Countryside Animafest Cyprus, the island’s official animation event that aims to showcase animation films from around the world has announced its 19th edition that will take place for yet another year at the village of Salamiou despite Covid-19 limitations thanks to its open-air nature.
However, organisers said in an announcement that due to the pandemic a limited version of the festival will be presented this year with no international guests, exhibitions or masterclasses. This year’s edition will instead be a national event with a jury and guests from Cyprus.
The festival will take place from August 9-12 at a stunning location on a hill with a view to Diarizos river and the Troodos mountains.
The competition programme includes 55 films. Apart from the national and international competitions for recent shorts, short films for children from the last two years will also be screened in an international children’s competition programme.
Screenings include films by Theodore Ushev (Canada), Stuart Pound (UK), Elisabeth Hobbs (UK), Kaspar Jancis (Estonia), Steven Subotnic (USA), Atsushi Wada (Japan), Simone Massi (Italy), Konstantin Bronzit (Russia).
The international and national competitions will be judged by three distinguished Cypriot artists, organisers said: filmmaker and president of the Directors Guild of Cyprus Elena Aloneftis, the award-winning filmmaker Stavros Pampalis and the artistic director of the contemporary dance house of Limassol and performer Alexis Vasiliou. In the children’s film competition, children from the audience get the final say by voting for their favourite film.
The Grand Prix includes a cash prize of 1,000 euro and an original silkscreen print of the festival poster, signed by the artist, Croatian illustrator and animation filmmaker Lucija Mrzljak.
The festival will open on August 9 with a concert by award-winning Cypriot band Monsieur Doumani, while on August 10 attendees can enjoy a Jazz Quartet featuring Marios Charalambous (saxophone), Marcos Mavromichalis (guitar), Kyriacos Kestas (double bass) and Nicolas Tsangaris (drums).
Official Selection 2020 (in alphabetical order):
NATIONAL (CYPRUS) COMPETITION FILM PROGRAMME
(Curated by Yiorgos Tsangaris)
Adonis and the Lockdown Tactics, Adonis Archodtides, Cyprus 2020
Cambia Tutto, Anastasia Mougis, Cyprus 2019
Crime and Punishment, Daria Burkut, Cyprus, Russia 2020
Enan tzi’ enan, Michalis Papanicolaou, Cyprus 2020
Game Over, Savvas Constantinou, Cyprus 2020
In Between, Eleni Chadriotou, Cyprus 2020
The Loop, Dimitris Kyriakou, Cyprus 2020
Pafsi, Christos Avraam, Ioannis Kyriakides, Cyprus 2020
Pendulum, Totis Raphael, Cyprus 2020
With out wings, Despo Potamou, Cyprus 2020
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FILM PROGRAMME
(Curated by Yiorgos Tsangaris and Gerben Schermer)
All Her Dying Lovers, Anna Benner, Germany, Czech Republic, 2020
Alphabets Heaven – Comte, Natalia Ryss, Israel, 2019
My Exercise, Atsushi Wasa, Japan, 2020
Bath House of Whales, Mizuki Kiyama, Japan, 2019
BOOKANIMA: Andy Warhol, Shon Kim, USA / South Korea, 2019
Care, Riley Brown, USA, 2020
Ciervo, Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma, USA, 2020
Correre, Nicholas Bertini, Italy, 2019
Cosmonaut, Kaspar Jancis, Estonia, 2019
Crab, Shiva Sadegh Asadi, Iran, 2020
Daughter, Alina Titorenko, Czech Republic, 2019
Deep Love, Mykyta Lyskov, Ukraine, 2019
Domus, Delphine Priet-Maheo, France, 2019
Drake, rope and acorn, Alina Titorenko, Russia, 2019
Drive, Pedro Casavecchia, Argentina, France, 2019
Edge, Steven Subotnick, USA, 2019
Endless Forms Most Beautiful, Meredith Binnette, USA, 2020
The Flounder, Elizabeth Hobbs, UK, Austria, 2019
Fortune, Em Jiang, USA, 2020
Freeze Frame, Soetkin Verstegen, Germany, Belgium, 2019
Gerald’s Long Day, Samuel Brumbaugh, USA, 2020
He can’t live without cosmos, Konstantin Bronzit, Russia, 2019
The Infinite, Simone Massi, Italy, 2020
Inside me, Maria Trigo Teixeria, Germany, 2019
Kantentanz, Camille Geiβler, Elisabeth Jakobi, Germany, 2019
Le Songe de Soares, Thibault Cholet, France, 2020
Mate, Chaerin Im, USA, 2020
My Galactic Twin Galaction, Sasha Svirsky, Russia, 2020
The Physics of Sorrow, Theodore Ushev, Canada, 2019
Prelude, Rick Niebe, Italy, 2019
Revolykus, Victor Orozco Ramirez, Germany, Mexico, 2020
Root Shock, Yihan Wang, USA, 2020
Run version vertical, Stuart Pound, UK, 2019
Serial Parallels, Max Hattler, Germany, Hong Kong, 2019
Signs, Dustin Rees, Switzerland, 2020
Washing Machine, Alexandra Májová, Czech Republic, 2019
CHILDREN’S FILM COMPETITION & PROGRAMME
(Curated by Anet ter Horst, Anna Ida Oroz and Yiorgos Tsangaris)
Beware the Wolf!, Nicolas Bianco-Levrin, Julie Rembauville, France, 2019
Duodrom, Basil Vogt, Switzerland, 2019
The Girl-bird, Ekaterina Nevostrueva, Russia, 2019
The Kite, Martin Smatana, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, 2019
The Neighbors, Valentina Arkhipova, Russia, 2019
o28, Otalia Caussé, Fabien Meyran, Geoffroy Collin, Robin Merle, Louise Grardel, Antoine Marchand, France, 2019
The Swamp, Vera Vyugina, Russia, 2020
The Tomten and the Fox, Yaprak Morali, Norway, 2019
Wolfrid’s Wish, Anna Ryzhkova, Canada, 2019
Story photo: Detail from this year’s Animafest Cyprus’ poster designed by Croatian illustrator and animation filmmaker Lucija Mrzljak.
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