Some anchored in our day-to-day reality, others floating in fantastical worlds, all increasingly courageous in their approach to animation styles, the 15 films in the Romanian Competition at Animest.18 embody the optimistic future of the local animation industry. The productions, authored by students at the beginning of promising careers as well as by established professionals, reconfirm the importance of the systematic support and promotion that Romanian creators have enjoyed in the last 18 years, which has led to the visible development of the animation ecosystem in our country. You will surely agree with us after enjoying the 90-minute mix of love stories, documentaries about our relationship with technology, animations for young audiences, and many more that we’ve put together for the silver screens of Bucharest, between October 6-15.
Animest.18 festival passes are already available online: https://eventbook.ro/festival/animest!
Two of the films in this year's Romanian Competition are also present in other sections. The Boy and the Crow, directed by Tudor Om, is also in the running for the Animest Trophy, awarded to the best film in the International Short Film Competition, while Andrei-Nicolae Teodorescu’s Julietta is featured in the Minimest Competition too, where the jury is made up exclusively of children.
Animest continues to encourage and promote student films, which this year again stand out for their brave takes, technically and narratively. Be sure to catch Thalassophobia directed by Ana Runa Postelnicu, White Riding Hood by Valentin Dragu, and The Visit by Matthew Salomina.
After his debut at Animest in 2022, Alex Halka returns with RiGLA – an animated film that uses multiple forms of storytelling to address the physical and mental violence that some children are subjected to in the formal educational environment, as well as their impact on kids’ development. Nelu the Neanderthal by Răzvan Chendrean, a film imagining a day in the life of a prehistoric man, also approaches big subjects – such as the trauma of abandonment and painful separations – in a completely new way.
Three simple questions bring out people’s attitudes towards how they treat their personal electronic devices, and what issues this can lead to, in the documentary Devices developed by Doru Mărgărit, while Bench signed by the already known Andreia Dobrota, captures the moment a panic attack is triggered.
Andrei Campan returns to the Romanian Competition with Keep, a love letter in absentia, while Matei Sfîrnaciuc proposes an animated experiment: a letter to himself, titled I Don't Deserve the Rage. Welcome directed by Anda Pușcaș and Diana Necșulescu invites us to participate, for one minute, in a guided meditation session, while Zidane Roulette (directed by Emy Mirel Ivasca) shows us a solitary football fan’s daily training sessions.
The Animest community already loves the work of Vasile Alboiu, represented this year in the Romanian Competition by Together, Body and Soul, a horror drama about secret loves and revenge, co-directed with Liviu Gabriel Dinu. The Life and Miracles of St. Nicodemus of Tismana, Liviu Bărbulescu’s film, also uncovers dark secrets about the bizarre miracles performed by the titular Orthodox monk in the 11th century.
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The Animest Festival is a project of the Animest Association, co-financed by the MEDIA Program of the European Union and AFCN–the Administration of the National Cultural Fund.
The Animest.18 project is co-financed by the Bucharest Municipality through ARCUB. The project does not necessarily represent the official position of the Bucharest Municipality or of ARCUB.
Institutional partners: The French Institute and the Embassy of France, Instituto Cervantes, The Austrian Cultural Forum, Goethe-Institut, The Embassy of Japan, Japan Foundation, Liszt Institute – The Hungarian Cultural Centre, The Czech Centre, The National Film Centre of Latvia, CNDB – The National Centre for Dance Bucharest.
Main media partner: Radio Guerrilla.
Media partners: Radio Romania Cultural, IQads, Zile și Nopți, Elle, Vice, Scena9, Agerpres, Ziarul Metropolis, Mindcraft Stories, Happ.ro, LiterNet, MovieNews, Cinefan, Cinefilia, AaRC.ro, AIVImedia.hub, Munteanu.
Monitoring partner: mediaTRUST.