Moving images at the Anima Festival

For those of you who´ve heard that ballad from Disney blockbuster Frozen once too often, Anima, the Brussels Animation Film Festival is back to remind you that animation is not just for children or fans of cheesy pop.

Now an institution on the Brussels festival calendar, Anima celebrates its 34th year with a focus on the Netherlands and Latvia and a schedule packed with films, workshops and master classes.

Buoyed by fond memories of Anima 2014, I dropped in on Monday just in time to catch Best of Shorts 6, a medley of 13 of the 65 films competing for the Best of Shorts title decided by both jury and public vote. Best of Shorts 6, a crop of student films going up against the pros, was a foray into the weird (and sometimes wonderful) world of student cinema.

Featuring diverse animation styles and with colour palettes ranging from sickly pastel to garish fluorescent to black and sepia, it was an eclectic offering. Softened by the tinge of dark humour, alienation and, to a lesser extent, death hovered over many of the films.

With voting cards complete and delivered, it was soon time for the next instalment of animation for the +16 crowd. A competition for homegrown talent, C’est du Belge, promised a slightly less dizzying selection of six films.

Les Pêcheresses by Gerlando Infuso packed a serious feminist message and was enthusiastically applauded. The more light-hearted The Tie, featuring the antics between a baby giraffe and her dad, was well-received by the adult audience, despite being perhaps the only film you’d be happy showing to your under-10s.

Rounding off the screening was Dernière Porte au Sud, an ambitious and quirky film about a curious boy testing the boundaries of a hermetic world.

The Japanese long-metrage, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, from world-renowned Studio Ghibli, provided a welcome change of pace after the smorgasbord of short films. Transported by the dreamy but playful animation of Isao Takahata into the Japan of yesteryear, it is a tale of love, loss and redemption that will appeal to fans both young and old. 

Although, with a runtime of 2h17min, the pace may have lagged a little for some tastes. No such criticism from Javier, a special-effects artist by profession, who enthused: “No one does animation like them. It was beautiful. It spoke to so much of what it means to be human, of greed and love and the rest.”

The Anima Festival shows that animation can be ambitious and audacious in a way that sometime thrills and other times leaves you slightly puzzled. Presenting a broad spectrum of animated films, from powerful social commentary to pure entertainment, there´s sure to be something for every age and inclination. With 10 days of programming ending Sunday, there´s still time to head to Flagey and catch a toon or two!

Photo © Gilles Moins