World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb, established in 1972, is the second oldest film festival in the world completely dedicated to animation. Animafest Zagreb always has been, alongside festivals in Annecy, Ottawa and Hiroshima, a part of the obligatory circuit in the animation community’s calendar. Animafest’s Grand Prix winners directly qualify for the Academy Award and the European Animation Award. Until 2005, the festival was held biennially, and afterwards continued in the annual rhythm, devoting even years to short film and odd years to feature film.
Animafest Zagreb will present a program of short films by female authors, named That's What She Said.
FILMS:
Doubt, Adela Križovenská, Czech Republic, 2023., 6'
A short animated essay, which uses non-narrative, abstract visuals to talk about the emotional struggle of the author with her own creativity.
Above the Clouds, Vivien Hárshegyi, Hungary, 2022., 14'
The main character starts to feel deeper emotions for a guy, but she is afraid of falling in love again because of her past with her first love. So she runs off, rushing memories take her to an imaginary journey and forcing her to untangle her confused mind and heart.
Misaligned, Marta Magnuska, Poland, Latvia, 2022., 7'
The woman and the man are in a room, a gecko sits in a terrarium, several flies are circling a lamp. Gradually we find more and more dependencies and analogies between their activities and observed elements as the rhythm of their universes accelerates. The microcosms shown seem to interact rhythmically and belong to some cosmic order.
Octopus Banana Hotchpotch, Milanka Fabjančič, Slovenia, 2023., 8'
The lively and spirited journey through the lives of best friends, twin souls Mila and Mara, is a colorful adventure of two quite different life paths nourished and driven by decades of sisterhood love.
Mariupol. A Hundred Nights, Sofija Melnik, Ukraine, Germany, 2023., 7'
Mariupol. A Hundred Nights tells us a story of a little girl, who wakes up on February 24th because of the air alert and tries to find someone living in the burning city. The main character is based on the story of Alice, a 4-year girl, who stayed in the blocked Mariupol during the whole time, she was also at Azovstal during the last month of defense. When Russians allowed the evacuation of civilians from Azovstal, Alice was separated from her mother. A poem used in the film is The wheels, the wheels, they hit the road (Кolesa hlukho stukotiat ) by Vasyl Stus who was a Ukrainian poet and an active member of the dissident movement in the 60s and 70s. Stus was repressed and died in a gulag.
Her Dress for the Final, Martina Meštrović, Croatia, 2023., 9'
One day my granny dyed her wedding dress black. She wanted to be buried in it.
Rising Above, Natálie Durchánková, Czech Republic, 2023., 4'
An animated documentary based on the real-life account provided by a survivor of a sexually motivated violent assault and her journey of recovery as she comes to terms with the trauma.
Dog, Bread and the Flowers From Tomorrow, Mihaela Mîndru, France, Moldova, 2022., 6'
Why do we have so many customs and rules to see our loved ones off in the afterlife? A child fascinated by the customs of a funeral in a Moldovan village forgets about the funeral. We follow the child’s imagination assimilating the folkloric traditions, trying to understand what is going on.
The Family Portrait , Lea Vidaković, Croatia, France, 2023., 15'
A quiet Sunday afternoon in the aristocratic, family home, just before the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Andras and his daughter Zsofia are caught by surprise when Andras’ brother Zoltan intrudes in the intimacy of their home, along with his big family. A poetic, dark, and somewhat humorous social observation, in which family ties and relationships are broken down and dissected to pieces.
*films are in original language with English subtitles
