Animest.18 comes with stories by Haruki Murakami, dystopian realities and award-winning films

Animest International Animation Film Festival is near. From October 6, the latest and most popular productions of the year are ready to conquer the big screens in Bucharest. For 10 days, viewers of all ages will enjoy hundreds of films made in recent years, many of them presented by their creators themselves, special guests at the event. The magical adventure in the world of limitless imagination will debut with Chicken For Linda, winner of the Annecy Crystal, a family story scheduled for the Opening Gala on Thursday, October 6, at Sala Luceafărul (formerly Cinema Pro).

Fans of the author Haruki Murakami should not miss the premiere in Romania of the movie Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (dir. Pierre Földes), inspired by his short stories.

The Annecy jury awarded him a Special Distinction in 2022, and the Animest audience is invited to discover him on the big screen on October 7, at 8:30 p.m., at Cinema Elvire Popesco, and on October 14, from 9:00 p.m., at Cinematheque Eforie.

Also at last year’s edition of the Annecy Festival, No Dogs or Italians Allowed (dir. Alain Ughetto), winner of the European Film Award in the section dedicated to animated feature films, also stood out.

Viewers are invited on a journey in the footsteps of Luigi Ughetto, the Italian who crossed the Alps to start a new life in France, changing his family’s destiny forever. The film will run in the Cinema Elvire Popesco hall on October 8 and 15, from 18:30.

Tibor Banoczki and Sarolta Szabo offer us a version of a post-apocalyptic future, where the survivors of the human race live under a plastic dome. When they turn 50, they are implanted with a special seed that transforms them into trees, thus becoming a source of oxygen and food for the rest of the community. Oameni-arbori/ White Plastic Sky premiered at the Berlinale, and will arrive in Bucharest on Friday and Saturday, October 13 and 14, at the Cinemateca Eforie.

Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds (dir. Benoît Chieux) won this year’s Audience Award at Annecy, after irrevocably winning over viewers of all ages with a fantastic story in which two sisters venture into a magical world, where they turn into cats and go in search of the wizard who controls the winds. Variety compared it to Yellow Submarine, noting that the narrative has something of the fantasy dimension of the Alice in Wonderland story. At Animest, the film will be shown on October 7, from 18:30, at Cinema Elvire Popesco, and on October 14, from 19:00, at Cinemateca Eforie.

Director and producer Jean-Christophe Roger, awarded with Primetime Emmy for the Primal series, signs with Julien Chheng the film Ernest et Célestine: Le voyage en Charabie – a story from an imaginary country that bans music , nominated this year for the César Awards. Dedicated to audiences of all ages, the film was shown on the big screen at Cinemateca Eforie, on October 7, from 19:00 at Eforie, and on October 15, from 13:00.

Claé and Bruô are secret agents from two warring kingdoms. Lost in the Enchanted Forest, the two discover that they have the same mission: to save the mysterious Perlimps from the creepy giants that have surrounded the area. The two must overcome their differences and join forces in a fantastic journey through a colorful world. The film is directed by Alê Abreu, Oscar-nominated director of The Boy and the World, which won Best Feature at Animest in 2014. The new film, Perlimps, had its international premiere at Annecy and will be seen at Animest in the first weekend of the festival – on October 7, from 8:30 p.m., at the Cervantes Institute, and on October 8, from 1:00 p.m., at the Cinemateca Eforie.

Anime movie lovers are invited to discover, on the day dedicated to Japanese culture (October 8), The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes, the latest fantasy by director Tomohisa Taguchi.

Tickets are availableat https://eventbook.ro/festival/animest .