The best new animated films from Central and Eastern Europe in the running for the Audience Award and the Jury Grand Prix. The filmmakers featured in this strand include animation legends and debut filmmakers alike, and everyone in between.

A competition strand reserved for students of European universities. They are in the running for the Young Talent: Student Jury Award, presented jointly by the School of Arts (University of Nova Gorica), as well as the Academy of Fine Arts and Design and the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (both University of Ljubljana).

Animateka is thrilled to showcase another year of groundbreaking immersive works, celebrating the power of virtual and mixed reality to tell bold, narrative-driven stories. This year’s program invites audiences on journeys through shifting landscapes where time and nature behave in unexpected ways, into intimate spaces where the fragility of home is laid bare, and into worlds that blossom and awaken through interaction. From poetic reflections on our changing climate to the whimsical escape of restless houseplants, and a deeply moving exploration of loss, stigma, and the search for salvation, these works open portals into experiences only possible through the language of VR.

Animated shorts in the running for the Children Jury Award for best film in the Elephant programme. Varying by subject matter and technique, this is a selection of animations that will enthral children and their parents alike. As the programmes are carefully tailored to specific age groups, there is no worry in letting the youngest children enjoy the animated images on the big screen.

A programme of the best animated shorts from around the world, programmed to give you a thorough insight into the latest developments and trends in auteur animation, including many award-winners from some of the leading international festivals.

Panorama is a strand that gives you the best insight into what regional animation cinema has to offer.

Students are the future of animation. They are also the most innovative, daring filmmakers, not afraid to experiment with techniques and topics. The strand explores the creative diversity of European animation students.

Animated documentaries sometimes take us to places which film cameras cannot reach, or use animation to portray those unwilling or unable to tell their stories in front of the camera themselves. This year, the hybrid genre, which is gaining popularity among animation filmmakers, brings us intimate stories of people from our communities; those who are lonely, isolated, marginalised; those who lack freedom and those who strive for it.

A pinscreen is a white screen filled with thousands of pins, which can be moved in or out by pressing an object onto the screen. The screen is lit from the side so that the pins cast shadows. The further the pins protrude, the darker the screen becomes. The technique is extremely labour intensive but enables a rich graphic image. Alexandre Alexeïeff (19011982) and his wife Claire Parker (1906-1981) are the pioneers of the pinscreen. They invented it in the 1930s with the aim of recreating the velvety blacks of mezzotint engraving in the medium of animation. The pinscreen contains thousands of movable pins embedded in a frame, which can be pushed or pulled back usi ng various tools to create relief designs. With precisely designed lighting, these images blossom in a rich array of grey tones which, when photographed frame by frame, produce animated works that are unique to the medium.
The retrospective brings together (nearly) all films made in this animation technique to date. Complementing this wealth of cinema are some of the key documentaries that introduce the pioneers and shed light on the history of this inspiring form of animation. Special thanks go to Jean-Baptiste Garnero and Sophie Le Tétour of CNC, France for their assistance in putting this programme together.

Shorts for Adults is made up of two parts. The Bref International Short Film Festival has created a special programme for Animateka, with the rallying cry ‘Fight Back!’ Resistance in this programme takes many forms, and there is a dose of laughter too, because we need that in this crazy, crazy world. The second part, WTF Off, is a crazy programme devised by Gala Frécon and Sébastien Sperer, consisting of 12 animated short films from all over the world. The aim of WTF Off is to promote different animated works, often strange in terms of visuals or narrative but always consistent and impactful.

 The programmes were curated by Alessia Gasparella, Gala Frécon and Sébastien Sperer.

Alongside a selection of films by this year’s artist-in-residence Pierre-Luc Granjon, who is joining us from France, the strand features films by the British artist Lizzy Hobbs, Canadian illustrator and animator Michèle Lemieux, Argentinian filmmaker Juan Pablo Zaramella, and a programme of films by Chinese women filmmakers selected by Yantong Zhu, Festival Director of the Feinaki Beijing Animation Week.

When Iris, 10, sees a strange boy in a rainbow suit fall from the sky, this is the beginning of her greatest adventure. Named Arco, the boy comes from the future where people live in harmony with nature and use rainbows to travel through time. Iris, who spends most of her time with a robot nanny and communicates with her parents via hologram calls, sets off with Arco to get him back home. On their journey, they find a world where people have forgotten about genuine connections, miracles, and imagination—but also a way to rediscover them.
A poignant, visually captivating animated adventure about friendship, courage, and the power of imagination, Arco reminds us that hope keeps shining like a rainbow after a storm.

Following Psychonauts and Unicorn Wars, Alberto Vázquez returns with another surreal animated feature replete with black humour. Similar to Mickey Mouse characters but living in much more violent worlds, Vázquez’s heroes find themselves in a kind of Truman Show reality. To be happy, Arnold the mouse takes pills made by ALMA, a mega-corporation controlling everything and everyone. But slowly, he begins to wonder, first paranoidly, then genuinely, whether everything around him might be just a facade.

In 1955, a French women’s magazine asked Marcel Pagnol, the famous French writer, playwright, and director, to write a weekly column about his childhood and youth. Pagnol frustratingly already finds it difficult to recall some of his earlier memories, until his curious inner child comes to life in front of him. Together, they set off to explore Pagnol’s life story, inextricably intertwined with the written word and film images and anecdotes that such an art-abundant life is always full of.

Somewhere between computer animation, macro photography, and time-lapse footage, a gentle narrative unfolds about a world after the end of the world. Four dandelion seeds, catapulted from planet Earth after a nuclear apocalypse, search for a new home in the stratosphere. When the migrant seeds are sucked into a black hole, they find themselves on a planet both ominous and unusually beautiful. The seeds travel on slugs, flee from voracious floating tadpoles, and search for land where they can take root.

When 9-year-old Lucie arrives for a vacation in a town where her mother grew up, she has no idea of the adventures ahead. While her mother is working on an archaeological site in the town castle with her colleague, Lucie explores the area with her dog Mandrin and Yann, a friendly boy from a nearby farm. Together, they find a mysterious key in a nest on the castle wall; venture into the forest and encounter an old man, a hermit the locals call Wizard; save a small badger, all the while accompanied by a pair of songbirds who seem to guide them… When they finally discover a secret passage under the castle, secrets begin to unravel.

The action of a small group of militant activists goes awry. Hélène, tasked with providing cover from the bushes while the others attack the rich men in a villa, loses consciousness. She finds herself on a metaphysical journey in a netherworld, where a spirit guide confronts her with questions of personal responsibility, the use of violence, and the eternal dilemma in the struggle for a better world: what will change our increasingly oppressive system—big revolutionary swings or small, persistent steps?

A chaotic tale woven together by a cosmic animator tasked with making an “educational philosophical film” after committing an unknown crime, The Great History of Western Philosophy features Chairman Mao, Socrates, Mickey Mouse, Monkey King, Kant, to name just a few. Before our eyes unfolds an eclectic animated adventure through and around Western and Eastern philosophy, mythology, art history, pop culture and stream-of-consciousness dream states – do not try and make sense of it, just enjoy the wild ride!

When Tom (4), Susan (8), and Derek (10) visit their grandfather for the first time since losing their beloved grandmother, they find the house quiet and their grandfather distant. Taking inspiration from her grandmother, Susan steps into the role of storyteller, using the power of her imagination and creating enchanting tales to bring warmth back into grandfather’s home and into their relationships. We delve into the world of a helpful mysterious cat, a not-so-scary monster, and a daring flying man. While being mysterious, dramatic, poignant, and funny, the stories also help the family find light in one of life’s darkest moment.