Global Event Updates: "Summit" opens Anima, ITFS goes hybrid, MAF presents monthly and more

soul, the Brussels International Animation Film Festival (25 February - 6 March; www.animafestival.be), which will take place live at the Flagey and Palace and virtually through Anima Online, will open its 41st edition with the Belgian premiere of the animated film The summit of the gods, directed by Patrick Imbert. Thanks to government approval, the film will enjoy a big screen at Flagey Studio 4.

“The whole festival team was dazzled by the first viewing of the film. Combine extraordinary landscapes and escape into spectacular nature, with the subtlety of human relationships; all this is accompanied by sublime music and an impressive precision of the drawing ”, said the co-director of the festival Dominique Seutin.

Based on a true story and adapted from the best-selling manga by Jiro Taniguchi and Baku Yumemakura, The summit of the gods takes the audience on an exciting adventure in breathtaking Himalayan scenery. In official selection at the latest edition of the Cannes Film Festival, and is now in the running for three categories at the 2022 César Awards. Lumière will release The summit of the gods in Belgian cinemas on 23 March.

Il 29th Stuttgart International Animated Film Festival (May 3-8; www.itfs.de) is first planned as a hybrid event, based on the successful online-only festivals of the past two years of the pandemic. ITFS will return to cinemas and Stuttgart's Schlossplatz in 2022 in conjunction with further professionalized online programs.

“A key element of the hybrid concept and an innovative and creative meeting opportunity is the ITFS VR Hub, a digital multi-user experience where visitors can virtually meet and interact in the form of avatars in numerous locations,” noted Ulrich Wegenast. , Artistic director . “As an equivalent Festival venue, the ITFS VR hub will also host numerous events, workshops and streaming presentations. The innovative and still experimental character of the VR Hub has the potential to provide an example for similar applications on the market in its further technical and structural development ”.

Furthermore, the simultaneous CGI confab FMX - Film & Media Exchange (on the site from 3 to 5 May, online from 6 May; www.fmx.de) confirmed further highlights of the program covering RISE's visual effects work in Reminiscence, The Third Floor's Virtual Production Secrets The Witcher, Mackevision's VFX Lost in Space Season 3 and the virtual cinematography of Jannicke Mikkelsen Stowaway. Presentations for the Producer Program of the 16 days of animation production (4-6 May; www.animationproductiondays.de/en) are open until 21 February. And the organizers have unveiled the dramatic official trailer of 2022, Burned, created by Filmakademie Animationinstitut students Justin Braun (director), Isabella Braun (creative producer), Josephine Ross (producer), Lukas Löffler (composition supervisor), Mariia Prokopenko (animation producer) and Leonard Frederic Caspari (director of photography ).

Manchester Animation Festival is launching a new dubbed monthly series of screenings and events MAF Presents, which begins with a special mystery themed projection: "They love me ... they don't love me!" perfect for the upcoming Valentine's Day party. The 75-minute screening will take place at Manchester's Chapeltown Picture House on Wednesday 9 February. (manchesteranimationfestival.com)

New York International Children's Film Festival it is also moving forward with a modified in-person edition. To safely include younger viewers, the 2022 Festival will run on weekends from March 4 to March 13 for audiences aged five and over, while all programming for children aged 3 to 5 will be available exclusively online for the entire festival, including weekdays. (nyicff.org)

The 25th anniversary year of the event will start next month with the annual Not For Kids (Not for kids) program of hilarious, weird and inappropriate short films. Access to the virtual screening, which will also honor the NYICFF chairman of the board Heather McRay, comes with a donation to the 25th anniversary fundraiser (nyicff.org/fundraiser). Tune in on Thursday 10 February.

The French Alliance Française Institute (FIAF; fiaf.org) announced additions to his 2022 First Animation Festival (live in New York, February 11-3; online nationwide, February 14-21). The landmark XNUMXth anniversary edition of this French animation celebration will now include:

• Exclusive online screening of  An American Tail by Don Bluth.
• American premiere of The mysteries of Paris by Véronique Puybaret and Matthieu Dubois, inspired by the 1842 serial novel of the same name.
• American premiere of Liberated!, the acclaimed feminist series that breaks down sexual diktats.
• A short film program presented by IInternational residence for animated cinema at the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, one of the most exciting animated film incubators.
• Wonderful Wacky Wolves, six adorable animated stories.
• Artist and producer Claire Matz, designer and stop-motion artist Taili Wu, and animator, storyboard artist and graphic novelist Angela Devito confirmed for Women in animation panel.
• Augmented reality in social media and the metaverse, an online workshop and presentation organized in collaboration with the New York Institute of Technology.

Animation First 2022 Trailer from FIAF on Vimeo.

A new convention is hitting the scene this year with Beyond the Comicon north of Miami Beach, Florida. Created by Gmoss Designs, LLC and The Fine Print Shoppe to inspire people to become future creators, the free family-focused comics and fashion convention invites independent creators and designers to make connections, showcase their animations, comics, fashion design and beyond. The inaugural meeting will be held at the Marjorie & William McDonald Center on Saturday 19th February. (www.beyondcomiccon.com)

A total of 258 works from 18 countries have applied for the fifth edition of the Press Quirino, scheduled for May 14 in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife (premiosquirino.org/en). Open to animated works from the 23 countries of the Ibero-American region, the call received 13 feature films, 48 ​​series, 110 short films, 30 school shorts, 49 commissioned films and eight video games which, together, add up to 45 hours of animation. Compared to the previous edition, the participation of feature films and series formats grew by 38% and 27% respectively. Spain leads the list of countries with the highest representation with 28%, followed by Brazil (14%), Colombia (13%), Argentina (13%) and Mexico (10%); Guatemala and Honduras are represented for the first time.

The selection committee composed of Katarzyna Gromadzka, Barry O'Donoghue, Argentina Oliva, Sydney Padova, Loïc Portier and Paco Rodríguez will choose six entries per category, which will be announced in mid-February. An international jury will then choose three finalists for each category: Sebastian Debertin (Director of International Content, Acquisitions and Co-productions at KiKA, Germany), Magdiela Hermida Duhamel (founder and co-director of the LatinX program in Animation, USA), Zofia Jaroszuk ( Producer and Production Supervisor at Animoon, Poland), Kenneth Ladekjær (Animation Director of Run away and co-creator of Sun Creature Studio, Denmark) and Hernán La Greca (creative director and content developer, USA).

Dave Coullier and Bob Harper Grilled cheese medium, launched last year, is heading north to screen its animated short Major Marlo meets the monster from Mars in Seattle Children's Film Festival (February 11-20; nwfilmforum.org/festivals/childrens-film-festival-seattle-2022), presented by the Northwest Film Forum. The film will be part of the lively “Icing on the Cake” animation program for children aged two and over, co-presented with the KidsQuest Children's Museum. Families can opt for virtual projections, in-person projections or a sensory-sensitive person projection.

Multiple bytes of events:

• Fest Hip 2022 (June 29-July 3 in Žilina, Slovakia) Submissions for animated films and music videos are almost closed! Deadline: January 31, 2022 (https://filmfreeway.com/FestAnca2022)
• CartoonNext (12-15 April in Marseille, France) invites to animated projects with transmedia potential. Deadline: February 4, 2022 (www.cartoon-media.eu/next/submit-your-project)

• FFAA (Abidjan Animation Film Festival; May 27-29) extends the deadline for submissions to feature film, short film and TV series projects. Deadline: 6 February 2022 (https://filmfreeway.com/FFAA)
• Annecy (13-18 June) issues a final call for Mifa Pitches (June 14-17). Deadlines: February 15, 2022 (Short Films, TV, Commissions, Graduation Films); 15 March (Movie); 6th April (VR) (www.annecy.org/take-part/submit-a-film)
• SMOF extension (Stop Motion Our Fest; June 22-27 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) features stop-motion films. Deadline: March 15th (https://filmfreeway.com/stopmotionourfest)
• Interfilm (November 15-20) e Kuki (November 13-20) in Berlin call for proposals. Deadlines: May 30, 2022; 25 April (www.interfilm.de / www.kuki-berlin.com)
• of Michigan 60th Ann Arbor Film Festival returns as a hybrid edition from 22 to 27 March. (aafilmfest.org)
• I SEA (International Symposium on Electronic Art) will be held June 10-16 in Barcelona, ​​Spain. (https://isea2022.isea-international.org/)
• RTX Austin 2022, celebrating animation, games and podcasts, returns in person 1-3 July 2022. (www.rtxevent.com/austin)
• Anime Expo 2022 (July 1-4 in Los Angeles) Badges are now on sale for general attendees. (www.anime-expo.org)