Anima, the International Animation Festival, will take place in Flagey, Brussels, from 20th to 28th February 2009
The latest feature from Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, PONYO ON THE CLIFF BY THE SEA, will be the opening film for Anima 2009.
A selection of sneak previews to discover the latest WALLACE AND GROMIT: A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH, three new NARUTO features and the first images from much awaited projects like PANIQUE AU VILLAGE or GASTON LAGAFFE.
There will be 200 films in the international competition (shorts and features, commercials, music videos) or in panorama, as well as a competition and a Belgian focus to take the pulse of animation in all its entertaining, creative and prospective dimensions. Bill Plympton will be a festival guest, along with Samuel Lord Black, Steven Woloshen and many others, who are visiting Anima to present their films or take part in the "Futuranima" professional days.
The retrospectives will be a merry mix of genres, delving into animation's history or the latest hot news, with films by American director Ralph Bakshi (FRITZ THE CAT, LORD OF THE RINGS, FIRE AND ICE) rubbing shoulders with the most recent work selected at the Computer Animation Festival at SIGGRAPH 2008. The Zagreb studios, the Channel 4 years, early work by French filmmakers Ocelot, Girerd and Laguionie and a focus on Nick Park's old school the National Film and Television School will complete this great line-up.
The 2009 edition will also be looking at the relationship animation has with comic books in the "Bruxelles BD" event, with sneak previews, a cosplay, artist performances and the "From Strip to Screen" exhibition. There's also a "Cosplay" competition with lots of prizes to win, giving Anima visitors the chance to attend the event dressed as their favourite characters.
A meeting with Bill Plympton, a one-day workshop given by Kyle Balda (formerly of Pixar), workshops for the children, the Futuranima professional days, round table discussions, the "Nuit animee", the Cartoon d'Or and a closing ceremony with VJay will make Brussels the most animated place to be in 2009.
Part of the program will be decentralized to a number of towns in Flanders and Wallonia.
Check out www.animatv.be for regular updates.
