In 2011 the Animator will be held for the fourth time. This already allows us to consider the position it has settled into on the map of international animated film festivals. We certainly do not compete with such old and established festivals as Annecy or Ottawa, which in addition to competitions and retrospectives also offer film fairs, but when it comes to the number of screenings and other events offered to our audience, we do not have to be ashamed of comparison with the biggest giants in the industry. The strength of our proposal lies in openness and diversity. We believe that animated film is a unique form of creative expression that combines elements of many artistic disciplines to a greater extent than other arts: feature film, painting, graphics, sculpture, music. In recent years, it has increasingly gone beyond the framework of a rectangular painting and combined with performance, installation, hypertext and, of course, computer games. We are open to any proposals that conquest new territories for animation or explore relationships with other forms of art.

It has become a tradition and a distinguishing feature of Animator to spotlight film projections accompanied by live music. A special guest this year will be one of the pioneers of American electronic music, Morton Subotnick, who, among other things, together with his son, Steven Subotnik, a well-known experimental animator, will present the result of their joint work. We will host - for a second time but with a brand new programme - Jarosław Kapuściński, one of the most interesting composers and performers of his generation. Visiting Poznan is also the excellent Alloy Orchestra from Boston, a world-renowned trio specializing in playing live music for silent films.

An example of our interest in the "new life" of animation will this time be screenings of films that debuted on the Internet, as well as a lecture by one of the most important net art artists, Olia Lialina.

Lovers of animation from the land of the rising sun, which are not lacking in Poland, should be satisfied with a large block of screenings of Japanese films. We will show both the classics and artists of the younger generation, examples of auteur as well as more commercial cinema. It seemed that due to the tragic earthquake we would have to postpone this wide-ranging presentation, but our Japanese partners refused to give up, for which we are extremely grateful.

The singular event of this edition is the "Puppet Masters" series, which is comprised of screenings dedicated to the techniques of puppet theatre. These types of films rarely hit the screens of animated film festivals, because they are not made using stop-motion. However, we are of the opinion that if there are inanimate objects moving on the screen, and the effect is not theatrical at all, then we are dealing with an animated film.

We try our best not to be Eurocentric and, as far as possible, to present filmmakers and films from countries whose cinematographies are not particularly well-known in our part of the world. It is with great satisfaction that we will host Moustapha Alassane, called the "father of African animation", at the fourth Animator. The list of our distinguished guests, as well as thematic shows, is of course much longer and I strongly encourage you to find out about it by browsing the catalog, but I would like to mention especially warmly our Polish juror this year, Piotr Dumała, due to the fact that in 2011 he celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of his creative work.

I cordially invite you all to the Animator 2011,

Marcin Giżycki, Artistic Director of the Festival

Awarded Films

GRAND PRIX / GOLDEN PEGASUS: “Sinna mann” Anita Killi, Norway 2009

II AWARD (NATIONAL AUDIOVISUAL INSITUTE AWARD) / SILVER PEGASUS: “Baka!!” Immanuel Wagner, Switzerland 2010

III AWARD / BRONZE PEGASUS: “Crossed Sild” Lea Vidaković, Ivana Bošnjak, Norway 2010

SPECIAL AWARD FOR THE BEST MUSIC FILM / MUSIC: not awarded

SPECIAL AWARD FOR THE BEST CHILDREN’S FILM: “Chroniques de la poisse” Osman Cerfon, France 2010

AUDIENCE AWARD: “Sinna mann” Anita Killi, Norway 2009

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