Animator, celebrating its 5th anniversary this year, has undoubtedly established itself on the map of the most important animated film festivals in the world. This is evidenced by the fact that the editors of Coming Soon to a Festival Near You: Programming Film Festivals, a book devoted to festivals, published by the St. Andrews, has just recognized the Animator as one of the two (along with the one held in Hiroshima) animated film festivals worthy of a separate presentation.

The biggest novelty that we decided to introduce to the Animator's program in the jubilee fifth year of its existence is the feature film competition. I am convinced that this innovation will increase the attractiveness of our event and will be well received by our audience.

The main event of the festival, which I would like to draw your attention to, is - of course, apart from the competitions - a wide-ranging presentation of Canadian animation from the National Film Board studio. One of the stars of the NFB for years was the legendary Norman McLaren, to whom, of course, a separate screening will be devoted. Normand Roger, the most outstanding Canadian composer of music for films awarded with many Oscars, will be present at the festival with a retrospective of his films.

The Animator's jubilee coincides with the jubilee of Professor Jerzy Kucia, one of the most outstanding Polish animators, celebrating his seventieth birthday this year. It is with great pleasure that I invite you to a meeting with the Jubilarian and a review of his films.

As every year, we tried to fill the program not only with screenings, but also with concerts, lectures and workshops. Our offer in this area is very diverse, so I recommend a thorough study of the catalog that you have in front of you. However, I would like to emphasize that, following the spirit of the times, this time we invited eminent experts in new media, who will show our viewers how to make films using mobile phones (Abi Feijo) and computer games (Friedrich Kirschner).

Perhaps the biggest surprise and discovery of this year's edition of the festival is Bruce Bickford, almost unknown in Europe, but surrounded by a legend in the USA, the creator of plasticine films, about whom Frank Zappa made a film!

I wish you many unforgettable experiences while participating Animator 2012 events.

Marcin Giżycki - Artistic Director of the Festival

Awarded films

GRAND PRIX / GOLDEN PEGASUS: “Ya videl kak mishy kota horonili / I Saw Mice Burying A Cat” Dmitry Geller, Russian Federation/China 2011

II AWARD (NATIONAL AUDIOVISUAL INSITUTE AWARD) / SILVER PEGASUS: “Tussilago” Jonas Odell, Switzerland 2010

III AWARD / BRONZE PEGASUS: “Le grand ailleurs et le petit ici / Here and the Great Elsewhere” Michèle Lemieux, Canada 2011

SPECIAL AWARD FOR THE BEST MUSIC FILM / MUSIC: “Sunny Afternoon” Thomas Renoldner, Austria 2012

POLISH FILMMAKERS ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR BEST POLISH SHORT FILM: “Papierowe pudełko / Paperbox” Zbigniew Czapla, Poland 2011

SPECIAL AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM: “Crulic – The Path to Beyond” Anca Damian, Romania/Poland 2011

AUDIENCE AWARD: “Rew Day” Svilen Dimitrov, Bulgaria 2012

Trailer