POLISH ANIMATIONS AT THE ANNECY FESTIVAL
At this moment the International Animation Film Festival takes place in Annecy. Polish animations will be shown in the competitions.
Annecy Festival is the most important and one of Europe's oldest film festivals devoted to animated films. Each year it gathers an audience of 150 000 people and becomes a meeting space for the animated film industry professionals from across the world. 3050 films were submitted to this year's 42nd edition of the Annecy Festival. Over 250 short films were invited to four competitions and special sections. In Annecy the films will compete for the title of the best short, TV, commissioned and student film and the winners will receive the Cristal awards.
Marta Pajek's film "III" was the only Polish film selected to the short film competition. Produced by Animoon, the film is the third part of the "Impossible Figures and Other Stories" triptych. "III" is a portrait of a woman in an uneasy and exhausting relation with a man, which equally strongly pulls closer and pushes away.
Five Polish animation will compete in the student competition: "The Other" by Marta Magnuska, "Squaring the Circle" by Karolina Specht, "Bless You!" by Paulina Ziółkowska, "Tango of Longing" by Marta Szymańska and "Oh God!" by Betina Bożek.
A "Treasure Hunt" episode of the animated series for kids "The Treflik Family", directed by Marek Skrobecki and produced by Trefl Studio, was selected to the TV Films Competition.
The Festival in Annecy will also present "Another Day of Life" by Damian Nenow and Raúl de la Fuente. The Polish producers of the film are Jarosław Sawko and Ole Wendorff-Østergaard from Platige Films.
In "The Other" people waiting for the arrival of a mysterious newcomer keep on guessing who he might be. The blurry vision of the stranger takes shape in their imagination and his presence feels almost real. The initial excitement of the crowd gives way to anxiety.
"Squaring the Circle" is a half abstract story about some impossible feeling, full of graphic metaphors.
"Bless You!" tells a story of people waiting at the bus stop on a sunny day. Suddenly more and more of them start to sneeze. The epidemic breaks out. However, in the midst of the sneezing chaos, it turns out that the worst thing you can do is to get sick of yourself.
"Tango of Longing" is a painted story about the nature of tango, which not only means desire, eroticism or aggression, but also longing and a sad thought expressed through your dance. The characters lose themselves in dancing and discover deep down inside them their longings and melancholy, while desperately trying to satisfy their desires and find relief.
The reality presented in the film "Oh God!" might be described using such terms as inertia and chaos. The animated characters are showing no willingness to take any action; they are passive and indifferent, unable to create their own reality. They pass the time doing usual, unnecessary things and they dissolve into everyday non-existence trembling with emotions and seeking love.
"The Treflik Family" is an animation with a narrative based on an animated musical genre, which portrays funny situations from everyday life. This clever and witty series can be enjoyed by a whole family. It promotes the values like: tolerance, respect, friendship and family. The series is the only Polish production in the competition this year.
"Another Day of Life" is based on Ryszard Kapuściński's book. It is a story of a reporter seeking the truth about war who sets out on an extremely dangerous journey through Angola. The film takes place in 1975 in the war-torn country.
This year once again a Polish delegation of filmmakers and animated film producers will be present at the MIFA market, which is held at the same time as the festival.
This year the festival takes place June 11th - 16th.
The list of films selected to the feature film competition was announced by the end of April and the whole festival programme by the end of May.
More about the festival here.