PRESS KIT SUMMARY INTRODUCTION 3. 1. The Official Selection 4. 1.1. The Opening Film 4. 1.2. Feature Films 4. 1.3. The Closing Film 5. 1.4. Short Films 6. 2. Futuranima 7. 3. Focus 10. 4. Events 12. 5. Anima + 12. 6. Juries and Prizes 13. 7. Press Info 15. 2 ANIMA 2016 INTRODUCTION ANIMA: TAKE 35... ACTION! Anima 2016, the Brussels International Animation Festival, will be taking over Flagey for ten days to celebrate the world of animation. It’ll be happening at Flagey in Brussels from 5th to 14th February, but also in and around different theatres in Flanders and Wallonia. IN A FEW FIGURES Ten days in which the public will be able to ANIMA IS: discover the best in the last year’s production of features and short films for children and also a vast 35 Festivals programme for adults. In addition to the national and international competition for short films and 21 yet-to-be-released features numerous screenings of feature films, Anima is 37 short films in also offering a series of conferences during the the international competition professional Futuranima days, and other highlights 27 graduation films like the opening ceremony, the Animated Night, the Cartoon d’Of screening and the announcement of in the international competition the prize winners. 40 short films selected for the Animated Night This year, Anima is rolling out the red carpet 30 short films for British and Japanese animation. These two in the national competition countries have differing traditions but an equal amount of talent and there’ll be a host of events to celebrate this focus: a Special Japan evening, a drawn concert based on the typically British world of Alice in Wonderland orchestrated by illustrator Hervé Bourhis, a screening to celebrate the 40th birthday of Aardman Animations, conferences, an exhibition, theme screenings and lots of guests. Last year, over 40,000 people visited during the Carnaval break. We’re ready to do it all over again this year, and are waiting (im)patiently to welcome you all to Flagey in February. 3 ANIMA 2016 1. THE OFFICIAL SELECTION The primary purpose of the Anima Official Selection is to reflect the current production in animated filmmaking. And show both its diversity and vitality. To do this, the Festival has brought together over 200 films, shorts and features... nothing but the best, and just for you. Robinson Crusoé © 2016 nWave Pictures Crusoé © 2016 nWave Robinson 1.1. THE OPENING FILM 1.2. FEATURE FILMS It’s with great pomp and circumstance that the Anima Twenty one features were chosen for Anima 2016’s Official Festival opens on Friday, 5th February with the screening Selection. Eight will be presented in the international of the latest 3D offering from nWave studio: ROBINSON competition, six others in the international competition for CRUSOE. Founded in 1994 by Ben Stassen, this Brussels- a young audience and the other seven presented out of based studio has made a name for itself on the international competition. scene as producer and distributor of 3 and 4D films. After Fly Me to the Moon, Samy’s Adventures and The House THE EIGHT FEATURES IN of Magic, the studio has now taken on Daniel Defoe’s THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION ARE: famous novel in a very free interpretation of the tale told by a parrot named Tuesday! ADAMA, Simon Rouby, France, 2015, 1:22’ Tuesday lives on an island paradise with his eccentric gang ANOMALISA, Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, of animal friends. Nevertheless, the little parrot dreams of USA, 2015, 1:30’ leaving his island and exploring the world beyond. One THE BOY AND THE BEAST (BAKEMONO NO KO), day, after a violent storm, the animals come across the Mamoru Hosoda, Japan, 2015, 1:59’ strangest of creatures washed up on the beach. They do THE CASE OF HANA & ALICE, Shunji Iwai, their best to tame this new arrival, Robinson Crusoe, and Japan, 2015, 1:40’ Tuesday is able to live out an incredible adventure and LITTLE FROM THE FISH SHOP (MALÁ Z perhaps even leave the island. RYBÁRNY), Jan Balej, Czech Republic, 2015, 1:12’ MAGIC MOUNTAIN, Anca Damian, France/ The film’s director Vincent Kesteloot and founder of Poland/Romania, 2015, 1:30 the studio, Ben Stassen, will be attending the opening MISS HOKUSAI, Keiichi Hara, Japan, 2015, 1:30’ ceremony to tell us more about the making of this made- PSICONAUTAS, Alberto Vazquez & Pedro Rivero, in-Belgium feature. Spain, 2015, 1:15’ 4 ANIMA 2016 La Montagne magique@apartefilm La Montagne THE SIX FEATURES IN THE INTERNATIONAL CAFARD, Jan Bultheel, France/The Netherlands/ COMPETITION FOR A YOUNG AUDIENCE ARE: Belgium, 2015, 1:26’ RAVEN THE LITTLE RASCAL - THE BIG RACE, 1.3. THE CLOSING FILM Ute von Münchow-Pohl & Jesse Sandor, Germany, 2015, 1:13’ Anima 2016 will end on a poetic note with the screening DOFUS– BOOK I: JULITH, Anthony Roux & of Roger Allers’ KAHLIL GIBRAN’S THE PROPHET. Jean-Jacques Denis, France, 2015, 1:40’ MINI AND THE MOZZIES, Jannik Hastrup & On the fictional island of Orphalese, Mustafa, a political Flemming Quist Møller, Denmark, 2014, 1:13’ prisoner under house arrest, strikes up a friendship MUNE, Benoît Philippon & Alexandre with Almitra, a little girl who is dumb but definitely not Heboyan, France, 2014, 1:23’ shy. The day Mustafa is escorted to the port to be LONG WAY NORTH, Rémi Chayé, deported back to his country, by way of a farewell, France/Denmark, 2015, 1:20’ he recites his poems to the inhabitants of Orphalese. ZOOTOPIA, Byron Howard & Rich Moore, Almitra, who has discreetly followed the convoy, USA, 2016, 1:15’ represents these words in visually dazzling dream sequences. Roger Allers entrusted each of these sequences to a renowned animator, which allowed BESIDES THE OPENING AND CLOSING FILMS, Tomm Moore, Bill Plympton, Joan Gratz, Joann Sfar, FIVE OTHER BRAND NEW FEATURES WILL BE Nina Paley and others to illustrate one of the poems PRESENTED OUT OF COMPETITION: from the philosophical book The Prophet by Lebanese author Kahlil Gibran. STAND BY ME DORAEMON, Ryûichi Yagi & Takashi Yamazaki, Japan, 2013, 1:35’ GHOST IN THE SHELL: THE NEW MOVIE (KŌKAKU KIDŌTAI SHIN GEKIJŌ-BAN), Kazuya Nomura, Japan, 2015, 1:59’ HOUDINI, Cédric Babouche, France/Belgium, 2014, 52’ KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK, Brett Morgen, USA, 2015, 2:25’ OVER THE GARDEN WALL, Patrick McHale, USA, 2014, 1:50 IN ADDITION TO THE FILMS IN THE OFFICIAL Tout en haut du monde @ Le parc distribution en haut du monde @ Le parc Tout SELECTION, ONE FINAL FEATURE, RELEASED IN THEATRES LAST SEPTEMBER, WILL BE SHOWN AS A REPEAT: 5 ANIMA 2016 BEST OF SHORTS 5-6 These two programmes contain the cream of the crop from the best animation schools in Europe and elsewhere. There are films from French schools like La Poudrière, MOPA and Supinfocom, British hopefuls from the Royal College of Art, Kingston University, the National Film and Television School and the University of the Arts London and other schools including MOME (Budapest), Bezalel Academy of Art and Design (Jerusalem), The Animation Workshorp (Viborg) and Tokyo University of the Arts. SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE FARMER’S LLAMS AND CO A programme made up of seven short films for the kids including the latest TV special from Aardman: Shaun the Parrot Away © The Animation Workshop Away Parrot Sheep: the Farmer’s Llams and Co. Our Junior Jury, the team from Ceci n’est pas un buzz, will be rewarding the 1.4. SHORT FILMS winner of this category. THE ANIMATED NIGHT Out of the over 1,300 films received, the The Anima public will be voting for the winner of the Festival selection committee has the hefty Animated Night international competition category. Forty task of choosing around one hundred for films from far and beyond that all have the same thing in common: make the viewers smile, laugh, be moved... or the different national and international even titillated with a few especially for Saint Valentine, competition programmes. reserved for the third and fourth part of the Night! The International Competition The National Competition It has taken no less than seven programmes to try and As small as it is, our country is full of big talent. The three bring together the most amazing international films of the programmes in this Belgian competition are the proof of moment. Four professional film programmes, two from this visual richness. The It’s Belgian 1 and 2 programmes the best animation schools around and another one for are taken up with independent professionals’ films or young audiences, making a total of 64 films. Then, there’s productions from leading studios like S.O.I.L., La Boîte… the sensational selection for the Animated Night up for Productions, Walking the Dog and Lunanime. assessment from the public. It’s Belgian 3, presents a great range of films by students from different schools in Belgium: KASK (Ghent), Cambre BEST OF SHORTS 1-2-3-4 (Brussels), RITCS (Brussels), Sint-Lukas (Brussels) and IAD These four programmes bring together the best in short (Louvain-la-Neuve). films created by animation professionals. Confirmed names like Russian animator Konstantin Bronzit (At the End of the Earth...), the Australian Adam Elliot (Harvie Krumpet, Mary & Max…), Georges Schwizgebel from Switzerland (La Jeune Fille et les nuages, Romance, Chemin faisant, …), Don Hertzfeld from the USA (Everything will be OK, It’s Such A Beautiful Day,…) or the macabre world of Dutchman Rosto (The Monster of Nix, Lonely Bones, …) are competing alongside some new and very promising talents. We cant live without Cosmos © Melnitsa animation studio cant live We 6 ANIMA 2016 2.