INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION DAY CELEBRATION
Check the Comet Calendar for this event
For the 4th year, we celebrate the International Animation Day at UTD. This year the celebration happens earlier: One month before the established date. In 2012, ASIFA, the Association Internationale du Film d’Animation, has created the International Animation Day, a celebration of animation worldwide. The date is October 28, in reference to Émile Reynaud’s earliest performances of animation using his Théâtre Optique / Optical Theatre in 1892.
To mark the date this year, our celebration will last two days with screenings of the Best Shorts awarded at the Annecy International Animation Festival 2023. To bring the best of the Annecy Festival to you, we partnered with New York’s French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) to present Animation First: On Tour.
In 2023, the country spotlighted by the Annecy Festival was Mexico, with a beautiful images created by Jorge R. Gutierrez.
The experimenta.l. lab is proud to bring to Texas the Best of Annecy 2023 to celebrate international animation in all its glory. The poster for International Animation Day this year was created by the Swiss animator Georges Schwizgebel. Georges Scwizgebel was born in 1944 in Switzerland. 1960-65 School of Fine Arts and Decorative Arts. In 1970, he founded Studio GDS and began producing and directing animated shorts. From The Flight of Icarus (1974) to Darwin’s Notebook (2020), he has directed around twenty films, almost all of which have won international awards. Two appear on the list of the 100 most outstanding animated films established in 2006 at the Annecy Festival, 78 Tours (1985) and The Ride to the Abyss (1992).
INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION DAY PROGRAM Sept/27
Wednesday, September 27, at 4:30 p.m. in the Jonsson Performance Hall JO 2.604. This program is not suitable for kids. Parent guidance is advised.
Program total duration: 75 minutes.
This selection of shorts combines mainly winning films from the latest Annecy Festival with two tailor-made opening sequences by second-year students from the GOBELINS PARIS.
Nahualli, Gobelins Paris
Directors: William BURGER, Nina GLAVASKI, Zoé PALASIE, Lila GINGUENE , Garance MONDAMERT, Elisa SOUCANH
An Aztec priest prepares for a ceremony in honor of Quetzalcoatl. The statuettes around him come to life to help him embody this deity.
La Notte (Italy), by Martina GENERALI, Simone PRATOLA, and Francesca ROSSO
Based on the concert “La Notte” by A. Vivaldi. Carnival in Venice: Pulcinella attempts to slip into a VIP party without too much success.
Watch an interview with the directors.
La saison pourpre (France), by Clémence BOURCHEREAU
On the edge of a mangrove, a group of girls live to the rhythm of the climate and the wild geese around them. As time passes, tensions arise, and rivalries develop.
Watch the trailer
Nun or Never! (Finland), by Heta JÄÄLINOJA
A nun’s discovery of a strange but beguiling newcomer threatens to upset the rhythm and harmony she enjoys among her sisters.
Watch the trailer
Our Uniform (Iran), by Yegane MOGHADDAM
An Iranian girl unfolds her school memories by going through the folds and fabrics of her old uniform.
Watch the interview
Mano (Denmark), by Toke MADSEN
Trapped in a neglectful family situation, a protective older brother takes care of his younger sibling.
Drijf (Belgium), by Levi STOOPS
Two people adrift at sea are fighting a bloody battle for both their survival and their relationship.
Havnesjefen (Norway), by Mia L. HENRIKSEN et Konrad HJEMLI
“The Harbourmaster” tells the true story of its titular swan and of how he went from a beloved small-town icon to a wanted criminal.
27 (France/Hungary), by Flóra Anna BUDA
Alice is 27 years old today. She spends her time daydreaming to escape her dreary everyday life.
Watch the interview
Clavel gris, GOBELINS PARIS
Directors: Antoine DAHAN, Clément DELABY, Rayan TAKHEDMIT
A Mexican little boy discovers the Aztec mythological journey of the soul toward the afterlife.
INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION DAY PROGRAM Sept/28
Thursday, September 28, at 4:30 p.m. in the Jonsson Performance Hall JO 2.604. Special program for kids.
The “Best of Annecy Kids 2023” assembles funny, touching, poetic short films that children will adore. Films from the Official Selection as well as a tailor-made 2023 Annecy opening sequence by the students of GOBELINS Paris, will make up the program designed to enchant children from the age of 6 and upwards.
Program total duration: 65 minutes.
Jineteo de Yegua, GOBELINS Paris
Directors: Dorozhinskaia Angelina, Guisset O. Anne, Wang Zishu, Pirotais Charlotte, Hinh Wilson, Capodagli Elisa, Gaspard Héry.
A charro is struggling to stay on the back of a mare. The wild crowd supports him in his fight against the beast.
To Be Sisters (France), by Clément CÉARD
and Anne-Sophie GOUSSET
Being sisters means sharing a special bond, laughing together and being driven by love. But these particular sisters share an extra something else, and that’s just fine.
The Goose (France/Czech Republic), by Jan MÍKA
A boy fantasizes about becoming a famous footballer, playing in big stadiums, but first he has to win a match in a small backyard playing against a goose.
Prinzessin Aubergine (Germany), by Dina VELIKOVSKAYA
A king and a queen have almost everything. They search for the perfect seed to grow a child, but the only thing flourishing is their garden.
Pete (USA), by Bret PARKER
Based on a true story about gender identity, Little League Baseball, the people who inspire change, and the superheroes who allow that change to happen.
Wat zit er in die kist? / What’s in That Crate? (Belgium), by Bram ALGOED
“What’s in That Crate?” wondered the captain, bus driver and postman as they transported their cargo. The journey takes them overland, across the sea and in the air before the secret is revealed.
Paperplanes (India), by Arvind Singh JEENA
A noisy, hyper-mischievous classroom of 4th graders are caught off-guard as the teacher walks in unannounced.
Colocation Sauvage / Wild Housemates (France), by Armelle MERCAT-JUNOT
A starry-eyed goat decides to build a cabin in the jungle to live there, but this means she’ll be sharing with some dangerous neighbors.
Animation First: On Tour is presented by New York’s French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF).