Animafest Ciper: Best Animated Films for the Youngest

23. Countryside Animafest Cyprus v Salamiouju

Wednesday, 25. 9. 2023 at 9.00 / Maribor Puppet Theatre, big hall

Curated and introduced by Yiorgos Tsangaris, Artistic Director

www.animafest.com.cy

 
 

01.
Animanimusical 
Julia Ocker
2024, Germany, 03’28’’

The Animanimals want to do a big musical performance but somebody got the wrong notes.

  • Team
    Animation: Julia Ocker, Jacky de Groen, Ferdinand Engländer, Sveta Yuferova, Urte Zintler, Ina Gabriel, Dirk Reddig
    Design: Julia Ocker, Kiana Naghshineh, Christoph Horch, Paul Cichon, Layout: Sveta Yuferova, Ralf Bohde
    Rigging and Compositing: Ralf Bohde
    Animatic: Anselm Pyta, Elena Walf, Christoph Horch, Theme Song: Claudia Kaiser, Martin Lickleder
    Music: Christian Heck, Sumophonic - Viaphoniker & Orchester der Frankfurter Musikfreunde
    Producer: Thomas Meyer-Hermann

    About the director
    Julia Ocker is an animation director, designer aund author from Stuttgart. She studied Visual Communciation in Pforzheim and Cairo from 2003 to 2005 and Animation at the Filmakademie in Baden-Württemberg from 2006.Her Graduation film "Kellerkind" won the First Steps Awards 2012, the Tricky Women Prize 2013 and was nominated for the 2014 Annie Awards. Julia discovered her passion for children's movies as she had the opportunity to produce five short films with Studio FILM BILDER for the SWR series, "I know an Animal". From these five short films her own series "Animanimals" was created, it then went on to be shown on KiKa and sold to more tham 180 international territories. As every episode works as a short film they have run in many festivals worldwide and won more than 70 awards. Animanimals won the 2019 Grimme-Preis in the children's film category and was nominated for an International Emmy. The second season of the ANIMANIMALS will be finished in 2022.

    Filmography:
    2022: „Animanimals 2“ (tv series)
    2021: „Hello Stranger“ (short film)
    2016/2017: „Animanimals“ (tv series)
    2015/2016: „Patchwork Pals“ (tv series, writer, 15 episodes)
    2015: „Wolf“, „Octopus“ & „Crocodile“
    2013: „Zebra“
    2013: „Cow“
    2012: „Kellerkind“
    2009: „ITFS-Trailer: Astronauts“ - in collaboration with Moritz Schneider and Thorsten Löffler
    2008: „Gott und die Welt“
    2006: „Apple Tree“- in collaboration with Moritz Schneider

02.

Baking With Boris / La Boulangerie de Boris
Maša Avramović, Folimage 
2023, France, 08’15’’

Every morning Boris, the village baker, makes a fresh batch of crusty bread and pastries for all his neighbours until… Achoo! He can’t stop sneezing. He has become allergic to flour. How will he manage to keep baking for everyone in the village?

  • https://www.folimage.fr/en/films/baking-with-boris-240.htm 

    Technicals: 2D computer graphics, author's technique, traditional 2D animation
    Dialogues: non

    Team
    Direction: Maša Avramović
    Script: Maša Avramović
    Graphism: Maša Avramović
    Animation: Marc Robinet, Yulia Aronova, Salomé Chatelain, Morten Riisberg Hansen, Diane Laugier
    Decors: Maša Avramović, Coline Desclides
    Compositing: Izù Troin
    Colors: Maryse Tuzi, Mathilde Eysseric, Carole Guénault, Diane Laugier
    Music: Pablo Pico
    Sound: Jure Buljević, Loïc Burkhardt, Samuel Billot, Rémi Barbot
    Editing: Antoine Rodet, Iva Kraljević
    Mixage: Borna Buljević
    Producer(s): 
    Producteurs délégués : Reginald de Guillebon (Folimage), Nicolas Burlet (Nadasdy Film), Draško Ivezić (Adriatic Animation)
    Producteur exécutif : Pierre Méloni (Folimage)
    Directrice du développement : Corinne Destombes (Folimage)

    About the director
    Maša Avramović is an animation film director and illustrator born in 1994. in Belgrade, Serbia. She graduated from Faculty of Applied Arts (2017) and La Poudrière (2020). Her graduation film « Stuck Together » and « Trails of the morning » from the “Fresh out of School” collection, have travelled widely to festivals in Europe and the world. Her newest film “Baking with Boris” (2023) was made in the Young Audience Residency in Folimage.

03.

Pufferfish / Kugelfisch
Julia Ocker
2022, Germany, 03’37’’

In an ocean full of big, bad fish, the pufferfish is trying to seem as big and strong as possible.

  • Team
    Animation: Julia Ocker, Jacky de Groen, Ferdinand Engländer, Sveta Yuferova, Urte Zintler, Ina Gabriel, Dirk Reddig
    Design: Julia Ocker, Kiana Naghshineh, Christoph Horch, Paul Cichon, Layout: Sveta Yuferova, Ralf Bohde
    Rigging and Compositing: Ralf Bohde
    Animatic: Anselm Pyta, Elena Walf, Christoph Horch, Theme Song: Claudia Kaiser, Martin Lickleder
    Music: Christian Heck, Sumophonic - Viaphoniker & Orchester der Frankfurter Musikfreunde
    Producer: Thomas Meyer-Hermann

    About the director
    Julia Ocker is an animation director, designer aund author from Stuttgart. She studied Visual Communciation in Pforzheim and Cairo from 2003 to 2005 and Animation at the Filmakademie in Baden-Württemberg from 2006.Her Graduation film "Kellerkind" won the First Steps Awards 2012, the Tricky Women Prize 2013 and was nominated for the 2014 Annie Awards. Julia discovered her passion for children's movies as she had the opportunity to produce five short films with Studio FILM BILDER for the SWR series, "I know an Animal". From these five short films her own series "Animanimals" was created, it then went on to be shown on KiKa and sold to more tham 180 international territories. As every episode works as a short film they have run in many festivals worldwide and won more than 70 awards. Animanimals won the 2019 Grimme-Preis in the children's film category and was nominated for an International Emmy. The second season of the ANIMANIMALS will be finished in 2022.

    Filmography:
    2022: „Animanimals 2“ (tv series)
    2021: „Hello Stranger“ (short film)
    2016/2017: „Animanimals“ (tv series)
    2015/2016: „Patchwork Pals“ (tv series, writer, 15 episodes)
    2015: „Wolf“, „Octopus“ & „Crocodile“
    2013: „Zebra“
    2013: „Cow“
    2012: „Kellerkind“
    2009: „ITFS-Trailer: Astronauts“ - in collaboration with Moritz Schneider and Thorsten Löffler
    2008: „Gott und die Welt“
    2006: „Apple Tree“- in collaboration with Moritz Schneider

04.

Return
Lindong Chen, Tama Art University 
2023, Japan, 02’56’’

If the fish in the stream are freer than the fish in the tank, then the fish in the river are freer than the fish in the stream. If the fish in the river are freer than the fish in the stream, then the fish in the sea are freer than the fish in the river. But if the fish in the sea are freer than the fish in the river, where is the freest fish of all?

  • Techniques: stop motion

    Team
    MUSIC: Baihui Zhao
    ANIMATION: Lindong Chen
    Producer: Tatsutoshi NOMURA

    About the director
    Lindong Chen was born in November 1996. Received master’s degree from Tama Art University,Department of Graphic Design in 2024. His objective is to explore the expressive potential of materials in animation. By studying the impact and variations of diverse performance materials on animation expression, he endeavors to uncover the functionality and imagery inherent in materials. This exploration seeks to reveal the possibilities they offer for animation's visual expression and narrative techniques.

    Currently, he is particularly interested in transparent materials like slime and plastic paper, delving into their distinct potential within animation creation.

05.

Hoofs on Skates / Kanopos ir pačiūžos
Ignas Meilūnas (Kadrų Skyrius)
2024, Lithuania, 12’24’’

In a winter wonderland two friends are having a blast ice-skating on a frozen lake when suddenly a strange and unfamiliar world cracks open underneath them. Now they must learn how to deal with this other kind without letting fear and preconceptions take over.

  • Language: None
    Technique: Puppet animation

    Team
    Script: Titas Laucius
    Director of Photography, Gaffer: Simonas Glinskis, LAC
    Production Designers: Dominas Pulokas, Ignas Meilūnas
    Sound Designers: Julius Grigelionis, Marius Meilūnas
    Animation: Anni Oja, Matthew Krasucki O'Dowd, Ignas Meilūnas
    Animation assistant: Vilija Simutytė
    Editor: Ignas Meilūnas
    Storyboard Artist: Robertas Nevecka
    Head of puppetry: Justė Vazgytė
    Art departmnet: Dominas Pulokas, Vilija Simutytė, Benediktas Launikonis, Rūta Norvydaitė, Dominykas Šavelis, Jonas Kentrus Aliukas
    Image Postproduction Supervisor, Colorist: Justinas Vencius
    Visual Effects Artists: Vytautas Kazlauskas, Egidijus Urbonas
    Visual Effects Artist Assistant: Gabrielė Uždavinytė
    Mastering: Justinas Vencius
    DIT, Best Boy: Daniel Bartoševič
    Foley Artist, Foley Editor: Dominyka Adomaitytė
    Foley Mixer: Viera Marinová
    Foley Studio: Soundsquare
    Foley Studio Production: Jakub Sláma
    Re-recording, Mixer: Vytis Puronas
    VO Recordist: Julius Grigelionis
    Voice Actors: Ignas Meilūnas, Julius Grigelionis
    Distributor: MIYU Distribution
    Accounting: Loreta Baranauskienė
    Auditor: Larisa Dzengo
    Producers: Justė Beniušytė, Ignas Meilūnas

    About the director
    Ignas Meilūnas (1985) is Lithuanian animation director and producer. After years of working with different animation techniques Ignas settled on stop motion animation and usually works with short films for young audiences. His films have travelled and won awards in some of the biggest international film festivals worldwide. Ignas is a co-founder of Vilnius based animation studio "Kadrų  Skyrius". 

    Filmography: 
    Woods / Miškas (2015, short animation)
    Mr. Night Has A Day Off / Pono Nakties laisvadienis (2016, short animation)
    Matilda and the Spare Head / Matilda ir atsarginė galva (2020, short animation)
    Hoofs on Skates / Kanopos ir pačiūžos (2024, short animation)

 
Kaja Fiedler