ANIMAFILM reveals its program

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The 5th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival is soon to get underway. Here are some key dates to keep in mind.

This year ANIMAFILM will take place at Nizami Cinema Center on September 7-11, Azernews reports.

The festival published an extensive program and announced ticket sales. As the animation festival is dedicated to " Climate Change", all revenue obtained from ticket sales will be donated to the Karabakh Revival Fund in order to contribute to the restoration of the ecological balance in Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenian occupation.

The 5th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival is pleased to announce three main programs to the audience: a competition program, a non-competition program, and a program for professionals.

Aside from the screening of animated films, workshops and master classes will be organized with the participation of local and foreign professionals.

Around 230 films from 50 countries have been submitted to the festival. The selection committee accepted 76 films from 29 countries into the competition program

These films will compete in one local and six international categories.

All selected films evaluated by the international jury and winners will be announced at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 5th ANIMAFILM Festival.

Twenty-two local children were included in the children's jury, and six foreign professionals were included in the international jury: Jonathan Laskar (Switzerland), Tilly Wallace (Great Britain), Markus Ovre (Great Britain), Nodar Begiashvili (Georgia), Jorn Leeuwerink (Netherlands), Daniel Bird (Great Britain).

Moreover, the winner of the Audience Award will be determined based on the results of audience voting during the film screenings, and the winner will be awarded by Lenovo company.

TVPaint Développement will present an award for Best Short Student Animated Film nomination.

The French Embassy in Azerbaijan, the French Institute and Shahmaran Metaceramica will award the winner in Best Azerbaijani Short Animated Film nomination.

The non-competition program will feature films about climate change, the "Mother Nature" program for children, the full-length animated film Even Mice Belong in Heaven (Czech Republic), Ukrainian animation, a virtual exhibition, and winning films from the Baku International Short Film Festival.

The feature film Weathering with You will be screened on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Japan.

The program for professionals will feature Azerbaijani animated films in development/production, meetings with the International Jury, and a master class by director Jonathan Laskar (Switzerland).

Apart from these, "Stop Motion" and "Paint-on-glass Animation" workshops with the participation of Nitya Ramlogan (USA), Tilly Wallace (England), and Nazrin Aghamaliyeva (Azerbaijan) are also scheduled.

Additionally, the festival will host a conference entitled Reframing Animation: Moving Image Preservation and Restoration in the Digital Age. Azerbaijan Animation Association NGO along with PERI FILM LLC are the organizers of the 5th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival.

Partners of the festival this year include the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry, Azerbaijan Union of Film-makers, Karabakh Revival Fund, Culture Network House Association, Azerbaijan Creative Industries Federation, Shahmaran Metaceramica, Dynamic Box Studio, Nizami Cinema Center, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, French Embassy in Azerbaijan and French Institute in Azerbaijan, Embassy of the Czech Republic to Azerbaijan, Embassy of Japan in Azerbaijan and the Japan Foundation, Lenovo, Tripsome, Ritual Mobil Theater Laboratory, Cafino Coffee & Wine, Nemi Hotel Baku, Unibroad, Choche.az, Annecy International Animation Film Festival, TVPaint Développement.

BAKU magazine and Nargis magazine are media partners of the event.