Animasyros – Greece’s Largest International Animation Festival – Announce Final Programme
Skwigly
The 15th edition of Animasyros International Animation Festival will take place from 20 to 25 September, 2022 in Syros Island, Greece.
With a program richer than ever, the largest International Animation Festival in Greece and one of the top 20 of its kind in Europe presents more than 200 films from 43 countries including 8 competition sections (International, Student, K. ID.S, AnimaPride, National Competition, TV & Commissioned Films, Feature Films & #ThisisEU European Values award), special tributes and events, training sessions, international collaborations as well as the Agora, the industry event which offers various networking opportunities which focus on the countries of the East Mediterranean region.
All the events will take place in emblematic places of Syros, such as the Apollo theater, Pallas Summer Cinema, Hermoupolis Cultural Center, the historical former cinema HERMES, Tsiropina Mansion in Possidonia, as well as in outdoor areas such as Finikas Square, the Monastery of the Capuchin Fathers of Syros, while throughout the Festival parallel events will be held in central locations in Hermoupolis. Part of the screening program will also be available through digital screenings on the website www.animasyros.gr, while the Agora sessions will be broadcasted on the official channel of ANIMASYROS on Youtube.
Tributes
The main theme of the Festival, dedicated to the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), and implemented in collaboration with the Latvian Animation Association and the support of the Embassies of these countries in Greece, will present two feature films: “Captain Morten and the Spider Queen” and Gints Zilbalodis’ feature debut “AWAY”, which he made entirely by himself and won the Best Feature Film Contrechamp Award in Annecy International Animation Festival (2019), selected in more than 85 festivals and sold in 18 territories. In addition, there will be two specially curated programs with a total of 10 short films from Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia co-curated by Anna Zaca, director of the Latvian Animation Association and Animasyros.
The tribute to Norwegian animation, curated by Anders Narverud Moen, director of the Fredrikstad Animation Festival and focusing on young creators, is being implemented in collaboration with the Embassy of Norway in Greece.
Moreover, the tribute to contemporary Ukrainian animation was curated by Anastasiya Verlinska, program director of LINOLEUM International Contemporary Animation & Media Art Festival – the country’s most important animation festival.
Features & International Panorama
ANIMASYROS presents some of the best films of the last few years and the opening film is “FLEE” by Jonas Poher Rasmussen- which received three Oscar nominations, selected at Cannes and won the Grand Prize at Sundance. The film, which tells the extraordinary story of a man who opens up about his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan, will be introduced by the film’s contributors Mikkel Sommer and Danae Katopodi. In addition, the art exhibition “The faces of FLEE” with works by Mikkel Sommer will be open throughout the Festival at Braziliana in Ano Syros.
The ever-current theme of the refugee crisis and the transition from childhood to adolescence will also be seen in the film “The Escape/La Traversée” by Florence Miaihle from France, while the new film by Ari Folman (known from “Waltz with Bashir”) “Where is Anne Frank?” delivers history lessons to kids and adults. “Icarus and the Minotaur’ takes us on a trip to Greek mythology (director Carlo Vogele will be present at the screening) and the multi-award winning Spanish film “Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles” pays tribute to the father of surrealism (illustrator Fermin Solis will attend the screening).
The journey into the magical world of animation continues with “The Ape Star”, a film about unconventional love, in collaboration with the Athens International Children’s Film Festival as well as the postmodern musical comedy “The Island” by Anca Damian (“Marona’s Fantastic Tale”).
Original and ground-breaking works from around the world are included in the International Panorama through 27 films originating from America, Europe up to South Korea and Australia with themes ranging from documentaries and fiction to video art.
Competition Sections
Over 100 films are included in the 8 competition sections of the Festival, such as the OSCAR-nominated “Bestia” (International Competition Section), the new video clip “Up and Away” (Sub Pop) by Greek musician and visual artist Σtella, the video clip “Bientôt la Lumière” with music by Mad Rey and art by Thami & Hedi Nabil (who also handled the new Red Hot Chilli Peppers video) in the TV & Commissioned Films as well as films from internationally renowned animation schools (Gobelins, FAMU, Bezalel) in the Student Competition Section.
The Greek Competition Section consists of 20 films. Renowned animators from Greece, as well as rising stars, present at Animasyros some of the year’s best animation offerings from the Greek scene.
AnimaPride through 10 films, from Europe and USA to North Korea will present important aspects of the LGBTQ+ movement and topics such as homophobia, transgender rights, online dating, polygamy will be addressed.
The children’s programme K.ID.S section consists of 20 short films with themes that highlight messages concerning the environment, diversity, empathy and family relationships.
Finally, within the #thisIsEU – European Values section, six films will be screened, on the environment, immigration, gender equality, child poverty and violence against women.
See ANIMASYROS 2022 Official Selection: https://animasyros.gr/blog/animasyros-2022-the-official-selection
Juries
The Jury of the International & Greek Competition Section of this year’s festival consists of world renowned animation professionals, artistic directors, festival organizers, journalists, writers, activists such as: Vasilis Sotiropoulos (GR), Attorney-at-law, Katherine Reilly (USA/GR), Author, Educator and LGBTI+ rights activist, Benoit Berthe Siward (FR), Film strategist, founder of The Animation Showcase & a LGBTQ+ activist, Christina Bitha (GR), Journalist, Film critic, Aneta Ozorek (PL), Artistic Director of Kaboom Animation Festival, Alexandra Ramires (PT), Director/Animator, Marlyn Spaaij (NL), Director, writer, storyboard artist, Antonis Papatheodoulou (GR), Creative Director and Children’s book writer, Fermín Solís (ES), Cartoonist, animator and illustrator, Orestis Andreadakis (GR), Director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Dominique Seutin (BE), Director/Programmer of Anima Festival, Gints Zilbalodis (LV), Director/Animator.
Find out more details about Animasyros Juries: https://animasyros.gr/blog/meet-the-juries-of-animasyros-2022
Agora
Agora, the international meeting and trading event, is one of the most vibrant parts of ANIMASYROS as it connects the Greek animation community with international professionals offering opportunities through strategic collaborations. This year Agora launched a new strategic partnership with the renowned NEF Animation, a non-profit association dedicated to the research and creation of animated films.
ANIMASYROS is honored and pleased to host Peabody, Humanitas, NAACP and Emmy award-winning Chris Nee, the creator and executive producer of “Doc McStuffins” and developed and EP’d the hit series “Vampirina” as well as the recent series “We The People” for Netflix co-produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. Journalist, animator and music producer Nancy Denney Phelps interviews the award winning producer. The conversation with Chris Nee is held with the support of the US Embassy in Greece.
Moreover, internationally acclaimed animators and producers such as Joanna Quinn and Les Mills will present a masterclass based on their film The Affairs of the Art, nominated for this year’s Oscars in the category of short animation, as well as the renowned French producer Olivier Catherin, who will introduce us to the production process of an animation film.
The five short films selected for the Pitching Forum Agora are: “Art is Missing” by director Giorgos Kontos, “Great Friday” by the writer Loukia Tzortzopoulou, “Offside” by Estonian director Sander Joon and producer Aurelia Aasa, “Seasons of a Day” by French director Vincent Tsui and Greek-American director Mavra Peponi and “Three Comma Fourteen” by Patrícia Rodrigues and visual artist Joana Nogueira from Portugal.
The winner of the Pitching Forum Agora Animasyros will be announced on 25 September at the Festival’s closing ceremony and will be hosted for one month at the La Résidence Internationale de Fontevraud program to create a film with facilities provided by NEF. The pitch coaching workshop will be led by Xavier Kawa-Topor, Director of NEF Animation and Catherine Totems, Educational Director of the animation workshop, L’atelier des Sèvres.
The committee of the Pitching Forum consists of Xavier Kawa Topor (FR), Catherine Totems (FR), Olivier Catherin (FR), journalist, animator and music producer Nancy Denney Phelps (BE) and Agora Director and filmmamker Marineta Mak Kritikou (GR).
In addition, as each year, there will be talks and discussions on current issues concerning the Animation Market. Issues such as the animated production in Greece amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, challenges & opportunities in international co-productions, Greek animation & international markets and the journey from graphic novels to animated films will be explored.
All Agora activities will take place physically at The Cultural Center of Hermoupolis. They will be simultaneously broadcast online. A link will be available at animasyros.gr.
Media Literacy Programmes
A key pillar of the Festival are the educational workshops aimed at children, teenagers, young professionals, the elderly and people with disabilities. This year, the theme of the workshops is based on the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe and in this context, in collaboration with the Asia Minor Association of Hermoupolis, the participants are invited to be inspired by literature works, photographs, traditional music from Asia Minor, recorded and written testimonies in order to create animation films under the guidance of experienced instructors from Greece and abroad.
You can submit participation requests by sending an email to education2@animasyros.gr Workshops are free. Find out more: https://animasyros.gr/blog/animasyros-2022-media-literacy-programmes
Parallel Events
Tuesday 20.09, Cultural Center of Hermoupolis
I_AM Day: Animating inclusiveness
15:30-18:30
The co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union I_AM: “Inclusive education using Animation and Multimedia” project aims to support inclusive education of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) through an innovative person-centered, inter-disciplinary and art-based approach, implemented in Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, and Poland. The project utilizes multimedia resources and especially animation, through a blended learning capacity building programme, to develop a welcoming environment for children with SEND in mainstream schools.
Friday 23.09, Apollo Theater
17:30-18:30 – Open discussion: Democratic values & Animation
The straightforwardness with which the animation conveys the messages and reaches the viewers, especially the younger and more active in new media age groups, meets the challenges of democratic values in the current era and reality of the European Union. Two female representatives of the European animation community discuss with the head of the European Parliament in Greece, Costas Tsoutsoplides, how animation can really speak to the heart of the modern European citizen and promote the values of democratic life.