ANIMAC 2023 CELEBRATES LATIN AMERICAN CREATIVITY WITH 288 FILMS, 9 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERES AND 79 PREMIERES IN CATALONIA
IN ARRIVAL FROM 23 TO 26 FEBRUARY AND ONLINE, FROM 3 TO 12 MARCH
The creators will participate: Anca Damian, Honorary Award; Juan Pablo Zaramella, Animation Master Award; Pilarin Bayes; Lifetime Achievement Award; César Díaz and Juan Medina (Pinocchio); Juanjo Sáez (Roni); Joaquín Reyes, Miguel Esteban and Francesca Nicoll (Poor Devil); Olivier Catherine and Omar Santos, among others
288 films can be seen: 7 feature films, 4 medium-length films and 277 short films
Animac, the International Animated Film Festival of Catalonia, organized by the Lleida City Council with the collaboration of the Institut d’Estudis Ilerdencs of the Lleida Provincial Council, ICEC – Department of Culture of the Generalitat, Catalunya Film Festivals and the Ministry of Culture and Sports through the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) and Caixaforum Lleida, among other collaborators, is the reference event for animated cinema in Spain. This 27th edition, under the slogan “LatAm boom!”, is held in person in Lleida from February 23 to 26 with screenings of a selection of short and feature films, conferences, workshops, exhibitions and parallel activities , and online from March 3 to 12 through the Filmin platform, from where it will be possible to follow a large part of the projection programming. The sample has a budget of about €140,000.
The 2023 edition has received 778 films in an open call from more than sixty countries of origin, among which France stands out with 202 films, Spain with 78, the United States with 60 and the United Kingdom with 45, among others. In total, films made in 106 animation schools around the world have been presented, which once again demonstrates the potential of Animac to discover new talent and offer the youngest a window in which to project his first works in the field of animated cinema. Of all these, 221 titles have been selected to be screened in the different sections of the Show. If these received films are added together with the retrospectives, monographs and other selections from Animac’s artistic direction, a total of 288 films will be screened: 7 feature films, 4 medium-length films and 277 short films. There will be 9 international premieres and 79 premieres in Catalonia.
At the presentation press conference, held this morning, the mayor of Lleida, Miquel Pueyo, highlighted that “Animac once again places the city as a benchmark for the most and best innovative cinema animation“. In this sense, he has also revealed that the Show serves to “discover new talents in the field of animation“, with sections dedicated to school projects, and that for four days it brings together “the most relevant talent in the city”.
For her part, the vice-president of the Institut Estudis Ilerdencs (IEI), Estefania Rufach, celebrated the fact that in this edition “Animac goes out to the territory through a live connection ” with the Lira de Tremp multipurpose room, through which schoolchildren from the Pyrenean regions will be able to participate in the pedagogical proposals and projections of school sessions of the Exhibition.
In his speech, the Councilor for Culture, the City and the Ecological Transition, Jaume Rutllant, also highlighted the disconnect between Animac and the Pyrenees and expressed that it is important to incorporate an “ecological perspective into the culture” seeking a balance between online and face-to-face. In addition, he has defined Animac as the union of “intelligence, beauty and emotions “.
Carolina López, director of Animac, has reviewed the highlights of this year’s programming and has revealed that the latest international awards in the world of animation have been for Latin American productions and professionals. This year Animac celebrates “the creativity of this extensive and diverse territory, respecting above all its diversity”. In this sense, he highlighted that “there is a new generation of filmmakers who belong in a world global but at the same time recover Latin American traditions” in their projects.
It should be remembered that this year’s common thread is the creativity of Latin American animation under the slogan “LatAm boom!”, with signs of the territory’s identity such as cultural wealth, the search for its own stories and aesthetics, diversity, realism magic or political-social commitment. In addition, it has the best of animation cinema with monographic and retrospective sessions, a careful selection of recently created short films and feature films from around the world, exhibitions and conferences for animation lovers. In short, an extensive and diverse program like the territory on which it is focused.
HONORARY AWARD, ANIMATION MASTERY TRAJECTORIA DE ANIMAC 2023
Like every edition, Animac rewards outstanding figures from the world of animation, creators and creators who, with their style and vision, have seduced and expanded the collective imagination. On this occasion, the extensive careers of two influential authors and one author stand out.
The Honorary Award goes to the Romanian Anca Damian (Romania, 1962), one of the most outstanding directors on the world animation scene for showing in her prolific work the challenges of the contemporary world with imagination and innovative proposals aesthetics on the threshold of the animated documentary. She will receive the award at the opening of the Exhibition, where her work The Island (Romania, 2021) will be screened, a musical story about the myth of Robinson Crusoe through the reverse.
The AnimationMaster award goes to the Argentine director, animator and illustrator Juan Pablo Zaramella (Argentina, 1972), for being one of the most internationally renowned contemporary stop-motion animators. In fact, it is on the podium of world animation and has the Guinness Record for the most awarded animated short with 324 awards: Luminaris (Argentina, 2011). The AnimationMaster award is accompanied by a retrospective of his work and a traveling exhibition curated by Angie Zamblera, where Animac will be the first European venue.
The cartoonist Pilarín Bayés (Vic, 1941) receives the Trayectoria 2023 award for her magnificent work as an illustrator, which has permeated the imagination of creators, men and women, also in the animation world, and has also has been filling homes, schools and streets with imagination and life throughout all these years. She is the most prolific children’s illustrator between the 20th and 21st centuries, with a production of more than 900 books and millions of drawings. The award will be complemented by the screening of The Lighthouse Island (2011).
NINE CONFERENCES, ANIMAC CARTOON AND WORK IN PROGRESS AT ANIMAC 2023
In addition to the lectures by the award-winning Juan Pablo Zaramella and Anca Damian, directors and producers of national and international animated films will visit or participate in Animac to present their latest work and review their creative career:
Alfredo Sorderguit and Alejo Schetini are the scriptwriters and directors of Dos pajaritos, a series based on the book of the same name by Colombian author Diego Francisco Sánchez, Dipacho . This production has won, among others, two prestigious awards: the Jury Award at the Annecy Festival, in France, and the International Youth Award in Germany.
Beatriz Bartolomé is the director of the Quirino Awards, awards that were born in 2017 from the need to recognize talent in the Ibero-American animation industry and generate links and cooperation between all the countries that comprise it. Animac will screen a magnificent selection of short films by young authors from Latin America: Matisse Gonzalez, María Cristina Pérez, Florentina González, Nerina Landi and Camila Kater.
Joaquín Reyes, Miguel Esteban, and Francesca Nicoll are the creators of Poor Devil, the first Spanish animated series for adults on HBO Max. All of them will share in Animac the development process of this ambitious and fun series, from its conception to its imminent premiere.
Juanjo Sáez is the illustrator and creator of the animation series Arròscovat, which was broadcast on Channel 33 and won an Ondas award. He comes to Animac to explain, together with Joan Tomàs, and to premiere his new production on the world of art Roni.
Olivier Catherin and Omar Santos are the producer and director, respectively, of the film Los Santos, based on the cases of abuse of adolescents committed by the Peruvian society Sodalicio. Animac will discover the secrets of this production, still in progress.
Juan Medina and César Díaz are two of the stop-motion animators that are part of the dream team of Pinocchio, the film directed by Guillermo del Toro winner at the Golden Globes and nominated for an Oscar. The two will go through Animac to delve into the world of this technique.
MONOGRAPHS LATAM BOOM! SCARS, MAN IS SOMEWHERE ELSE, OUTIK. BETWEEN GODS AND MONSTERS AND NEW VISIONS
In relation to Latin American animation, it must be taken into account that it is not a single industry, although all of them are emerging and may share these similar themes, but that the differences between countries allow us to see the richness of the various cinematographies. In this edition dedicated to Latin American creativity, Animac has programmed up to 4 monographs dedicated to this region. Scars, with a selection of 6 films, delves into the impact of government repression policies.
Home Is SomewhereElse is the second monographic and a documentary that tells three stories of migrant families who share their fears, their hopes, and their emotions about what it means to live as undocumented immigrants in the USA.
Outik. Between Gods and Monsters, which includes 7 films, is a monograph focused on the production of Outkit, the production company founded by visual artists and filmmakers Juan Medina, Rita Basulto and León Fernández in Guadalajara (Jalisco). They are three of the ‘magnificent 7’, so called by Guillermo del Toro to be one of the great authors of stop motion in Mexico.
New versions, with 12 films, is the monograph where the intimate and the universal come together in modern animations from Mexico to Argentina.
MONOGRÁFICOS PLANETAS SALVAJES Y ESTOY BIEN, MAMÁ
A través de 5 cortometrajes, el monográfico Planetas Salvajes es un título homenajeo al clásico animado El planeta salvaje de René Laloux. Estos cortos seleccionados muestran igual que al célebre largometraje, mundos extraños, con elementos surrealistas y de ciencia ficción.
La diversidad es el eje central del monográfico Estoy bien, mamá. Se trata de los mejores cortos LGTBIQ+ de la temporada. Autoras y autores muestran diversidad de identidades y sentimientos a flor de piel a través de la animación.
JUAN PABLO ZARAMELLA RETROSPECTIVE
In an edition focused on Latin American creativity, Animac dedicates the retrospective to the Argentinean director, animator and illustrator Juan Pablo Zaramella, winner of the Animation Master Award at the Show. With a strong interest in ideas and creativity, his style of simple aesthetics, sense of humor and rhythm have placed him on the podium of world animation.
This complete retrospective offers all audiences the films, series and commercials of this Argentine creator, internationally renowned for stop-motion animation.
ANIMAC 2022 SHOWS FIVE FEATURE FILMS
Marcel the Shell withShoeson (United States, 2022), by American director Dean Fleischer-Camp, delves into the life of a young, small and talkative shell with one eye who he can walk, talk and comment on the wonderful world around him.
Interditauxchiens te auxitaliens (France, Italy, Switzerland, 2022), by French director Alain Ughetto, is a stop-motion feature film based on the Ughetto family, who emigrates to France to start a new life.
Perlimps (Brasil, 2022), by Brazilian director Alê Abreu, tells the story of two secret agents who work for enemy kingdoms, despite the fact that they they discover that they have the same mission: to save Perlimps from the terrible giants that surround the forest.
La otra forma (Colombia, Argentina, France, 2022), a feature film awarded at the Sitges Festival for best animated film, by Colombian director Diego Felipe, who talks about the trip from Peter Press, a man who has been living with a press for 20 years.
Once upon a time… is a restored version of the 1950 classic that recovers the color, despite there being no copies left, and the sound that is more faithful to the original. It is a free adaptation of the classic Cinderella, by Charles Perrault.
LITTLE ANIMAC, THE PARADISE OF ANIMATED FILM FOR THE LITTLE ONES
Both in person in Lleida and online through the Filmin platform, the little ones and their families have an appointment with the proposals of Pequeño Animac, which has programmed 48 films from 18 nationalities in five different sessions. The objective of Pequeño Animac is to introduce children to the world of animation and its various techniques, and encourage their curiosity and taste for cinema.
Among the proposals, the series of micro-shorts Našeprasátko, by JaromírPlachý, creator of the adventure video game Botanicula, as well as Bill and Janet(TheSmeds and theSmoos), by Daniel Snaddon and Samantha Cutler, which is the tenth adaptation of the book by the author Julia Donaldson, and Operación Frankenstein, by José María Fernández de Vega, a work with a surprising ending, far removed from the classic story. Other outstanding films that can be seen are Les Astres Immobiles(Immobile Stars),by Noémi Gruner and SélénaPicque, a story that gives visibility to Chenghua’s life and the difficulties of her parents, and La joya del pantano, by Camilo Ayala Nieto.
Children’s programming will be complemented by three School Sessions, with more than twenty short films selected and directed at students from educational centers in the demarcation. It should be noted that, this year, Animac arrives in the Catalan Pyrenees, with a school session that will be projected live via an online connection with the Lira de Tremp Multipurpose Room with schoolchildren from Pyrenean schools.
ANIMAC CONSOLIDATES WITH 27 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Over the years, Animac has consolidated its independent and artistic character. The Show was created in 1996 and throughout its 27-year history with quality programming, it has established itself as a reference meeting in the world of animation, both for professionals and for the general public. And it is one of the best-known audiovisual events held in Spain, with international importance and prestige.
It is a non-competitive sample with a marked independent, artistic and creative character. Animac is a meeting point where the present and future of international animation pass by, with special attention to emerging talent and those who offer unique and artistically remarkable work.
The official sections of Animac: Official Short Section, Future Talent and Small Animac, dedicated especially to short films, allow maximum experimentation and innovation in new languages, aesthetics and techniques, and compete for the three Festival prizes, awarded by the public. The short film nominated for the Oscars TheFlyingSailor, by the Canadians Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis, as well as < strong>Sierra, by Estonian Sander Joon, and O Homem do Lixo (TheGarbage Man) , by the Portuguese Laura Gonçalves, among others.
The short films of the new batches of animators from Catalan and Valencian animation schools or universities are competing for the second edition of the Animac Talent.cat Award, which has a jury made up of professionals from the sector. This year, with Rocío Álvarez, artist, illustrator and creator of the graphic image of Animac 2023; Carmen Córdoba, director and animator, director of the short film Amarradas; and Luis Miguel Cruz, founder of Radix Animación, a website specialized in Ibero-American animation.
The Animacrea space is also back, where visitors can experiment with animation school workshops, where they discover the techniques and potential of animation as an expressive medium.
This year, the professional section of Animac also has the Incubator section, the space in which projects are presented in an embryonic state because a panel of experts helps them grow. Of the 34 national and international projects received, 12 have been selected to participate in this section, which in this edition will have 2 sessions, one online for those creators who cannot come to Lleida and one in person at The Llotja. The high participation figures denote the consolidation of Incubator as a tool appreciated by creators to present their projects.
The creation of the poster and the creation of this year’s animated mask have been carried out by the Valencian illustrator and animator Rocío Álvarez, who has a special relationship with the exhibition, since in 2018 she won the prize of the Animac Public with his short film Carnal Symbiosis (Belgium, 2017), among many other international awards.
- Download here the complete press kit
- Download here the hand program
Lleida, February 14, 2023
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