Fest Anča is an animation festival, and also where animation meets other art forms. The 2022 festival will present a high-quality and contemporary accompanying programme of concerts, DJ sets, discussions about this year’s festival theme – women, and parties at Stanica Žilina-Záriečie and the New Synagogue. The accompanying programme will also include a photography exhibition by Juraj Starovecký (mapping past years’ Fest Ančas), and the Všetko dookola exhibition by Marcel Onisko (about current events in Ukraine) in cooperation with Stanica Žilina-Záriečie.
On Wednesday evening (29 June) the festival will open with a DJ set by Seafur which crosses cultures and continents, seeking to find connections between seemingly unrelated genres and musical eras.
Thursday
On Thursday you can enjoy Isama Zing (Jonatán Pastirčák/Pjoni) who is a producer, DJ, and member of the Mäss collective and SHAPE platform. His contemporary work is at the crossroads between deconstructed club music and experimental pop production. He will present his Blurry AF project which is full of a surprising variety of creative approaches and cultural/genre fusion. You can also check out recontextualised traditional Roma “halgato” ballads, and pop vocal tracks with noise production, drone, and euphoric synthesisers.
Fest Anča will also present Ima Teva’s atmospheric musical world – steadfast and resilient yet also vulnerable and painfully intimate. She uses electronics and synthesisers that represent the past’s wounded ghosts, whose laments will keep you awake at night.
Thursday’s programme will also feature Bence Kocsis’ electronic solo project OIEE. His work combines instrumental sounds with tropical and not-so-tropical house, techno, nudisco, dance, R&B, disco, trance elements, and modern soul vocals to create a very original and uncompromising sound.
Friday
The domestic scene will be represented by w y m e, a Bratislava-based DJ and musician prized for a distinctive electro hybrid sound. She has recently started Xeno club nights, where she supports the Bratislava experimental club scene and provides a safe space for diversity where various communities can come together. She described her sets to a2alarm: “I like music with irregular and complex rhythms, as well as music with repetitive structures and overlapping genres. I also enjoy darker reggaeton or baile-funk, contemporary and old electro. I like using pop fragments.”
We will also welcome Sofia Nøt, the Bratislava-based DJ known for her IAmNøt project. She likes to alternate between straight and broken beats in her tracks. She has recorded Simon Seriš-directed music videos for most of her songs. Her DJ sets include her own production as well as a mixture of techno, industrial, darkwave and breakbeat.
Artist and rapper Arleta uses her femme poetry to challenge toxic masculinity and to cast all misogynistic beings into darkness. She then navigates the darkness with her whispery delivery, which is gaining ever more attention in the contemporary scene. Hypnosis, drive, and introversion demolish all intimate boxes and redefine themselves aesthetically and lyrically against the ingrained rules of Czech rap.
Saturday
In the evening, enjoy the ambitious Fairycore Syndicate music collective who present their vision of the ideal club experience by merging genres such as gabber, hyperpop, breakcore, and trance. They also aim to create a platform and space for artists whose work stands out from the crowd.
Bratislava-Košice project Berlin Manson knows a thing or two about uniqueness. They sing/rap about Depeche Mode, spaceships, and soundcloud trends, and their work goes way beyond boundless fun. They uniquely update post-synth punk and serve as a testament to absolute creative freedom.
Although Ukrainian acid/trance/techno DJ and producer Miklei has been Slovakia-based for some time, she started performing only recently. Her fresh sets are inspired by Slovak techno, and represent a wide spectrum of the Eastern European underground club scene. Her hard techno is guaranteed to awaken you from any lethargy. Fest Anča will also present Ukrainian producer Karaoke Tundra (Viktor Tverdochlibov) who has long been part of the Czech and Slovak scene. With trans-genre freedom, he combines impulses from hip hop with experimental electronica.
And so much more
Visitors can also enjoy other events in the accompanying programme. This year’s jury member Kate Jessop will have a presentation on the portrayal of female sexuality in animated films, while Peter Budinský will talk about the production of his newest film Journey to Yourland during his masterclass. Three generations of Slovak female animators will host a discussion about their work. The festival will also invite all children aged 0 to 100 to a group reading of children’s books by popular female authors and stories featuring a female protagonist.
About Fest Anča
Fest Anča International Animation Festival – the only Slovak multimedia festival focused on animated film – is based in the New Synagogue and in the cultural centre Stanica Žilina-Záriečie, both venues being vibrant cultural centers in the city of Žilina. The festival aims to showcase contemporary, progressive animated films, and commemorate the cream of the genre. The long-term vision is to approximate well-known international festivals by uniquely showcasing this art form in Slovakia.
The festival features an international competition of animated short films and music videos, as well as non-competitive screening sections. Attendees can additionally enjoy presentations, exhibitions, workshops, film screenings for children, and numerous accompanying events.
Fest Anča International Animation Festival 2022 is financially supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund and LITA Fund. The event was supported from public funds by the Slovak Arts Council. Women in Animation, Fest Anča’s 2022 thematic focus, is an implementation of the Student Forum Fest Anča.
The Student Forum Fest Anča benefits from a EUR 120,609 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through EEA Grants. The project has received co-financing from the State Budget of the Slovak Republic of EUR 18,091. The aim of the project is to work with attendees, promote international mobility and cooperation between European schools, share knowledge and skills, and compare animation teaching methods across Europe.
