The 14th edition of ANIMATOR International Animated Film Festival, an Oscar® qualifying event, starts on 9 July, both onsite and online.
To help you find your way through the festival's programme without missing anything you'd like to see, we have prepared a few ready-made trails to follow.
OPEN-AIR AND LIVE MUSIC TRAIL
If this is your thing, then you definitely want to show up at the Open Courtyard (Wolny Dziedziniec) of the Poznań City Council. Each festival day, ANIMATOR IN THE OPEN will start right there at 9:30 pm. Some of the highlights include: "Metropolis", "Ghost in the Shell", or "The Red Turtle", an Oscar® nominee.
In the Scena na Piętrze club we will screen Mariusz Wilczyński's "Moja babcia będzie kiedyś księżniczką", a film with live music by the outstanding cellist Marcel Markowski. Pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and Tadeusz Nalepa will be played.
The club is located in Masztalarska Street in a building that was once a bank. Its unique interior makes a perfect venue for GALAXIES BETWEEN US, an energy-packed concert by BLOKI with animated visualisations by Tomek Ducki, an acclaimed Polish animator.
COMPETITION TRAIL
Festival competitions are the cornerstones of ANIMATOR. A total of 120 entrants will compete in four categories:
- International Short Film Competition,
- International Feature Film Competition,
- ANIMATOR.PL Polish Animated Film Competition, and
- International Animated Series Competition /new this year/.
In two competitions, the Festival's programmers have grouped films thematically, to make it easier for you to navigate the competition trail.
In the Feature Film Competition, five features will be presented: "Zabij to i wyjedź z tego miasta" by Mariusz Wilczyński; "Primal: Tales of Savagery" by Genndy Tartakovsky; "Elulu" by Gabriel Verdugo Soto; "My Favorite War" by Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen and "Archipel" by Félix Dufour – Laperriere.
The International Animated Series Competition is this year's new addition. The series will be shown in three thematic sections, one of which is dedicated to the youngest audiences.
FAMILY TRAIL
In collaboration with Poznań's Children's Art Centre, we are happy to invite the youngest fans of animation to a workshop where they will make their first animated film. We have also prepared family screenings featuring films from Brazil; films about the future, the outer space, and robots; and the latest animations from all over the world, including "Kiwi & Strit", the lovable furry creatures from Denmark.
BINGE WATCHERS TRAIL
Do not miss this exciting collection of hilarious and politically incorrect animations from Adult Swim. We'll show the fifth season of "Rick & Morty" and "Smiling Friends", the latest series by Michael Cusack. Another must-see will be "Aeon Flux" by Peter Chung, one of this year's special guests.
VIDEO GAMING TRAIL
Animation Interaction: Video Games is a section dedicated to players and future game developers. We'll share some of the tricks of the trade every 3D game developer needs to know and show you how to use Unreal Engine.
The Muza Cinema will be a venue for onsite discussions about such topics as narration through animation or monsters in retro and contemporary games and their effect on pop culture.
FILMS WITH A CAUSE TRAIL
BETWEEN US is the key message of this year's ANIMATOR. There's an obvious reference to that message in the title of the main section: IN AND BETWEEN US. Another section, FEARS AND DREAMS OF OUR FUTURE, will look at what the post pandemic future may be like.
Anna Głowińska, the Festival's programmer, proudly presents her original section: Women's Voices. It demonstrates that without embracing and understanding the female perspective we will never be able to develop culture and shape the world.
TRAVELLERS TRAIL
ANIMATION FROM BRAZIL is definitely a must-see. We'll show four screenings of shorts and features from that beautiful country. The programme includes "City of Pirates" by Otto Guerra, "Boi Aruá" by Chico Liberato, and many more.
Join us for the journey to the world of animation during our take on the Late Night Show, with Joanna Quinn, Alex Pelletier and Mike Johnson competing against one another.
The world's grand masters of animation will face challenges such as improvised drawing, animated quiz show, and more! The meeting with the special guests will be broadcast live on the Festival's YouTube channel, Facebook and in the Muza Cinema.
ANIMATOR tickets will be on sale from 25 June in the Muza Cinema. Stay with us this summer!
