Anima Brussels 2024 Announce Official Selection of Short Films
Skwigly
The 43rd edition of the Brussels International Animation Film Festival – ANIMA – will be held from 23 February to 3 March 2024 at Flagey, Marni and Cinematek!
After viewing more than 1700 previously unreleased films, the selection committee carefully narrowed the field down to 172 short films. The international competition will feature 82 titles, while the national competition will present 24 new releases from Belgium. In addition, 66 out-of-competition films will enrich the selection and make up Anima 2024’s various thematic programmes.
FILMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
27 (2023) – by Flóra Anna Buda
The films in international competition, from 39 countries including 21 European countries, illustrate the diversity of contemporary animation. the selection includes a number of films that have already been honoured at other international festivals, such as 27 by Flóra Anna Buda, winner of the Cristal for Best Short Film at the prestigious Annecy Festival, and A Kind of Testament by Stephen Vuillemin, winner of the Best First Film Award at Animafest Zagreb. In terms of short films by students, Daria Kashcheeva is making a strong comeback with Electra, a multi-technique film with a powerful message.
TAILOR-MADE PROGRAMMES
Maurice’s Bar © Sacrebleu Productions
This 43rd edition is the opportunity to (re)discover the animated documentary programme Real-Life Stories, the music programme Watch & Dance, and the eagerly awaited Queer Stories and Women’s Perspective, which both sold out last year! Two brand-new programmes will also be presented for the first time: New Talents, which highlights up-and-coming European talent, as well as two short-film programmes with a focus on science fiction.
BELGIAN TALENT REPRESENTED AS ALWAYS
Anima is also the best time to come and see Belgian talent and new productions, with 31 films selected from 123 submissions, including 24 in national competition. Among them, Nicolas Keppens, who has twice won the Award for Best Belgian Short Film at Anima with his short films Wildebeest (2018) and Easter Eggs (2021), returns with Beautiful Men, his first short film made in stop motion, while The Miracle heralds the return of Nienke Deutz, winner of numerous international awards, including the Cristal for Best Short Film at the Annecy Festival in 2018 for Bloeistraat 11.
As always, Belgian animation schools are also represented, with 11 selected films. And 2024 marks the return of Nicolas Gemoets – a regular at Anima, with his films Un Eldorado (2020) and Woods (2021) – who will present his graduation film Muscle Man in: Metal Mayhem.
PRESTIGIOUS JURIES
The jury of the international competition for short films will include Barry Purves, Oscar-nominated director, animator and screenwriter of animated films; Rocío Alvarez, painter, illustrator and director; and Steven Henderson, director of the Manchester Animation Festival and editor of Skwigly, the UK’s leading online magazine dedicated to animated film.
The jury of the national competition will be made up of Catherine Totems, storyboard artist, illustrator and former teacher at Atelier de Sèvres; Raman Djafari, Berlin-based director, illustrator and animator; and Muriel Andrin, doctor in film and professor at Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
Anima will run from 23 February to 3 March 2024 at Flagey, Marni and Cinematek as well as in a dozen towns across Wallonia and Flanders. It will also offer a selection of films online on Sooner.