre.

At 5pm, Muller Hall at Europa cinema will host a presentation of the book Trajetória do Cinema de Animação (Brazilian Animation's Artbook) by Ana Flavia Marcheti - the first and so far only work providing a complete insight into the history of extremely prominent Brazilian animation, with a cross-section of the contemporary production, through insightful texts and lavish illustrations, sketches and storyboards, as well as interviews with recent filmmakers like the Animafest winner Ale Abreu. This 300-page volume is intended for both students and professionals. It was published last year, celebrating 100 years of Brazilian animation. In a Q&A with Nik and Nancy Phelps, this fully independent crowdfunded project will be presented by its author and producer Augusto Bicalho Roque. 

As far as entertainment is concerned, Friday is another day for a traditional highlight – Animators Jam Session at the Mesnička Cultural Centre. The hosts will, appropriately, set the thing in motion, led by Daniel Šuljić (Marko Meštrović, Božidar Trkulja, Veljko Popović), joined by other multitalented guests.