Fest Anca will again host Slovak premieres of the best of the world’s production. You will not have a chance to see most of the films screened either before or after the festival anywhere else in Slovakia. This year the main crowd-puller is a family feature film The Boy and the World. Little Cuca’s adventure begins in the middle of the night when the windows of his room are open by a sudden gust of wind and he is taken on a trip across Brazil. Colourful, fun and adventurous - these three words best characterize the film by Brazilian director Aleh Abreu. “The viewer is captured by the double coding of the film. An adult perceives the story completely different than a child,” reveals the programme director Maros Brojo. “On one hand The boy and the world is extremely playful and colourful, and thus younger audience loves it; on the other hand, an adult is able to recognize its very open message, echoing the reality of the contemporary society in addition to its carefree mood.”
And did you know that the oldest preserved animation film will be screened at this year’s edition of Fest Anca as well? Mind you, not only the film, but also its screening will be outstanding. The Adventures of Prince Achmed was created by German director Lotte Reiniger in 1926. About 88 years later, Fest Anca crew asked composer Stroon to write music for the film, which he will perform during the screening. Another unforgettable experience will be a display of Ukrainian avant-garde films accompanied by original music by Karaoke Tundra. So you will be able to travel back in time to the magical period of silent films with live music accompaniment; only this time it will be much more modern and interesting.
Traditionally, the festival dominate will be the International competition of animated films, with as many as 1,076 films submitted from 70 countries. “We are facing a difficult job. The pre-selection jury has to select the best of what has been created in the world during the last two years,” says the festival's programme director Maros Brojo. “There are some award-winning animation films from major powers such as Germany, France, USA and UK. But we are pleased to have received some interesting films from countries where the production of animation films is rather rare, such as Ecuador, Nigeria and Cameroon.”
It seems that creativity is boosting in our homeland, because we have as many as 44 animated films from Slovakia. “Not only do we want to promote domestic animation, but we also want to support it,” reveals the festival director Eva Pavlovičová. “And we do it the most effective way. In cooperation with Litfond we extended the number of awards and added Anča Slovak Award with a stipendiary amount of EUR 600,- for the winner.”
Fest Anca is growing not only as regards the number of submitted films. This year it will probably be twice as large in all areas. You can look forward to more festival days, screenings, workshops and in particular even more fun!
Slovak Premieres of World Famous Films
ŽILINA. The International Animation Festival Fest Anča begins in just 16 days presenting Slovak premieres of the world’s best animated films. Most of the films shown won’t be screened anywhere else in Slovakia.
“One of the most attractive movies for viewers is an animated family feature film The Boy and the World (O Menino e o Mundo) by Brazilian director Alê Abreu.” said the festival programme director Maroš Brojo. The main character is a little boy who discovers an amazing world full of colours and friendly people and gets to know the joys and challenges the people of Brazil face. There’s a sharp contrast between his childlike innocence, the responsibility of adults and the heartlessness of society. A view of the modern world through a child’s eyes is ingeniously complemented with an array of colours and perspectives and a combination of digital 2D animation and wax crayon hand drawings.
Another treat is the Hungarian 3D animated feature film Cycle by Zoltan Sostai that loosely falls into the genre of sci-fi/mystery. A confused astronaut is trying to escape the deadly black fog that slowly envelops everything around him. He continuously ends up in many strange situations and repeatedly meets the same people, who behave differently every time and recount to him different stories. The filmmakers themselves describe the film as a combination of Kubrick's Space Odyssey and Kafka's novels.
Bill Plympton has two Oscar nominations and is considered the king of American independent animation. He neither gives in to the pressure of the film industry, nor follows any seasonal trends. His long-awaited latest film Cheatin' initially surprises viewers by its apparent simplicity, but eventually turns out to be an engaging, passionate and poignant love story. “Jake and Ella meet in a car accident, fall in love and become the most romantic couple imaginable.” says festival director Jana Slezáková. "However, when, as it happens in love stories, a third person appears and is trying to win Jake’s heart, Jake and Ella’s relationship is undermined by jealousy, insecurity and hatred. The film is an extremely original parody of romantic movies; touching, yet also full of refreshing irony.”
Fest Anča will also host the Slovak premiere of the latest film by the highly regarded and respected director Michel Gondry Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?an Animated Conversation with Noam Chomsky. All Gondry’s films possess a large amount of childlike joy and liveliness, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep or Mood Indigo. The festival’s programme director told us: "Gondry’s new film depicts, as implied by the title, an interview with a famous linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky. Interesting ideas and insights are interspersed with memories from the extraordinary life of a man who’s become a worldwide phenomenon.” With the use of animation and a 16 mm camera, Gondry has transformed Chomsky’s visions into archaic, non-scientific images, from which he constructs a playful surrealist poem. He’s used dreamlike visuals to demonstrate how we perceive the world through language, however, throughout the film, he also admits having certain reservations with Chomsky’s discourse which he shows in a witty and humorous way.
This year’s Fest Anča programme also features documentary films related to animation. One of them is the Canadian film Persistence of Vision recounting the story of Richard Williams, the Oscar-winning animation director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, who set out to create the best animated feature film of all time. He spent nearly 30 years working on his masterpiece The Thief and the Cobbler, which in the end had to be completed without him. The documentary, directed by Kevin Schreck, features pieces of stunning animation and rare archive material as well as exclusive interviews with animators and other artists who collaborated on Williams’s unlucky magnum opus. Thanks to Persistence of Vision, this legendary, but almost forgotten chapter from the history of film, has finally made it to the big screen.
"Every year we present an internationally recognized animation creator. This year Swiss filmmaker Georges Schwizgebel, a living legend in the world of animated film will visit Žilina.” says the festival director Eva Pavlovičová. “His work is often compared to animated paintings and watching them is a breath-taking experience. In their making he mainly uses acrylic and tempera paint or pastel. His work with light, lines and geometry is very sophisticated. All his films have a strong connection to the music, providing structure and setting their pace, rhythm and even co-creating the story. Schwizgebel rejects modern technology and rumour has it he still uses an old Mitchell camera that was supposedly owned by Charlie Chaplin. As for the credibility of this story, the truth will be revealed by the master himself at the festival. I’m happy to announce that we will screen all 19 of his works at Fest Anča.”
More Slovak film premieres will be presented within the international Anča Award competition, the international student film competition Anča Student Award, the international music video competition Anča Music Video Award, the international children’s film competition Anča Kids Award and also the Slovak film competition Anča Slovak Award. Fest Anča opens in Žilina on June 18 and runs until June 22, when the award winning filmmakers will be awarded a cash prize and a statue created by Branislav Laho and Katarína Lukić Balážiková.
Fest Anca likes to play
ŽILINA. For the first time, the seventh edition of International Animation Film Festival Fest Anča will host the Czech and Slovak video game makers. A parallel event called Game Days is organized in a collaboration with Sector.sk, the most frequently visited website in Slovakia. During the two day long game related programme, 12 speakers will present their new upcoming projects and activities. Fest Anča will also present two feature films related to the topic of video games. Evening game playing sessions will be an extraordinary experience.
“The aim of Game Days is to introduce our visitors to local video game creations“, reveals the festival programme director, Maroš Brojo. “Many people actually believe that there isn’t much going on in Slovak gaming industry, but nothing could be further from the truth. Game making in Slovakia has seen a big boom in recent years.“ This will be proven by the Slovak gaming studios such as Farm Games, Pixel Federation, or Sketch Games, who will present their latest projects. Artist and animator Jaromir Plachy, from the Czech based company, Amanita Design, will talk about the details of the development of the globally recognized adventure Botanicula. As someone with a background in animation, he will discuss his journey to interactive work. Another guest speaker is a co-founder of Cauldron, one of the biggest gaming studios in Slovakia, Marian Ferko, who will talk about more than ten unfinished projects, the development of which had been interrupted for various reasons.
“Additional aim of the event is getting the local professionals together,“ says Pavol Buday, a Sector.sk associate. “Even though most studios in Slovakia are aware of each other, the game creators rarely meet in person. We will be thrilled if Game Days become, also in the editions to come, a place for the Slovak game creators to meet and discuss their work and establish new contacts as well as start possible cooperation in the environment of Fest Anča festival.“
Game days is not only about lectures. You will get a chance to test out already launched games and the games that are just being developed. Each speaker will bring some samples of his work. Thus, you will get to experience e.g. Future Factory, the new Slovak rogue-like game from Fun 2 Robots.
Fest Anca will also screen the documentary Indie Game: The Movie that was awarded at the prestigious Sundance festival. This film reveals the background of making extremely successful indie games like Super Meat Boy, Braid or Fez and invites public to take a glimpse of the private lives and struggles of their creators.
Game Days will be held within the international festival in a unique space of Žilina New Synagogue, on June, 20-21. Fest Anca will be happening June, 18 – 22. Its visitors can experience the unique atmosphere of a summer film festival full of world class animation, lectures, workshops, concerts and meetings with authors. We will proudly present film premieres of Michel Gondry‘s Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy? or a unique family movie The Boy and the World by Brazilian director Alêh Abreu. This year’s edition of Fest Anča will also screen the oldest preserved animation film Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) directed by Lotte Reiniger. 88 years later, the composer Stroon wrote the music that will be played during the screening. Another unforgettable experience will be a display of Ukrainian avant-garde films with the original musical accompaniment by Karaoke Tundra. Besides excellent animation films and video games, you will also enjoy the performance of the production duo The Global Optimistic and the Czech electronic project Ventolin. DJ Jimmy Pé, DJ Cejka and Stroon will be spinning vinyl.
The detailed programme of the festival can be found on the official festival website www.festanca.sk.
Ticket presale: www.ticketportal.sk
