Anifilm 2012 - Winners of The International Competition of Feature Films are the Czech film Alois Nebel (director Tomáš Luňák) and the French film Le Tableau (director Jean-François Laguionie). The jury of The International Competition of Short Films has chosen the film Oh Willy by Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels. The prize for the best film in the Czech-Slovak Competition of Student films goes to director Martin Živocký of the Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín for his film Case (Případ). The honorary prize for lifetime achievement was already during the opening ceremony awarded in memoriam to Zdeněk Miller .

Despite the closing ceremony on Monday, the Anifilm programme continues throughout Tuesday as well. On the last day of the festival you have a chance to visit screenings of the awarded films of the 2012 Anifilm at the Světozor cinema and see for yourselves if the choices of international jury match your taste. The programme boasts screenings of the awarded short animated films and films awarded in the Czech-Slovak Short Animated Films Competition from 10:00, followed at 11:30 by the film awarded in the International Feature Films section as the best children film. At 14:00 you can watch the film awarded in the International Feature Films section as the best adult film.

Child audience will surely appreciate the screening of the Czech traditional programme for children called Večerníček. It starts at 9:00 at the Světozor cinema, children admission is for free.

The Třeboň puppet theatre features today the films Lotte from Gadgeville, Frank and Wendy and a series of films by the Polish school of animation.

On Tuesday you have also the last chance to visit the accompanying exhibitions: the exhibition of student animated film posters in the Chateau gallery and the exhibition of the Estonian drawn animation in the Theatre of J. K. Tyl.

Discussion of the Czech Animated Film: Problems and Hopes of Czech Animation

Today Anifilm is hosting a discussion of the Czech animated film for both professionals and the public. Producers, authors, critics, representatives of film schools and the Czech television will debate where the problems of the Czech animation lie and what brings hope. We will try to identify the means to revive the film branch where Czech authors traditionally excelled. Among others Petr Dvořák, the director of the Czech television, agreed to participate in the discussion.

Making of Kuky se vrací

The Czech artist and designer Jakub Dvorský will look into the unique way the film by Jan Svěrák called Kuky se vrací was made. Originally the film was supposed to be made in a few days with a help of a few friends, but it turned into a two year long project using elaborate visual effects. Jakub Dvorský’s presentation, which starts at 15:00 in the Zlatá hvězda hotel, will be accompanied by illustrative shots from the film itself. Unfortunately Jan Svěrák cannot participate due to his prolonged stay abroad.

Closing Ceremony

During the closing ceremony in the Světozor cinema, the authors of the competing films will be presented with the festival award, the animated world in a bottle. But you do not need to worry, Anifilm continues with screenings tomorrow as well.

Screening on the Svět Pond

Beginning at 21:00 all awarded short animated films will be screened on the surface of the Svět Pond.

Bill Plymton’s Film Selection

Exclusively for Anifilm, the famous American director and animator Bill Plympton put together an almost two hour long film session composed of provocative, witty and humorous and at the time rather daring films. Let your children at home and come enjoy among others the film Flying House, restored by Plympton, made in 1921by the pioneer of American animation Winsor McCay whose work inspired for example the modern geniuses from Pixar.

Profile Jiří Brdečka

Tereza Brdečková, daughter of Jiří Brdečka, will open both screenings of Brdečka’s films at Anifilm. The programme includes not only films Brdečka directed, but also a documentary about Brdečka called Láááásky Jiřího Brdečky.

Zdeněk Miler Retrospective

As a part of Zdeněk Miler retrospective, the puppet theatre in Třeboň features Miler’s short animated films today.

Game Day

The whole of Sunday is also dedicated to game animation. Fans of independent games can enjoy not only Czech production but also the work of animators from abroad. The programme is accompanied by a series of lectures and presentations of the latest games which you can play and discuss with their authors.

Estonian Day

Saturday programme is devoted to Estonia. Both child and adult audience can enjoy a wide variety of animated films produced by three different Estonian animation studios – Joonisfilm, Nukufilm and Tallinnfilm. All the films boast traditional Estonian absurd humour and hyperbole. The programme features films of different genre, produced by different techniques both nowadays and throughout the history of Estonian animated film production. The programme also includes the very first Estonian animated film The Adventures of Juku the Dog. The film programme is accompanied by an exhibition showing drawn animation techniques, the concert of the group Kriminaalne Elevant and a screenwriter workshop with the legendary Priit Pärn.

Competitions continue

On Saturday the film competitions continue as well in the Svetozor cinema and the theatre of J. K. Tyl.

Focus – Oscar 2012

The Focus section features all five short animated films nominated this year for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. You have, therefore, a perfect opportunity to judge for yourselves if the Oscar ended up in the right hands.  

Bezazel Academy, Israel

Noam Nadav and Rafi Yaniger, both lecturers at the Bezazel Academy of Arts and Design, offer you a unique behind the scenes glimpse into the activities of this prestigious Israel university. Their presentation will include screenings of the best films produced at Bezazel.

Genre diversity at Anifilm - horrors and documentaries

Come to the cinema at night to get properly scared! Screenings of animated horror films take place every night and offer a number of world-renowned classics - for example one of Tim Burton's first short films Vincent, Václav Švankmajer's Torchbearer, or Street of Crocodiles by the Brothers Quay - as well as recent animated horrors. Anifilm will also present a selection of animated documentaries from all around the world and the first two seasons of Nick Park's British comedy series Creature Comforts; the second season will enjoy its Czech premiere at the festival.

Karel Zeman's special effects at the castle

From today on, you are welcome to visit the castle courtyard and try some of the legendary Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman's special effects. The exhibition has been prepared by Karel Zeman Museum and will be attended by his daughter Ludmila.

First competition screening

Světozor Cinema will start screening films from International Competition of Animated Feature Films both for children and grown-ups, from the very morning until late at night; J.K. Tyl theatre will screen films from International Competition of Animated Short Films and Czech-Slovak Competition of Student Animated Films.

Lectures at Zlatá hvězda

Three great personalities of Czech animation will convene today at the Zlatá hvězda hotel: the director Maria Procházková will give a lecture about animated title sequences, Boris Masník will reveal some secrets of special effects used in film and Tomáš Luňák will present rotoscoping, the technique used for the making of his film Alois Nebel (one of the competition films).

The jury of the International Competition of Animated Feature Films, which will choose this year's best film for children and grown-ups, consists of Theodore Ushev, Canadian designer, director and animator; Emily Hubley, director and daughter of John Hubley, the legendary pioneer of American animation; and Edgar Dutka, Czech author and screenwriter. International Competition of Animated Short Films and Czech-Slovak Student Competition of Animated Films will be judged by Czech producer Martin Vandas; Slovak director Katarína Kerekešová; Danish producer Sarita Christensen; Estonian director Olga Pärn; and Ant Blades, British cartoonist and animator focusing on animated slapstick comedy.

The winners of each category will not only receive the festival prize, Animated World in a Bottle, but they will also be awarded 1.000 €. This means that Anifilm will distribute a total sum of 4.000 € between the 2012 winners. In addition, the Lifelong Achievement in Animation Prize will be awarded at the festival's opening ceremony.

A unique section of the accompanying program will offer a total of eight special events, intended not only for film professionals. Priit Pärn will lead a weekend screenwriting workshop. The director Maria Procházková will present distinctive representatives of Animated Title Sequences that have become a phenomenon. The director Tomáš Luňák will come to explain the principles of rotoscoping, the animation technique he used for his film Alois Nebel. Kooky (Kuky se vrací) was made by a completely different technology that will be presented to the audience by the film's director Jan Svěrák a designer Jakub Dvorský. Petr Rajčan, the curator of the collection of film posters Terry's Socks (Terryho Ponožky) will take you through the past and the present of Czechoslovak and Czech film poster production. Jiří Plass, former animator of the studio Bratři v triku, will map the almost 70 years of work of this famous studio. Boris Masník, one of the top special effects experts, will talk about the Changes of Film Special Effects from the times of the genius Georges Méliès until present day. The Discussion about Czech animated film production: Problems and hopes of Czech animation is open to film professionals and general public alike; Petr Dvořák, General Director of the Czech Television, has confirmed his attendance.

The festival club will offer you three wonderful live bands; and the dancefloor will be taken over b a DJ every night. The band Charlie & the Chocolates, consisting of the singer Charlie One, keyboardist Mirek Lacko and bassist Vladimír Kliment, will play their musical medley inspired by the "old times" jazz. Myštet, a cabaret trio of wild cats in a boa originated in Chrudim as a reaction to the complete lack of original production for gentlemen and intends to make you scream! Kriminaalne Elevant is an entertaining Estonian band consisting of several filmmakers, and its primary purpose was to create film music. Their style was inspired by klezmer, jazz, punk, tanga, ska and surfrock. DJ Liquid A and Mr. Ultrafino will take care of the late-night after parties.

Just as last year, fans of independent computer games can again enjoy a daylong program focusing on animation for computer games. This year, not only Czech creators will be attending: also foreign computer animators will come to present their projects. The program will include a series of interesting lectures, as well as presentations of brand new games or games still in making, which you will be able to play under the supervision of their creators themselves! Jakub Dvorský and Jaromír Plachý (Amanita Design), Reece Millidge (Damp Gnat), Felix Bohatsch (Broken Rules), Martin Procházka (Hammerware) and many others will be at Anifilm 2012 to share their experiences with you. One of the venues will also hold a screening of authorial gaming and short clips of the most interesting current projects.

The program of Gameday has been composed in cooperation with České hry, Amanita Design and MEDIA Desk Czech Republic.

The story of the magical water from the famous Třeboň Pond Svět (The World) comes alive in the new festival jingle and symbolically opens this year's celebration of animated films in South Bohemia...

Subject, screenplay, design and direction: Martin Sršeň, Animation: Jan Kolegar, Music: Jan P. Muchow, Sound: David Tintěra, Special thanks: Aida Abbasová

This year's balance overview of animated feature films will present four blockbusters of 2011: Cars 2, sequel to the very successful animated film by Pixar and Walt Disney studios; Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, based on popular Belgian comic book series; Puss in Boots, who will convince you that he was a hero way before he met Shrek; and Rango will be screened again as the 2011 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film winner.

Don't miss the complete five animated shorts nominated for Academy Award.

The winner, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, is a humorous allegory about the healing powers of a story. Sunday depicts the Sunday routine of a Canadian family. La Luna tells the story of a young boy who finds that his family works in a very unusual branch of business. The amusing British film The Morning Stroll describes a meeting of a man and a chicken on a morning stroll in New York. Wild Life portrays the story of an English immigrant in Canadian borderlands.

Would you have voted for the same film as the Academy?

The programme for children will offer brand new films as well as never aging classics and will certainly satisfy all age groups of children. Including grown-up children.

The youngest children can enjoy the selection of the most popular as well as the newest bed-time stories (Večerníček). Those who like fairy tales should not miss the puppet shows in Třeboň theatre: The Firebird and the Fox, The Old Witch In Love and The Little Red Riding-Hood. Older kids will have the opportunity to see the premiere of the new French 3D animated series The Little Prince, a very successful adaptation of the legendary book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Teenagers will no doubt enjoy the popular British series Creature Comforts, created by the Oscar-winning director Nick Park, famous author of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.

Within the retrospective of Zdeněk Miler we will see the first episodes of The Mole (Krteček), and the Balance section will bring last year's animated blockbusters. The Big Estonian Retrospective includes a 60-minute-long programme tailor-made for children and the International Competition of Feature Films will present five films for young audiences. And, last but not least, there will be some space for creativity, too - children (but not only them) will have the possibility to try and make their own animated film in our animation workshops.

A combination of a documentary and an animated film? Never heard of such a thing? The first ever animated documentary was made by Norman McClaren in 1952. It was called Neighbours and went to win an Oscar. You will have the chance to see Neighbours along with 11 other animated documentaries in a comprehensive block within the non-competition Focus section.

The Big Estonian Retrospective will offer the best from the animated production both for children and grown-ups. Various guests from the ranks of Estonian film professionals are invited and the retrospective will be accompanied by a concert and a an exhibition.

A part of the extensive programme is also a one-day workshop lead by the legend of Estonian Animation Priit Pärn. The animated shorts of the holder of countless festival awards have made the Estonian animation acclaimed all over the world. Pärn's films are known for their black humour, playful surrealism and a unique style. The workshop will focus on methods of creating a story for animated films.

His auteur and often provocative films have earned the world famous American animator and director Bill Plympton many festival awards and two Academy Award nominations. Exclusively for ANIFILM (section Views), Bill Plympton will put together a showcase of animated shorts that shaped his career, inspired and influenced him.

Competition Programme

The main part of the ANIFILM 2012 programme consists of three competitions. Ten films from all over the world will compete for the best film award in the International competition of animated feature films. The International competition of animated short films will introduce the best short films of the last year. The festival will also host a competition of  Czech-Slovak student animated films.

Non-competition Programme

In the non-competition programme we will remember the work of Czech and foreign greats. In the Focus section, we will focus on concrete topics – in particular genre diversity that animated film can offer. There will be also screenings of animated blockbusters from 2011 and short films nominated for Academy Awards and much more!

The screenings will take place not only in three cinemas but also at the Třeboň square and the Svět Pond.

Special Programme

This part of the programme is both educational and entertaining. On the agenda are workshops and lectures but also, for the first time, a Chill-out zone where the visitors of ANIFILM can get snacks, relax, talk or watch the accompanying programme on a big screen. Pavel Rajčan of Terry’s socks, the biggest seller of film posters in the Czech Republic, will in his lecture accompanied by a presentation of a number of unique and original film posters tell us about the past and the present of film posters. Among our distinguished guests will also be Jan Svěrák who will together with graphic artist Jakub Dvorský describe the making of the animated feature film Kooky. Programme Game day will provide us with news from the video game industry and present awards for best games in several categories. Work in progress is a programme intended mainly for film professionals as the makers of new Czech animated feature films will introduce their projects. Animation workshops are traditional part of the programme and children and grown-ups can even make their own animated films during the workshops.

Accompanying Programme

The Accompanying programme will as usual offer exhibitions, concerts and puppet shows for children. Apart from an exhibition of Estonian animated production we have prepared a rather unusual exhibition. We have chosen artistically interesting animated film posters by both Czech and foreign graphic artists. These posters will be displayed side by side with the best posters made by students from graphic design school and young graphic artists who will recreate the original posters according their own vision. The visitors of the exhibition will have a chance to compare the visions of younger and older generations of graphic artists and their versions of posters for the same films.

Director and graphic artist Zdeněk Miler has passed away at the end of November. One of the most significant figures of the animated films has made the Czech animation famous around the whole world.

We will remember his work by the best episodes of the legendary Krteček and also by a selection of his not very famous animated shorts that may even be surprising for some of the audience.