As a kid gazing up at the cinema screen, it can feel like you’re watching giants inhabiting a magical world, from which you can learn so much about nature, emotions, friendship, family, and becoming a better person. Remember that feeling? Minimest, hands down our younger audience’s favorite section, unlocks secret doors to such fantastical educational worlds during the Animest International Animation Film Festival. Some of the newest and most beautiful short films dedicated to kids will transform Bucharest screens during October 6 and 15, as the Minimest Competition, judged entirely by children, will unfold, Monday to Friday. On weekend mornings, stroll to a family-friendly screening of an internationally-acclaimed film, and perhaps drop off your creative and curious kiddo at one of the animation film and comics workshops we’re organizing at ArtHUB. Students and teachers, rejoice: the Minimest Academy will continue to offer events designed especially for you.
The Animest.18 schedule, tickets, and festival passes, are available here!
Minimest: The Children's Film Competition
17 short films hailing from 15 countries are competing for this year’s Minimest section Award, where the jury is made up exclusively of kids. Some crafted by established film studios, others by university students, the films in the selection talk about emotions, fears and tolerance, they encourage and promote social behaviors such as recycling; explore children’s relationship with their parents; and offer some STEM-flavored lessons, too. The films are mainly aimed at children between the ages of 6 and 14, but teenagers and adults are sure to enjoy them too.
Weekend Mornings = Special Family Screenings
Outside of the Minimest competition selection, we’ve prepared a series of family stories that have already made the international festival rounds. Start the weekend properly, on Saturday, October 7, at Cinema Elvire Popesco, with a story about the power to move on and the importance of supporting those less fortunate than us. Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo (directed by André Kadi and Marya Zarif) follows the adventures of six-year-old Dounia, who leaves Syria with the Princess of Aleppo's help and travels towards a new world, a few nigella seeds tucked in her palm. On the same day, Just Super (directed by Rasmus A. Sivertsen) will run at the Eforie Cinematheque. The film premiered internationally at the Berlinale and tells the tale of video game aficionado Hedvig, a young woman who must carry on her family’s superhero legacy. But what will she do when Dad (formerly Super-Lion) chooses cousin Adrian to be the next hero?
On October 8, at Cinema Elvire Popesco, catch the national premiere of Nina and the Secret of the Hedgehog (directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol), the adventures of a girl and her friend – an imaginary hedgehog – attempting to help her father get his factory job back. Expect hidden treasure and other surprises! On Saturday, October 14, Cinema Elvire Popesco will show Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs (directed by Edmunds Jansons), a summer adventure story about two kids who, alongside the aforementioned pups, fight to rescue their romantic wooden-house suburban neighborhood from reconstruction. This inspirational civic story will be presented by its director, Edmunds Jansons, and producer and director Sabīne Andersone, representatives of Atom Art, the Latvian animation guest studio at Animest.18.
Now, we may have saved some of the best for last… Both adults and children will enjoy a big surprise on the last day of the festival! On Sunday October 15, the Eforie Cinematheque foyer will host the Northern Mysteries Cine-concert: Norwegian animations accompanied by live music by the Sebastian Burneci Trio.
Animation and Comics Workshops for Future Animators
On Saturday October 7, on the second day of Animest, Nicoleta Miron, 2D animation artist, will teach children how to create animations using pencils, sticky notes, and other everyday items. The next day, she will help young creators explore the world of plasticine animation.
On October 14 and 15, artist Ana Dobrescu will share the technique of pixilation, where live people and objects are shot frame-by-frame to simulate movement, while on October 8 and 15, Mihai Grăjdeanu, comic book author and instructor, will help kids create their first comic strip.
Minimest Academy: a Different Way to Learn
An educational project that integrates animated film into the school curriculum, offering teachers and parents quality resources allowing children aged 4-14 to make their first forays into cinema culture as well as learn concepts in several subjects in a transdisciplinary manner, the Minimest Academy will continue during this year's edition of Animest. During October 9-13, we’re organizing film screenings for groups of schoolkids, at the Eforie Cinematheque in Bucharest, preceded by brief creative activities or a discussion with the filmmaker. Details on the movies we’ve selected and reservations here! The Minimest Academy is supported by Grupama.
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The Animest Festival is a project of the Animest Association, co-financed by the MEDIA Program of the European Union and AFCN – the Administration of the National Cultural Fund.
The Animest.18 project is co-financed by the Bucharest Municipality through ARCUB. The project does not necessarily represent the official position of the Bucharest Municipality or of ARCUB.
Institutional partners: The French Institute and the Embassy of France, Instituto Cervantes, The Austrian Cultural Forum, Goethe-Institut, The Embassy of Japan, Japan Foundation, Liszt Institute – The Hungarian Cultural Centre, The Czech Centre, The National Film Centre of Latvia, IZANAGI – Japanese Film Festival, CNDB – The National Centre for Dance Bucharest, UNATC – the I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, the Animation Festival Network.
Partners: Groupama, Aqua Carpatica, Sâmburești, BMW, TVPaint, MyAirBridge, Kafune, Crama de Piatra, Arthub, Home.
Main media partner: Radio Guerrilla.
Media partners: Radio România Cultural, Itsy Bitsy FM, IQads, Zile și Nopți, Elle, Vice, Scena9, Observator Cultural, Agerpres, Ziarul Metropolis, Mindcraft Stories, Happ.ro, LiterNet, MovieNews, Cinefan, Cinefilia, AaRC.ro, SuntPărinte.ro, AIVImedia.hub, Munteanu.
Monitoring partner: mediaTRUST.