Polish Animations At The 43rd Festival In Annecy





Polish animations were included in the program of one of the most important animated film festivals – the 43rd Animated Film Festival in Annecy.

Festival in Annecy is one of the most prestigious animated festivals in the world. Festiwal is accompanied by the International Animation Film Market (MIFA) – one of the major events of this type in the world.

“Acid Rain”, “Story” and “Rain” in the short film competition

 “Acid Rain” by Tomek Popakul, “Rain” by Piotr Milczarek and “Story” by Jola Bańkowska will compete for the title of the best film. All three films are co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

“Acid Rain”, dir. Tomek Popakul

Somewhere in the Eastern Europe. Young runs away from her depressing hometown. Her early enthusiasm about the hitch-hike falls when she finds herself in the city outskirts in the middle og the night. At the bridge she meets a figure balancing unsafely on the guardrail. That’s how she meets Skinny- a kind of unstable wirdoo. Skinny lives in a camping can, which he uses to run his not-s-legal job erransd. Together with him, she sets on a journey with no destinantion. As a ride continous a particulat affection grows between the two of them.

The premiere was at Sundance. Award at the 59th Krakow Film Festival (Silver Hobby Horse).

Production: Animoon (Piotr Szczepanowicz and Grzegorz Wacławek), coproduction: FINA. International promotion and festival distribution of the film is supported by KFF sales and promotion agency operating at the Krakow Film Foundation.

“Rain”, dir. Piotr Milczarek

The Rain’ is a simple animated film on collective consciousness. It talks about how no accountability for our actions pushes us to thoughtlessly follow the crowd, which may lead to a tragedy. The film also depicts a struggle of an individual with collective hypnosis and its consequences for both the individual and the crowd.

Production: Fumi Studio (Piotr Furmankiewicz and Mateusz Michalak).

“Story”, dir. Jola Bańkowska

“Story” is an ironic series of a dozen or so scenes telling the interweaving of everyday life with the digital world. Viewed by “story”, popular today in social media, depicting people who are lonely, lost and sometimes indifferent to the surrounding reality.

Premiere at the 69th Berlinale.

Production: Munk Studio.

The KFF Sales & Promotion agency, operating at the Krakow Film Foundation, supports the international promotion and festival  distribution of the film.

The sales agent for the film is New Europe Film Sales.

“You are overreacting”, “Ovule”, “The Little Soul” in the student film competition

”You are overreacting” by Karina Paciorkowska, “Ovule” by Natalia Durszewicz and “The Little Soul” by Barbara Rupik take part in the student competition. Polish films in the competition are co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

“You are overreacting”, dir. Karina Paciorkowska

A hand-drawn animation that attemps to ask questions about place of women in modern reality. The film is (unfortunately) inspired by everyday life, statements of public fugures and the media.

Honorable mention at the 61st DOK Leipzig festival.

Production: Lodz Film School. The KFF Sales & Promotion agency, operating at the Krakow Film Foundation, supports the international promotion and distribution of the film.

“Ovule”, dir. Natalia Durszewicz

A film focuses on story of a woman whose fears and obssesions are taking over her everyday routine, transforming her life into all-embracing jungle. It symbolises the struggle with personality disorders while being in a relationship with beloved one.  It is an visual analysis on separation anxiety disorder that occurs mostly in childchood but can be present at all stages of life. This exessive fear of losing mother or father creates many dark scenarios in the mind of  a child. In many cases this trauma continues to grow even in late adulthood and focuses on partner instead of a parent.  When woman is left alone at home, and absence of her man became longer than usual her paranoia grows. Nothing is as it seems for her. She becomes suspicious,insanely jealous and fearful. She scares of loneliness. That leads to creation of a new reality, much more vibrant and colorful than her everyday life, where all the madness becomes substantial, tangible,  all the precognitions turned out to be true. It shows how subconciousness can be dangerous and unpredictable. Fiercesness in the deep, mysterious jungle.

Production: Lodz Film School. The KFF Sales & Promotion agency, operating at the Krakow Film Foundation, supports the international promotion and distribution of the film.

“The Little Soul”, dir. Barbara Rupik

A dead body became stuck by a river bank. Its decaying insides still hide a human soul – a miniature of the deceased. Rotting organs part and a tiny creature gets out. Standing on the river bank, it says goodbye to the corpse and sets off on a journey through the post-mortem land.

Third prize in the Cinéfondation competition at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival.

Production: Lodz Film School. The KFF Sales & Promotion agency, operating at the Krakow Film Foundation, supports the international promotion and distribution of the film.

“Year” (“Rok”) in the Big Sleep section

The Big Sleep is a screening dedicated to the personalities in animated film who recently passed away. A tribute filled with retrospectives, to ensure the talent of these artists lives on at the Annecy Festival.

The “Year” is a tribute to Marek Serafinski, an animation filmmaker and producer. A graphic diary generated from everyday life paper waste: labels, tickets etc. and cigarette packets from a chain smoker, showing the degree of addiction, and passage of time.

Directed by Małgorzata Bosek-Serafińska.

Production: Serafiński Studio.

This year’s edition of the festival will take place on 10-15 June.

Festival website: www.annecy.org


04.06.2019