Fest Anča 2024 Unveils Its Eclectic Animation Film Lineup

Fest Anča International Animation Festival

Slovakia

The 17th edition of the Fest Anča International Animation Festival, set to take place in Žilina from June 25 to 30, 2024, has officially announced its selection of films. Out of 1,340 submissions from around the world, 206 films have been chosen by the pre-selection committee for their originality and fresh perspectives. This year, the festival will explore a wide range of animation techniques and storytelling methods, reflecting on contemporary issues such as war, immigration, and the complexity of relationships.

Programme director Jakub Spevák and pre-selection committee member Peter Gašparík highlighted the inclusion of AI-produced films for the first time, though only a few were selected for their effective use of technology. The festival celebrates the blurring lines between student and professional works, with a significant portion of the main competition comprising films made by students.

Notable entries include Martyr’s Guidebook by Maksymilian Rzontkowski, Carcinization by Denis Souza, and Such Miracles Do Happen by Barbara Rupik, showcasing a range of themes from the bizarre to the divine. Seasoned animator Flóra Anna Buda returns with 27, alongside other remarkable films like Maurice’s Bar and The Rubbings of Trajectories.

Fest Anča's recognition as an Oscar® qualifying festival adds prestige, particularly to the winners of the Best Animated Short and Best Slovak Animated Short categories. The festival also takes pride in its strong representation of Slovak animation, with works like Hello Summer by Veronika Zacharová and Martin Smatana, and Wereawolf by Niko Mlynarčík, showcasing local talent and themes.

The music video section promises a diverse selection, featuring animations set to a wide range of music genres, from post-punk to jazz. Noteworthy submissions include videos for DJ Piper, Ashnikko, and PJ Harvey, created by artists like Raman Djafari and the Chilean duo Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León.

Children's programming remains a cornerstone of the festival, with films that engage young minds in stories about friendship, environmental conservation, and heroism. Slovak animation for children is represented by Eva Matejovičová's Writing Home, a poignant tale of loss and recovery.

Non-competition sections broaden the festival's appeal, introducing audiences to the latest works by established animators and offering a variety of thematic screenings. Fest Anča 2024 is not just a showcase but a celebration of animation's evolving landscape, supported by the Audiovisual Fund and the LITA Fund, highlighting the festival's role in promoting innovative storytelling and artistic excellence in animation.

Complete List of Selected Films for Fest Anča 2024

COMPETITION SECTIONS

Films Competing for the Anča Award for Best Animated Short and Best Student Animated Short - marked by (s):

• I Smell a Mouse - Iiti Yli-Harja
• La Voix des Sirènes - Gianluigi Toccafondo
• La Perra - Carla Melo Gampert
• Martyr’s Guidebook - Maksymilian Rzontkowski
• fur (s) - Zhen Li
• Hello Summer - Martin Smatana, Veronika Zacharová
• Everythingness - Julia Jesionek
• Noodles au Naturel - Matteo Salanave Piazza
• The Family Portrait - Lea Vidakovic
• A Kind of Testament - Stephen Vuillemin
• Via Dolorosa - Rachel Gutgarts
• Kinderfilm - Michael Stumpf, Adrian Jonas Haim, Robin Klengel
• Bergamot - Yanqi Liang
• Carcinization (s) - Denis Souza
• Furrie (s) - Lucie Grannec
• The Rubbings of Trajectories - Cheng-Hsu Chung
• Pipes (s) - Kilian Feusi, Jessica Meier, Sujanth Ravichandran
• Such Miracles Do Happen (s) - Barbara Rupik
• Maurice’s Bar - Tzor Edery, Tom Prezman
• Spring - Pernille Kjaer
• A Crab in the Pool - Alexandra Myotte, Jean-Sébastien Hamel
• 27 - Flóra Anna Buda
• Shape of the Elephant (s) - Sam Kuwa
• It’s Just a Whole (s) - Bianca Scali
• The Waves - Yumi J
• Vitanuova - Niles Atallah
• Zima - Tomek Popakul, Kasumi Ozeki
• Preoperational Model - Philip Ullman
• Nun or Never! - Heta Jäälinoja
• Sewing Love (s) - Xu Yuan
• Familes’ Albums - Moïa Jobin-Paré
• Tako Tsubo - Fanny Sorgo, Eva Pedroza

Music Videos Competing for the Anča Award for Best Animated Music Video:

• DJ Piper – RIP TXL - Raman Djafari
• I Gotta Cry - Francesca Colombara
• Harajyuku Boy - Honami Yano
• Horizonte de sucesos - Pablo Ballarín
• Cassels – About Not Writing - Michal Mikuš
• Delingha - Lu Li
• Atómica - Facundo Quiroga, Sebastían García, Juan Nodalino
• I’m Leaving - Michelle Brand
• Kind of Morning - Clara Franciosi, Valentine Vendroux, Salomé Hammann
• Prezident Lourajder – Lunapark - Matej Mihályi
• Worm - Mattis Dovier, Yoann Dovier
• I Inside the Old I Dying - Joaquín Cociña, Cristobal León
• Cosmo Sheldrake – Stop The Music - Weronika Anna Marianna
• Ashnikko – Worms - Raman Djafari
• Boy Blue - Matteo Dang Minh, Francesca Colombara
• Give Me Rice - Jin Woo
• My Way - Jesica Bianchi
• Ankramu – Majstre / Maestro - Marián Vredík
• Oblivion – Mervyn - Imhoff Igor
• Transmogrified - Alexander Dupuis
• Météores - Agnès Patron, Morgane Le Péchon
• Kazue Kahoru Is a Social Detective - Julie Černá
• Juan Wauters – Milanesa al pan (Feat. Zoe Gotusso) - Dante Zaballa
• Hate Machine - Théo Tonatiu Lenoble
• Sunflowers – A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst - Carolina Bonzinho, Leander Meresaar
• D’un Feu Secret - Amanda Bonaiuto

Films Competing for the Anča Award for Best Animated Short for Children:

• Battery Mommy - Seungbae Jeon
• Writing Home - Eva Matejovičová
• Spin Cycle - Gurli Bachmann
• Butterfly - Suncana Brkulj
• Rainboy - Barbara Brunner
• Rally - Myojung Noh
• Pufferfish - Julia Ocker

Films Competing for the Anča Award for Best Slovak Animated Short:

• Wereawolf - Niko Mlynarčík
• Hello Summer - Martin Smatana, Veronika Zacharová
• Perplexity - Franz Milec
• Tapping Black Boots - Kaoru Furuko
• Bobo - Veronika Obertová
• Dream Rotation - Darya Sidorova, Viktória Zimmermannová, Rebeka Vakrčková, Katarína Jelínková
• Of Stars and Fables - Alla Dmitrievna Prokopyshyna
• Silo - Imrich Kútik

NON-COMPETITION SECTIONS

Short Films from Around the World:

• The Mole - Alexey Sukhov
• Matta and Matto - Bianca Caderas, Kerstin Zemp
• The Garden of Heart - Olivér Hegyi
• The Fold - Patrick Buhr
• The Water Ghost - Hongzhou Xue
• Greylands - Charlotte Waltert, Alvaro Schoeck
• Beanboy - Emily Hanning
• Electra - Daria Kashcheeva
• Yuck! - Loïc Espuche
• Sweet Like Lemons - Jenny Jokela
• See you Champion! - Alexis Mouron
• E6-D7 - Eno Swinnen
• The TOBOS - Tobias Rud
• Crab Day - Ross Stringer
• Architect A - Jonghoon Lee
• Dog, Ball, Park - Renana Palmor
• Ship Down the Well - Xi Chen, Xiaolin Zhou, Liaoyu Chen
• Express Delivery - Louise-Marie Colon, Simon Medard
• Mold - Shi Shengxue
• Mr. Rabbit - Bryan Lee
• Mee and Burd - Greg McLeod
• Silent Panorama - Nicolas Piret
• Point and Line to Cosmos - Pablo Ballarín
• Summer 96 - Mathilde Bédouet
• Dodo - Yi Luo
• The Master of the Swamps - Sasha Svirsky
• The Purple Season - Clémence Bouchereau
• Miisufy - Liisi Grünberg
• This Is a Story Without a Plan - Cassie Shao
• Your Dad - Anita Kühnel Szabó

Slovak Short Films:

• The Forest Five - Ivana Laučíková
• The Tots (episode Picnic) - Vanda Raýmanová, Michal Struss
• Saturday - Szilard Kardiak
• Veľká Potreba – Coincidence - Milan Uherčík
• Slovak for a Word – To Mature - Marián Vredík
• The Wolf and the Little Goats - Radovan Halička
• The Wasteland - Timotej Lukovič
• Everything We Missed - Marta Prokopová

Short Films for Children:

• Bobo - Veronika Obertová
• The Forest Five - Ivana Laučíková
• Go Away, Alfred! - Célia Tisserant, Arnaud Demuynck
• Night Market - Yingyu Zhu, Chenyi Zhu, Xinyu Sun
• Cupcake - 10-person team
• Little Hot Water Bottle - Yuliana Brutti
• Wat zit er in die kist? - Bram Algoed
• Shuffle - Quita Felix
• Fly By - Filip Dobeš
• Sports Day - Jessica Wu
• The Other Planet - 10-children team
• Shellfish - Justine Aubert, Cassandra Bouton, Grégoire Callies, Maud Chesneau, Anna Danton, Loic Girault, Gatien Peyrude, Justine Raux
• Flutter - Adam Reed Levy
• Coot - Marlies van der Wel
• Clawlolo (Gramophone) - Alexey Alexeev

Short Animated Documentary:

• GiGi - Cynthia Calvi
• Swimming with Wings - Daphna Awadish Golan
• Love Me True - Inés Sedan
• Our Uniform - Yegane Moghaddam
• Human Resources - Trinidad Plass Caussade, Titouan Tillier, Isaac Wenzek
• A Border Guard and His Dog - Pablo Ballarín
• Y - Matea Kovač
• Ardent Other - Alice Brygo
• Diaphony - Mirjam Debets, Selle Sellink

Contemporary Abstract and Non-Narrative Animation:

• Chamber of Shadows - Seyoung Ok
• Vision - Çağıl Harmandar
• Help Desk - Edwin Rostron
• TWENTYTИƎWT - Max Hattler
• In Between City - Ilya Kreines
• [S] - Mario Radev
• Deathwaves (Or A Fungal Hecatomb) - Maciek Stępniewski
• Deep Breath - Leonor Pacheco

Anča in Wonderland:

• The First Musical Ever Written by A Chair - Kacper Senkowski
• Vegan Mayo - Luca Tóth
• Ça Chewing! - Armel Saint Loup
• FVLCRVM – Bad Girls - Štefan Kráľovič
• Drijf - Levi Stoops
• Count to Ten - Andreia Dobrota
• Monsterfuckers - Ori Goldberg
• Humanity - Tereza Kovandová
• She and Her Good Vibrations - Olivia Griselda, Sarah Cheok
• Don’t Die - Yu-Seon Park
• Horse Jesus - Braden M Hansen
• The Choolers: Fish and Meat - Monsieur Pimpant
• Ready - Eirini Vianelli
• Hot Fish - Yael Reisfeld
• Kill Your Darlings - Thirza Ingold
• Giovanna and the Big Peacock - Maria Zilli
• Atomic Chicken - Thibault Ermeneux, Lucie Lyfoung, Solène Polet, Capucine Prat, Morgane Siriex, Anna Uglova
• All Is Lost - Carla Pereira, Juanfran Jacinto
• Catisfaction - Andre Marques Almeida
• Karotte - Harry Bhalerao
• David - Patrick Ward
• Conej Steps Out - Pablo Río
• And Then… - Tanja Nuijten, Leo Graf, Raphael Stalder
• 27.10 - Michaela Matějková

Anča in Mordor:

• Subotopic - Nikki Schuster
• I Can’t Go On Like This by Aria Covamonas from Planet Earth - Aria Covamonas
• Hungry Ghost - Guido Devadder, Kaitlin McSweeney
• Is Heaven Blue? #2 - Menno de Nooijer, Paul de Nooijer
• Grain Cloud Atmosphere - Martin Moolhuijsen
• White - Ao Chen
• Prototipo - Tina Frank, General Magic

Extremely Short Section of Extremely Short Films:

• Erasmus: It Has Never Been Easier - Michaela Režová, studio Panika
• Tremble - Marie Lukášová
• Dream - Viktória Barcziová
• The Mushroom Thief - Macarena Rubio
• Rice & Chicken - Kamil Wójcik, Cat Kaczmarek
• Pigeon Holding - Olivia Dugdale
• Crosswalk - Daria Volchok
• The Shortest Relationship in the World - Xiaoxuan Han
• Born to Love - Xian Zhong
• Swimming Pool – Fushigi Man - Natalia Ryss
• ((O)) - Joanna Żybul
• Lives - Ranxu
• Parmelia - Tereza Burianová
• A Booger’s Nightmare - Daniel Blanco
• Anamnesis - Izabella Retkowska
• The Name - Alexander Aguilar
• 20/20 - Zsófia Szénásy
• From the Past - Hanna Palamarchuk
• King - Zoe Sweeting
• Electronic Insects - Keum-Taek Jung
• What’s Happening Around Us - Krystsina Ramanava
• The Best Tram Ever - Petra Mikolášová
• Demons in the Closet - James Smith
• Temple Run - Enan Roi Pana Ibardaloza, Hui Pak Lun, Lam Yi Ki, Daniel Robert McOmie
• La Bee de Beeley - Sacha Beeley
• Allergy - Nash Tanabodee, Ruixi Liu
• Gravy - Evie Hurst
• Tigris - Janka Dósa
• Windows - Belén Cordero Rodríguez
• Us, the Sea and the Sad End - Malgorzata Rybak
• What It Takes - Kelsi Phung, Fabien Corré
• My Therapist Told Me - Markéta Müllerová
• Fate - Shermeen Beh
• Unique Together - Lena Kadriye Ziyal
• Prometheus 3000 - Marty Müller