Festival Description:
Animateka is a week-long international festival of animated film, takes place every year in Ljubljana's Kinodvor and Slovenska kinoteka. Beginning on the first Monday in December, it focuses primarily on the latest production of East and Central European short films. European student films and International films for children.
2020 Festival Coverage
The programme counts 338 shorts and 9 features. Spectators will be able to see 7 feature films and 252 animated short films at the online festival, of which 2 feature films and 225 short films will be available worldwide. The rest will be shown in cinemas when the situation will allow it.
Films in the Main competition programme, the Young Talents of Europe competition programme and the Elephant competition programme are once again vying for prizes. Four awards await them: Jury grand Prix, Young Talent Award, the School of Arts of the University of Nova Gorica and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design of the University of Ljubljana Award, the Elephant Children Jury Award and the ;DSAF Audience Award.
In addition to the competition films, there is also The Best of the World programme, and in cooperation with the Kinotrip festival, for the third year in a row, the festival is presenting the Kinotrip’s Best of the World.
As student films were submitted this year in great numbers, the festival added the Student Panorama to the traditional Eastern and Central European Panorama.
A special section this year is the CEE Animation Talents 2020, preparing in collaboration with CEE Animation.
In the Animated Documentaries section, this year there will be two programmes of shorts and three feature-length animated documentaries touching upon a variety of social-political topics.
Among this year’s colourful selection of feature-length animated films is also the recipient of the Grand Prix at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, a film by Polish director Mariusz Wilczyński Kill It and Leave This Town, about which the director himself will tell us more at a masterclass during AnimatekaPRO.
In cooperation with the Genre Film Festival Kurja Polt, the festival will present you the animated bizarre road trip for all generations The Old Man Movie by directors Oskar Lehemaa and Mikk Mägi.
A special focus this year is dedicated to Croatian animation with the programme Croatia Visiting, prepared in cooperation with the Croatian Audiovisual Center, which will be shown partially on the web and partially when it will be possible to do so in cinemas.
There will also be a special selection of shorts at the opening of the festival, preparing together with this year’s main jury.
2020 Visual Identity:
This year the visuals of the festival were prepared by Andrej Štular, the internationally renowned artist from the field of illustration, comics, painting, sculpture, photography, film, as well as puppetry and scenography, who has had exhibitions all over the world and has published five independent comic albums. His work often includes recycling, and it is in this style that he is also presenting himself with this year’s image of Animateka.
Programme Highlghts:
The Baltics Visiting is the name of this year's retrospective: spanning 8 programmes, it will give an insight into the key animated works from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. This journey across the Baltics is in chronological order, starting in the Soviet era of the 1970s and 1980s, when animators in this part of the world pondered the prospect of the fall of the regime while bringing to life on screen myths and tales.
Called ‘Independence’, the second set of shorts comprises films from the late 1990s and early 2000s, when films discussed an increasingly broad range of subjects.
After fully taking off in the new millennium, Baltic animation entered its Golden Age: we are introducing you to its highlights with two programmes of shorts made between 2009 and 2016.
The last set of shorts spotlights what characterises Baltic animation today: dialogue between generations. Up-and-coming filmmakers are presented side by side with acclaimed authors who have been a central force in the world of animation for decades and continue to impress with unabated creativity.
The five programmes of shorts are complemented by three feature films: Away, made entirely by Gints Zilbalodis, Rocks in My Pockets, a film by Signe Baumane that has already been screened at one of the previous editions of Animateka, and Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs (7+) by this year’s artist in residence and jury member, Edmunds Jansons.
Animated documentaries have become a staple in the Animateka line-up. As in recent editions, most of the animated documentaries in this year’s programme deal with burning socio-political issues: migration from war zones, the Syrian civil war, terrorism, political rallies, marginal groups, and addictions. They discuss the complexity of life and examine the role of the individual in a society, relationship, or family. The two programmes, Animated Documentaries I and II, are screening at the Slovenian Cinematheque on Tuesday at 9 pm and Saturday at 6 pm, respectively.
Jonas Odell’s animated documentaries are part of his retrospective programme ‘Never Like the First Time!’ (Thursday at 7 pm at Kinodvor): using animation, Lies, Never Like the First Time!, Tussilago, and I Was a Winner document intriguing intimate stories.
The author of the 16th Animateka visual identity is Edmunds Jansons, a renowned animation film director and graphic designer from Latvia.
From its very beginning the cinema has developed as a two-headed eagle - with one head looking into reality - documenting, observing, commenting our lives; the other head looking to the magical side of life - where the dreams, tricks and fantasies are. What I like about animation the most is that these two sides/directions coexist there naturally. That feeling about the duality of animation - I tried to capture it in the poster. Why fishermen - that’s the first image that comes to my mind when I hear “Baltics” - sea, fish, boats, fishermen - silent, harsh and strong - Edmunds Jansons
This year the festival recieved 669 films, which is 65 more than last year. 120 out of 696 films tried to get into the Central end Eastern European competition programme, 281 films applied to compete in the Young Talents competition, while 268 of them would like to take a chance in the Elephant competition programme, aimed at children. Submissions were received from 63 different countries, from Poland and France to Singapore and Afghanistan. Slovene animators did their part too, as they sent 35 films.
Here's the full festival daily schedule
Festival Poster
For the Animateka Pro Pitch competition, see here
2017 Festival News
2020 Call for entries (Archive)
The 17th edition of the festival is encouraging authors of short animations to submit their films in the Regional Short Animated Film Competition programme, the European Young Talents Competition programme, and The Elephant International Children’s Film Competition programme.
Despite the uncertain situation presented by the year 2020 due to the global pandemic and the limitations as well as worries that have come with it, the 17th edition of Animateka will take place, with the festival team doing its best to bring the diversity of animated art to its fans.
Competition programmes
The films must be completed in 2019 or 2020.Film previously screened at the Animateka festival are not eligible.
The International Jury is nominated by the festival organizers,and will present the Grand Prix for best short animated films from Eastern and Central Europe as well as five Jury Special Mentions. A special jury comprised of students will present the Award for Best European Student Animated Film. A special jury comprised of children will present the Award for Best Film in The Elephant Programme.An Audience Award will also be presented.