This Wed and Thurs: Animated Spirits European Animation Festival in NYC
The second edition of Animated Spirits returns to Manhattan tomorrow night and continues on Thursday evening.
This excellent festival of contemporary European animated shorts presents work from twelve European countries, as well as discussions inbetween the films with animators and critics, including Jeff Scher, Holger Lang, and Alexander Stewart. The line-up of shorts is cream of the crop, and offers an easy way for New Yorkers to catch up on top festival films that are otherwise difficult to view in the city.
Each evening’s screening will be divided into two parts: Experanima, featuring stylistically inventive films that “seek to discover the boundaries of animation and live action, narrative strategies and the visual language of animation,” and Animastory, which highlights films driven by strong narrative approaches. The screenings are free and open to the public.
Here is the schedule for each evening:
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 7:30pm
Screening takes place at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (11 E 52nd St, New York, NY 10022) and will be followed by a networking/reception event. RSVP here.
Experanima 1 (34′)
Composition (2015) by Mitja Manček (Slovenia)
Shut Up Moon (2014) by Gudrun Krebitz (Austria, UK)
Loop (2015) by Michał Socha (Poland)
Velodrool (2015) by Sander Joon (Estonia)
Saturday Symphony (2015) by Iris Frankhuizen (Netherlands)
Uncanny Valley (2015) by Paul Wenninger (Austria, France)
Panel discussion with Jeffrey Scher (USA), New York-based filmmaker and animator; lecturer at the School of Visual Arts and adjunct instructor at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, opinionator at the New York Times, and Holger Lang (Austria), assistant professor and research faculty, Webster Vienna Private University and adjunct professor, Webster University St.Louis.
Animastory 1 (52′)
The Bench (2015) by Claudia Chircop (Malta)
Aion (2014) by Petra Heleninová (Slovakia)
The Master (2015) by Riho Unt (Estonia)
Diamond (2013) by Kris Mergan, Geert Vandenbroele (Belgium)
Amélia & Duarte (2015) by Alice Guimarães, Mónica Santos (Portugal, Germany)
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 7:30pm
Screening takes place at the Hungarian Consulate General (227 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022). RSVP here.
Experanima 2 (38′)
Love (2016) by Réka Bucsi (Hungary, France)
Sonambulo (2015) by Theodore Ushev (Croatia, Canada)
Blue Room (2014) by Tomasz Siwiński (Poland, France)
Here, There (2015) by Alexander Stewart (Croatia)
Panel discussion with Holger Lang, and Alexander Stewart, director and animator, teacher at DePaul University.
Animastory 2 (57′)
Just a Biopic (2015) by Renske Cuijpers (Netherlands)
The Tree (2015) by Lucie Sunková (Czech Republic)
Life with Herman H. Rott (2015) by Chintis Lundgren (Estonia, Croatia)
Limbo Limbo Travel (2014) by ZSuzsanna Kreif, Borbála Zétényi (Hungary, France)
Boles (2013) by Spela Cadez (Slovenia, Germany)
The screenings are curated by Anna Ida Orosz, an animation historian and lecturer at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, and co-founder/curator of Budapest’s Primanima Short Film Festival. The event is organized by the Balassi Institute of New York’s Hungarian Cultural Center, in partnership with the Austrian Cultural Forum and nine European national institutes of culture.
Pictured at top: “Boles” by Spela Cadez.
