THE MOST DIVERSE ANIMAC KICKS OFF WITH THE AWARD OF THE HONORARY AWARD TO ISABEL HERGUERA AND THE ANIMATION MASTER AWARD TO BARRY J. C. PURVES

The day began with the first session of Incubator, Animac’s professional space in which embryonic animation projects were presented to a panel of experts

In the afternoon, the Women in the Animation Industry Association (MIA) presented the mentoring program MIANIMA and the feature film in production Rock Bottom, directed by María Trénor, a case of success of this call

Director Toni García, pioneer in AR applications and animation with interactive tablets, has offered a conference on artificial intelligence applied in animation production

The 28th edition ofAnimac, the International Animation Film Exhibition of Catalonia, organized by the Lleida City Council with the support of the la Caixa Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and through the ICAA, the Institute of Ilerdensian Studies of the Provincial Council of Lleida and the Department of Culture of the Generalitat of Catalonia through the ICE, among other collaborators, has started today with the opening day at the La Llotja Theater in Lleida, where has given this year’s Honorary Award to the San Sebastián director Isabel Herguera (San Sebastián, 1961). Visual artist, producer and teacher of animated films with a long international career, Herguera is a great expert on Animac, since she was the director from 2003 to 2011. Animac grants her the highest award for her magnificent career as an animator and for her work diffusion in the field of animation.

Gianmarco Serra, Herguera’s collaborator and co-writer of the film Sultana’s Dream, was the one who collected the award, since the winner did not can finally attend the Exhibition.“Lleida and Animac mean a lot to Isabel,” said Serra, while adding that the years she was director of Animac were “a very deep”. “It is a blessing that this festival exists”, he concluded.

During the inauguration, the Animation Master Award was also presented to the British creator Barry J. C. Purves (United Kingdom, 1955), director, stop motion animator and screenwriter who combines, with mastery and a deep knowledge, the most personal animation with stage direction for theater. His highly theatrical films have won more than seventy awards around the world and can be seen in Lleida in a complete retrospective that Animac will dedicate to him.

Purves has expressed that he finds it curious “that they give you awards for a job that you are passionate about.” “Maybe I’ve gotten old and what I like right now is to transmit,” he explained, after referring to the workshop he taught at the Leandre Cristòfol Municipal Art School. “I have felt a bit foreign, but I have found a true family in animation. Animation, art, opera or poetry are a way of giving meaning to our lives,” he said.

The event was chaired by the mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa; the Councilor for Culture of the Lleida City Council, Pilar Bosch; the deputy of the Equality and Cooperation Area of ​​the Lleida Provincial Council, Sandra Marco; the head of the ICEC Festivals Area, Carme Puig; the delegate of the Government of the Generalitat in Lleida, Montse Bergés; the subdelegate of the Government in Lleida, José Crespín, and the director of Animac, Carolina López.

Larrosa, highlighted that “during the days of Animac, Lleida breathes creativity, with the screening of films from the international circuit, with activities to promote emerging talent, with the presence of renowned personalities to the world of international animation and with countless parallel events.” In addition, he has made a special mention of Isabel Herguera, who was not able to collect the award in person, and has thanked her for her dedication during her years as director of Animac.

For his part, Bosch recalled that, currently, Animac is the only one dedicated exclusively to the animation genre in the entire state, “its value lies in its specificity and the possibility of making known the present, past and future of this cinema with a marked independent and artistic character, but at the same time also with an aspect open to the industry and contemporary production.”

Marco has congratulated the organization for its sensitivity and courage in giving voice to diversity and, in this sense, has highlighted “the efforts of cinema, and especially animation, for greater inclusion to reflect the richness and variety of human wealth.” Puig has highlighted the support that the Government has given to Animac since its inception, as well as the work of the organizing team. “Over the years, a female perspective has been introduced that has allowed us to understand the work of women in the world of animation. This year she touches on diversity, an essential word to understand the world we live in”, she added. In turn, Crespínhas vindicated the value of Animac: “We are a reference animation festival, with international character and prestige, and we do this here, in Lleida, and we have to believe it ”.

López has invited everyone to participate in the activities scheduled these days, “take advantage to share, learn and be inspired by contemporary animation”. In relation to this year’s thematic axis, diversity, López highlighted “we want to celebrate the path we have traveled and the one we still have to walk” and concluded that “The true meaning of diversity is to make each person a multitude, because the imagination of everyone is always better than that of a few.”

The ceremony featured the performance of the Lerida dancer and performer Mabel Olea who performed an exclusive choreography prepared on the occasion of Animac and inspired by this year’s theme “Diversity.”  Next, the short filmsThe illustrated woman (Spain, 2023) directed by Isabel Herguera were screened; Aikāne (Hawaii, United States, 2023) directed by Daniel Sousa, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson; the world premiere of the short Felina (Spain, 2023) by director María Lorenzo; 27 (France, Hungary, 2023) by Flóra Anna Buda, and Our Uniform (Iran, 2023) directed by Yegane Moghaddam.

Following this, the first of the Barry J. C. Purves retrospective sessions was screened, titled Music, Maestro!, which includes the short films Gilbert & Sullivan the Very Models (United Kingdom, 1998); Rigoletto(United Kingdom, 1995), andTchaikovsky – An Elegy (United Kingdom, 2012).

Today, Thursday, began with the first session of the Incubator, Animac’s professional space in which six embryonic animation projects and a panel of professionals from the animated film industry were presented. has valued them. Tomorrow the second of the Incubator sessions will take place, where six more projects will be presented.

In the afternoon, the Women in the Animation Industry Association (MIA) presented the MIANIMA mentoring program, launched to promote animation projects created by women. Yurena Rivero, coordinator of MIANIMA, has explained how this program works, which selects feature film projects, series and animated short films to help them grow with the aim of presenting them to potential partners. He has been accompanied by María Trénor and Marta Gil, director and animation director, respectively, of the musical feature film Rock Bottom, a success story of this announcement. They have explained the entire process behind the feature film for the first time. Through the music of Robert Wyatt, the film delves into the passionate, self-destructive love story of Bob and Alif, two young artists immersed in the creative whirlwind of 70s hippie culture.

And also in the afternoon, the director Toni García, pioneer in AR applications and animation with interactive tablets for series such as Canimals and  Invizimals with Aardman , Novarama and Sony, has offered a conference on artificial intelligence applied to animation production. Toni García has been storyboarder and creative and artistic director in prestigious animated series and has directed the animated feature film Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, nominated for the Quirino 2022 awards. He is currently directing the film Súper Bernard.