Animest Giurgiu: small festival of animated films for the whole family
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This is a press release from Animest Giurgiu whose media partner is The Bridge of Friendship.
Giurgiu is the first stop of the Animest film caravan: from 9-11 June 2023, the public is expected at the festival with a programme of films, workshops and cinema-concerts, specially designed for the whole family. Admission is free to all activities.
“We know how valuable cultural experiences are for shaping future consumers of culture. With the support of EEA grants, the Animest team manages to organise a real festival in towns without cinema spaces. Giurgiu residents have the opportunity to enjoy films selected at OSCARs and awarded at major festivals, and I hope this project will whet their appetite for such events”, says Mihai Mitrică, Animest director.
The festival opens on Friday with an open-air screening on the Esplanade of the Tudor Vianu Theatre and continues over the weekend with animation workshops for children, open-air screenings and an original cinema concert performed by the Sebastian Burneci Trio. Trumpet player and soloist of the Radio Big Band and graduate of the Prince Claus Conservatoire in the Netherlands, Sebastian Burneci is an active member of several international jazz projects. The trio will perform animated Norwegian stories to original music composed and performed live, to the delight of the audience in Gijón.
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/960069665131294
Partners: Giurgiu County Council, Giurgiu City Hall, Tudor Vianu Theatre, Tranzit 2030
Media partners: Jurnal Giurgiuvean, Save Cinema Giurgiu, Friendshipbridge.eu
PROGRAM
FRIDAY, JUNE 9TH
21:00, Esplanade of “Tudor Vianu” Theatre
Ernest and Célestine (France-Belgium-Luxembourg 2012, 80 min., directed by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner; Dialogues in French, Romanian subtitles; Recommended age: 6 years+)
* OSCAR-nominated and award-winning film at numerous children’s film festivals
The story of the impossible friendship between a grumpy bear who dreams of becoming an artist and a little mouse who refuses to become a dentist.
SATURDAY, 10 JUNE
11:00, “Nicolae Bălănescu” Athenaeum
Perlimps (Brazil 2022, 80 min., directed by Alê Abreu; Dialogues in Portuguese, Romanian subtitles; Recommended age: 6+)
*Awarded at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada and nominated at the Chicago International Children’s Animation Festival, USA Lost in the Enchanted Forest, two secret agents join forces to save the mysterious Perlimps from some creepy giants.
12:30 – 14:00, “Nicolae Bălănescu” Athenaeum
Animation workshop for children, facilitated by Anna Florea.
Anna is an illustrator, animator and director, co-founder of RIVULET studio and co-author of two animated short films “Mr. Anxiety goes on a date” (2016) and “Invisibles” (2020), made with the collective 4inaroom.
The workshop will introduce children to the world of animation, explaining basic concepts and giving them the opportunity to create a simple team animation. The workshop is recommended for children aged 8-11.
21:00, Esplanade of “Tudor Vianu” Theatre
Titina (Norway-Belgium 2022, 90 min., directed by Kajsa Næss; Dialogues in Norwegian, Romanian subtitles; Recommended age: 6 years+)
*Selected in the competition of major animation and children’s film festivals: Göteborg IFF 2022, Mon Premier Festival Paris 2022, Tromsø IFF 2023, New York CFF 2023. An adventurous expedition to the North Pole, in which Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile are accompanied by Titina the dog.
SUNDAY 11 JUNE
11:00, “Nicolae Bălănescu” Athenaeum
Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo (Canada-France 2022, 72 min., directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi; French dialogue, Romanian subtitles; Recommended age: 6+) With only a few black cumin seeds in her palm, but helped by a princess and encouraged by her family, little Dounia leaves Aleppo in a hurry to find a new place to call home.
12:30 – 14:00, “Nicolae Bălănescu” Athenaeum
Animation workshop for children, facilitated by Anna Florea.
Anna is an illustrator, animator and director, co-founder of RIVULET studio and co-author of two animated short films “Mr. Anxiety goes on a date” (2016) and “Invisibles” (2020), made with the collective 4inaroom.
The workshop will introduce children to the world of animation, explaining basic concepts and giving them the opportunity to create a simple team animation. The workshop is recommended for children aged 8-11.
20:00, Esplanade of the “Tudor Vianu” Theatre
Mysteries of the North (50 min)
Animated Norwegian stories set to original music composed and performed live by Sebastian Burneci Trio.
21:30, Esplanade of the “Tudor Vianu” Theatre
Cats Don’t Dance (USA 1997, 75 min., directed by Mark Dindal; English dialogue, Romanian subtitles; Recommended age: 6+) Danny, an ambitious and talented cat, wants to conquer Hollywood with Fred Astaire-like moves, but faces a lot of obstacles.
***
The next stops of the film caravan are Câmpulung Muscel (23-25 June) and Târgu Neamț (14-16 July). All information will be published on the project website
The ANIMEST+ project meets urgent needs of the Romanian animation industry, young animators, future informed filmgoers and communities lacking in film culture. The project is led by ANIMEST Association in partnership with Kool Produktion, a renowned production company based in Oslo, Norway. During 2023 the project proposes a series of activities: education through culture in rural Romania, a summer school for high school students, travelling cinema in Romanian cities and a conference for professionals and young people interested in the film industry. The total budget of the project is 979.185,85 lei (199.066,02 euro), of which 952.781,52 lei (193.698,09 euro) is the amount of the non-reimbursable financial support.
The EEA grants represent the contribution of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Kingdom of Norway to reducing economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area and strengthening bilateral relations with the 15 beneficiary countries in Eastern and Southern Europe and the Baltic States. These funding mechanisms are established on the basis of the Agreement on the European Economic Area, which brings together the EU Member States and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as equal partners in the internal market. In total, the three countries contributed €3.3 billion between 1994 and 2014 and €1.55 billion for the 2014-2021 funding period. More details are available at www.eeagrants.org and www.eeagrants.ro
The RO-CULTURA programme is implemented by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Management Unit and has the overall objective of strengthening economic and social development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. The budget of the Programme is approximately 34 million euro. More details are available at www.ro-cultura.ro.
Photo: Screenshot from the movie Ernest and Célestine (source: Animest Giurgiu)
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