International Symposium Animafest Scanner III is taking place on June 7th and 8th at Zagrebački plesni centar (Ilica 10).

As the worldwide Animation Studies are rapidly growing and evolving in recent years, catching up with the increasing field of animated films, Animafest Scanner symposium is again at the frontline of the discourse and the interaction of theoretical and practical approaches to animation. The third edition of the Symposium for Contemporary Animation Animafest Scanner III aims again to create synergy of theoretical and practical discourses, and stimulate exchange between filmmakers and scholars.

The symposium is held in association with the World Festival of Animated Film Animafest Zagreb. Over the course of its forty-four-year history, the festival has given a stage to different animation forms and formats in competition and non-competition environments, presenting a worldwide selection of auteur, experimental and mainstream animated films in various programs.

This year´s keynote speaker Marcin Giżycki is the recipient of the Animafest Zagreb Award for Outstanding Contributions to Animation Studies 2016, the only honor of its kind in the world of animation festivals. Giżycki is an art and film historian, critic, filmmaker, professor at Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Warsaw, Poland, Senior Lecturer at Rhode Island School of Design and Artistic Director of “Animator” International Animated Film Festival in Poznan, Poland. In his keynote he will reflect about his personal journey within the history of Animation Since 1980.

The presentations of the symposium are grouped in five topics that all relate to theprogram of Animafest Zagreb:

Animation Awards is discussing the true value of awards for animated films and filmmakers, the tangible and the non-material value, its relevance and impact. Including international and national perspectives the focus is on the selection processes and hidden motivations in potentially self-serving systems as well as the stylistic and financial impact e.g. from the Academy Award on filmmakers and even whole nations.

Animation in the Raw explores films and the work of filmmakers that are consciously operating against so-called “rules of good filmmaking” in animation. This includes the analysis of reasons to choose technical and conceptual approaches that are traditionally considered “poorly animated”; creative decisions that accept and utilize techniques in different, non-conventional, often considered dilettantish, ragged or simply “wrong” ways.

Zagreb School of Animation reflects on the history, aesthetics and concepts of style and story structures in films associated with the Zagreb School of Animation. The papers emphasizes new perspectives of these well known films like the role of music, the theoretical influences and the creation of spaces within the often minimalistic backgrounds.

Currents and Trends in Contemporary Animation focuses again ontopics related to recent developments, trends and newconcepts in animation filmmaking as well as film analysis and animation theory.

Animation and Games presents the overlapping, enhancing and strongly connecting field of animation and gaming. This convergence in animated media is spilling over the limits of artistic, commercial and scientific work; traditional forms, techniques and aesthetics merge into new hybrids, expressions and channels like generative animation, animated interactive spaces and virtual reality.

During the two-day Animafest Scanner III – Symposium for Contemporary Animation Studies the ideas and thoughts about these topics and more will be exchanged with festival guests, filmmakers, organizers of other festivals, producers, professionals, and scholars.

Animafest Scanner III Program can be found HERE.