Like the entire festival week, on Friday Kinoteka at 9:30 belongs to children and adolescents who, after Children’s Film Competitions 4 and 1 (11:30) in the Family Programme can check out the films made by their peers – the award-winning titles of the 9th VAFI, the international animated film festival for children and adolescents in Varaždin (15:30). However, this is only an introduction into one of the central events of the Children and Youth Programme – a screening of the exciting Swedish detective adventure with Croatian voice over, Gordon & Paddy at 17:30. Grown-up audience can consider returning to Kinoteka at 20 h and 22 h for the screenings of the GC – Short Film 5 and 6 with films like the post-modern My Generation, the psychological Egg, the likeable Five Minutes to Sea, John Morena’s three miniatures, punk Roughhouse and the stunning The Procession, inspired by comic book aestheticism.

Kaptol Boutique Cinema today hosts a retrospective of Portuguese animated cinema (17:30 and 20). In the last two decades, the production panorama of Portuguese short film has increased considerably and changed its identity into a new creative and professional perspective. It never had been produced so many short films, with such great quality and diversity. Corollary to that is the vast number of awards, selections and the substantial attention that Portuguese authors have been receiving internationally. Agência - Portuguese Short Film Agency was created in 1999 by Curtas Metragens CRL (the same entity that organizes the Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival) with the specific role of promoting and distributing Portuguese short films worldwide. And what better way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our foundation than to approach the essential of Agencia’s mission, the celebration of Portuguese animation cinema and Portuguese culture through some of its most emblematic films and directors. Friday at Kaptol wraps up with a screening of Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles (22 h), a biopic about the making of the documentary film Land without Bread of this surrealist genius, accompanied by a Q&A with the art director of the film and the acclaimed comic book author José Luis Ágreda.

The day at Tuškanac begins at 10 h with the Student Film Competition 2, an outstanding selection including the Italian coming-of-age film The Eel, the Hong Kong Iam Twisq, creatively animating urban landscape through bird’s eye drone images, Grand Bassin with original character design and a pinch of athletic-erotic suggestion, Love at the Crossroads with anime meeting other animation styles, entertainingly stereotyping characteristic ‘female’ projections of cohabitation with different types of young men, Tranquillity whose scenography reminds of videogames and Heavy Metal comics. At 12 it is followed by the GC – Short Film 2 (Petra Zlonoga’s latest film One of Many, the funny gender miniature by the Dutch studio Double Life, avant-garde Americana Marfa, and in particular the trippy Acid Rain are only some of the must see titles in this selection).

At 14 h the gem of Animafest’s this year’s retrospective programme is definitely the work of Nedeljko Dragić, one of the most original authors of the Zagreb School, with the author’s presence. The advocate of the little man, his existential worries and the cruelty surrounding him, Oscar-nominated Nedeljko Dragić once again screens Elegy, Wild Horse Tames, Maybe Diogenes, Days Go By, Tup-tup, Diary and other classical titles of the history of world animation. At 15:30 the third block in the theme programme Animation and Fine Arts is scheduled, under the title In Both Worlds, with films by authors equally active in both the film and gallery contexts, like William Kentridge, Takashi Ishida, Max Hattler, Marko Tadić and others. The slot from 17:30 to 22 h subsequently screens the Student Competition 4, GC – Short Film 5 and 6, and all the screenings will be accompanied by Q&A sessions with the audience.

Friday is an extremely stimulating day for the professionals as well, interested in taking a peek behind the scenes of the creative process – between 11 and 15 h KIC hosts consecutive making-of presentations of José Luis Ágreda, Regina Pessoa and David Doutel, Gints Zilbalodis and John Morena, with a deconstruction of the films Buñuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles, Uncle Thomas Accounting for the Days, Away and the project Area 52. The presentations will follow the visit of Gerta Xhelo of TED-Ed, presenting the animated poetry serial There’s a Poem for That and choosing associates for upcoming projects.

Performance Cleansing Ritual Number 2 Clay by Thomas Johnson will take place during the day in front of Tuškanac Cinema, starting at 10 AM and lasting until 10 PM, in which the author will animate a stop-motion puppet to perform a manifestation of self-healing.

The festival party takes place at Jabuka, with the Submarine band.