This year, Fest Anča traditionally offers a rich variety of program not only for adults, but also for children. The last weekend of August they may enjoy animated films and various interactive program, workshops or the opportunity to participate in a children’s jury. Screenings and the program for children will take place from Friday to Sunday, and Fest Anča will also ease the beginning of the school year for children with screenings during the first week of school.
This year, the film program for the youngest viewers includes a competition of short animated films for children, a non-competitive section, two feature films and a workshop where children may make little monsters led by the author of popular children series The Tots. Children may sign up here. Children and parents will be able to enjoy the festival in safety – Fest Anča complies with all the hygienic and anti-pandemic measures.
Children’s competition and jury
In 2020, 10 films made in the last two years are included in the international competition of animated films for children. And as we are well aware of, we adults don’t understand anything, therefore the winning film will be chosen by a special children’s jury, which will meet on Saturday. Parents may sign up their children here. A selection of children’s films that did not make it to the competition will be screened in a separate section, World Panorama for Children. Children may also watch several episodes from two well-known new Slovak animated series – Tresky plesky (KA-BOOM), in which the main character Kata Strofová informs about the origin of natural phenomena and disasters. In the series, the children will find out a lot about two little brothers.
Feature films for children and adults
At the same time, children, as well as their parents, may look forward to two feature films – the moving animated feature film The Iron Giant and the mega-successful Rango by director of Pirates of the Caribbean Gore Verbinski. In both cases, these are in line with the festival theme DAY AFTER, but in this case in a way that speaks across generations. While Rango tells the story of a chameleon – a hero who saves the ravaged town from an ecological catastrophe, the Iron Giant tells a story of an alien robot and his friendship with an earthling – boy in the middle of the Cold War. Both films will be dubbed in Slovak with English subtitles.
This year we will also have a workshop related to the Tots series. Author and producer Vanda Raýmanová has prepared an crafty workshop for children, which will be run at the festival by her own children. They will make film characters together with kids that no one has seen before. All the creatures that the children create will dance together in a new music video that will be created at Fest Anča.
Beginning of the school year with Fest Anča
The change in the date of the festival from the end of June to the end of August also brought changes in the date of the popular Children’s Day. It usually took place on Thursday at the beginning of Fest Anče and attracted schoolchildren from several schools in the region to the festival every year. This year, the program is moved to the first week of September and will last three days under the new heading Beginning of the school year with Fest Anča.
Children from primary schools and kindergartens may attend together with their classmates and watch children’s films from the competitive and non-competitive sections, which will also be screened during Fest Anče.
Safe for children and adults
Many parents fear that if they take their child with them to a mass event, their offspring will not be able to go to school. However, this is not the case – the parent of a child who took part in a mass event is only obliged to monitor their health. In the questionnaire, which is to be filled in at the beginning of the school year, it is necessary to write that the kid participated in such an event. Children who have been to mass events can safely return to school – only those who show signs of respiratory disease are to stay at home. So parents do not have to worry.
In addition, this year Fest Anča will welcome only local guests or guests from the surrounding safe countries, and we closely monitor the whole situation regarding the pandemic with strict hygienic measures, therefore the whole festival is to be considered safe.
Fest Anča 2020 International Animation Festival is financially supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund and LITA Fund, and supported using Slovak Arts Council public funds. The festival is held under the auspices of the Minister of Culture, Mrs Natália Milanová, and Mayor of Žilina, Mr Peter Fiabáne.
