71 films were selected to the Official Selection 2023 by StopTrik IFF selectors (Michał Bobrowski, Brina Fekonja, Jelena Dragutinović) out of more than 400 entries sent to the festival without the use of any submission platform. The most daring and visually astonishing stop motion animations made in 2021-2023 all over the world are coming soon to StopTrik Audiences, the main jurors, who will celebrate the festival in Maribor (SI, 27.9. – 1.10.2023) and Łódź (PL, 8.-10.12.2023).

International Competition programme: Stop Motion Animation showcases 21 films created in traditional stop motion techniques (puppet film, clay animation, object manipulation, cut-out animation, pixilation, etc.). This selection demonstrates a fusion of filmmaking brilliance and intellectual relevance. In the competition’s line-up the names of the well-established filmmakers (e.g., Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi, Ana Nedeljković and Nikola Majdak Jr., Ivana Bošnjak Volda and Thomas Johnson Volda, Carlos Montoya, Kaspar Jancis) are found next to those of the students or newcomers to stop motion (e.g., Julia Benedyktowicz, María Lucía Bayardo Dodge). The general atmosphere of the selection is rather introspective, poetic, and of a dark humour; among socially engaged themes prevalent in the programme one notices exploitation of labour as well as slow departure from post-pandemic isolation.

In the International Competition programme: Borderlands we will watch 10 experimental films that combine stop motion with other animation techniques and means of cinematic expression. Experimental form may convey strong political and feminist statements (as in Fransix Tenda Lomba’s Kelasi or Yegane Moghaddam’s Our Uniform) but it can be also employed to enchant and sharpen mind and perception (as in Quita Felix’s Shuffle or Max Hattler’s stereoscopic pixilation 二〇二〇).

21 films from the non-competitive Panorama programme present a wider spectrum of artistic approaches practised in short format of stop motion films. While numerous films from the competitive sections are characterised by longer runtime (15-25 minutes), the Panorama focuses on shortest of the shorts made by professionals (José Luis Saturno from Mexico; Tess Martin from The Netherlands), students of various arts academies (Tama Art, Japan; SRFTvI, India; EKA, Estonia; ALUO, Slovenia) as well as enthusiast working at homes and on the workshops.

The International Competition programme: Stop Motion Animation is divided into three categories in regard to the age group of the viewers: 6 – 8 years old, 9 – 11 years old, 12 – 14 years old. The youngest StopTrik audiences will be introduced to the diversity of stop motion animated worlds through the most subtle, funny, and masterfully created films reflecting on the issues of environmentalism, cultural heritage and diversity, domestic life or hip-hop culture.