Anima 2017: European animation lies at the heart of the Young Audience Competition
- The Anima Film Festival kicks off today and will unspool over ten days, celebrating the joys of animated film
Four out of the five films accepted into the Young Audience International Competition at the Brussels International Animated Film Festival (Anima) are European productions. Attendees will be able to discover the German movie Rabbit School – Guardians of the Golden Egg [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Ute von Münchow-Pohl (whom we have to thank for the series of Raven the Little Rascal [+see also:
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film profile] films); Solan and Ludvig: The Big Cheese Race [+see also:
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interview: Rasmus A Sivertsen
film profile] by Norway’s Rasmus A Sivertsen (which reached fifth place in the 2016 box-office charts in its home country); Molly Monster [+see also:
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film profile] by Ted Sieger, Michael Ekbladh and Matthias Bruhn, a co-production between Germany, Switzerland and Sweden; and lastly, Capture the Flag [+see also:
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film profile] by Enrique Gato Borregan, the second feature by the Spanish director, following the immensely successful Tad, the Lost Explorer [+see also:
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film profile].
We should also note that the festival will give audiences the chance to discover the premiere of Richard the Stork [+see also:
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film profile] by Toby Genkel and Reza Memari, a co-production between Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany and Norway, part of which was made at the Brussels-based Walking the Dog studio. The film was recently unveiled at Berlin.
Anima is gradually making a name for itself on the global stage as a specialist in the field of animation, and it is incidentally a qualifying festival for the Cartoon d’Or (the award for the best European animated short film) and the Oscars. No fewer than 379 films have been selected this year, hailing from 33 countries. Last year, the festival drew in more than 42,000 viewers, thus setting a new record. The films are organised around a national and international competition for shorts and features, which are subject to voting by juries and the public. Anima also offers conferences as part of the Futuranima professional days, as well as themed programmes. This year, Portugal and Italy are the guest countries at the festival. Through screenings and conferences, audiences will be able to become better acquainted with the cinematic output of these two countries.
Lastly, it is also worth highlighting the fact that for the first time ever, the gathering will reserve pride of place for virtual reality by hosting the second edition of the Experience Festival (Brussels Virtual Reality Festival) and accompanying conferences on the subject.
(Translated from French)