The festival was founded in 2008 at the station Stanica Žilina-Záriečie by animation students of the Academy of Performing Arts in Slovakia, who lacked space for the presentation of their work, as well as for confrontation with foreign authors, bringing new trends and approaches, and last but not least, for informal education from international talent.
Today, the Fest Anča International Animation Film Festival is the only Slovak multimedia festival focused on animated film primarily for adult audiences. As the only festival of its kind in Slovakia, it annually presents the most important works and highlights from the world of animated film, raising awareness of this art form and educating about the various forms of animation. The festival is also the largest showcase of short films in Slovakia.
In 2023, Fest Anča International Animation Film Festival became the only Slovak Oscar® Qualifying Festival, which means that the winners of the awards in the main and Slovak categories can automatically apply for the next year’s Academy wards®.
In 2020, Ivana Palečková was awarded the Slovak Design Award for the visual identity for the 11th edition of Fest Anča 2018 with the theme Propaganda.
Since 2020, Fest Anča has been a founding member of AFN – Animation Festival Network, a unique network of animation film festivals in Europe.
Fest Anča takes place annually in the cultural centre Stanica Žilina-Záriečie, in the New Synagogue and other cultural spaces of the city of Žilina. The festival takes advantage of their unique, informal environment, which goes beyond the usual concept of a film festival and at the same time breaks down the imaginary barriers between the viewer, the organizers, and the festival guests, creating a unique atmosphere.
The Fest Anča team contributes year-round to the building of the Slovak creative industry not only in the field of animation. It helps to unite the animation community and informs about the current happenings in contemporary animated film.
During the year, Anča organizes film screenings called Kino Fest Anča. It distributes winning films under the title the Best of Fest Anča, as well as short films for children with special educational materials.
PROGRAMME
The main programme of the festival features a selection of the most important animated films of the last two years and presents artistically, production-wise and historically significant works of the contemporary and historical animated film. Every year it hosts important figures of animated film such as Koji Yamamura, Michaela Pavlátová, Steven Woloshen, and Jaroslava Havettová.
At Fest Anča, participants compete for the Anča Award in the categories of best animated short film, student film, Slovak film, animated music video, and best film for children. Most of the films have their Slovak premiere at the festival and are not available on television, cinema distribution, or even on the internet.
Each year the festival comes with a new theme that reflects important social phenomena through animation. In the past, the festival has covered topics such as utopias, women in animation, traditions, identity, and propaganda.
In addition to screenings of films in international competition, thematic and special focuses, Fest Anča offers lectures, exhibitions, workshops, concerts, screenings for children, and other accompanying events that link animation with different art forms. By choosing the main theme each year, the festival reflects current social issues and offers new points of view on well-known topics in an unconventional way.
The festival also includes programme for film professionals. It focuses on the development and presentation of animation projects, offering the opportunity to make professional contacts, and allowing creators to gain important new experiences in the animation industry. Lectures by well-known animation figures are also open to the public, bringing professional animation closer to the general audiences.
STUDENT FORUM
Fest Anča also connects educators and students of European universities focused on teaching animation in a unique project called the Student Forum, the pilot edition of which took place in 2022. The festival is a platform to meet and exchange experiences on the approach to teaching animation in different countries, as well as on the possibilities of producing and distributing student films.
