Belgian Bonanza at the Anima Festival: Plenty of Home-Grown Films to Discover
Skwigly
Anima, the Brussels International Animation Film Festival, is delighted to offer its audience the best of Belgian animation in all its forms. With 4 feature films directed or co-produced by Belgian talents and 37 short films in the selection, Belgian films are proudly represented at this 42nd edition of Anima, held from 17 to 26 February at Flagey in Brussels.
NAYOLA AND TITINA: BELGIAN CO-PRODUCTIONS FOR THE OPENING AND CLOSING
Nayola © Periscoop Film (left) andTitina © Lumière (right)
Anima has chosen two Belgian co-productions for its opening and closing nights. The wonderful Nayola, a Portuguese film co-produced by the Belgian studio SOIL, will open the Festival on Friday 17 February: it tells the story of a family torn apart by the Angolan Civil War. The festival will close on Sunday 26 February with the Norwegian film Titina, directed by Kajsa Næss and co-produced by the production company Vivi Film: it tells the incredible true story of Umberto Nobile and his dog Titina, the first (and last) fox terrier to set foot on the North Pole.
BELGIAN FILMS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
The past year was a bumper year in terms of production, and Belgian films were no exception. On Wednesday 22 February, (re)discover Yuku and the Flower of the Himalayas, directed by Rémi Durin and Arnaud Demuynck, a fun and adventure-filled musical comedy featuring the voices of Arno and Alice on the Roof. Another family film is Carlo Vogele’s Icarus, which will carry the audience to the island of Crete on Tuesday 21 February to meet the legendary Minotaur. Freely inspired by Greek mythology, this Belgo-Luxembourg co-production will delight both adults and children. And for the very young, Un hérisson dans la neige will tell the many stories of the four seasons on Wednesday 22 February, in the presence of Pascale Hecquet, one of the programme’s directors, with who a signing session is planned right after the film.
IT’S STILL BELGIAN
Ce qui bouge est vivant © Zorobabel
As for short films, the unmissable It’s Belgian sets will showcase national talent with no fewer than four programmes in the selection. Let’s mention the return of Anima regulars Noémie Marsily with Ce qui bouge est vivant and Gerlando Infuso with Eternals, but also of Raoul Servais, the famous pioneer and grandmaster of Belgian animation, with Der lange Kerl, a partially animated short film co-directed by Rudy Pinceel.
Many Belgian talents will also be honoured in Futuranima: Romain Renard will present his feature film project Melvile in Work in Progress, Benoît Feroumont will discuss the making of Pablo Berger’s upcoming feature film Robot Dream, while there will be many other meetings with today’s leading studios, not to mention Q&As with the Belgian artists in the selection, pitches by young authors and tomorrow’s future talents…
The next Anima Festival is set to take place from 17 to 26 February 2023. Join us on www.animafestival.be