Fest Anča International Animation Festival presents a selection of Slovak short animated films that you will have a chance to see at its 16th edition. Around 30 Slovak films were submitted to the competition this year, out of which the pre-selection committee selected 9 for the competition and 12 for the non-competition section. In both sections you will find films by established authors, as well as students and new, fresh names of contemporary animation.

In this year’s selection of Slovak animated films, fans and visitors of Fest Anča will find, for example, the latest film Mercy by Ivana Laučíková, who is undoubtedly one of the most important names of Slovak animation. Her 17-minute film unconventionally depicts the theme of extremism, which, unfortunately, is still very topical. Visitors may also be attracted by the shorter Czech film Existence , which is only two minutes long, and is about philosophising while brushing your teeth. This difference in length also illustrates that the possibilities of animated film and its narrative can be wide, even infinite. The originality of the creators is emphasized by the film Criss Cross by the creative duo Nina Rybárová and Tomáš Rybár. It is the first Slovak animated film created by embroidering with a blunt needle. 

“It is great that this year’s Fest Anča will offer a diverse range of animation techniques and unique approaches to animation in the Slovak section, such as puppet film, stop motion, embroidery animation or pixilation,”  Jakub Spevák, the festival’s programme director and a member of the pre-selection committee, describes the diversity of contemporary Slovak animation.

However, let’s not forget about student films, which will also compete for the Anča Award for the Best Slovak Short Animated Film at this year’s Fest Anča. The festival will present a new film by Filip Diviak, who won a special recognition at the festival last year for the film Sounds Between the Crowns. This year he will present his film My Name is Edgar and I Have a Cow about Edgar, whose life is turned upside down after a visit to a slaughterhouse. Members of the pre-selection committee are also pleased to present the film Zadig/Human from the production of the private secondary school UPAT in Bratislava, Slovakia. In the competition section, the festival will also present the animated documentary Doubt, which skilfully combines a variety of animation techniques and whose main theme is the stages of the creative process.

“This year, the Slovak Competition of Short Animated Films will also feature three diverse and extremely original video clips, which have a rich tradition in our country. Viewers can look forward to a funny music video about Kamilka, but also to a music video referring to the war in Ukraine, ” adds Peter Gašparík, a member of the pre-selection committee.

In the non-competitive section, the festival will present the film Slovak for a Word – Behind the Back by the festival regular Marian Vredik, as well as a rich and interesting selection of student films, including films from the animation department of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava.

Slovak Competition of Short Animated Films

My Name is Edgar and I Have a Cow (Volám sa Edgar a mám kravu) – Filip Diviak

Criss Cross (Krížom Krážom) – Nina Rybárová, Tomáš Rybár

Zadig/Human (Zadig/Človek) – Andrea Pátková, Adam Čurko, Viktoria Voržáčková

Doubt (Pochyby)– Andrea Križovenská

Existence (Existencia) – Niko Mlynarčík

Extraordinary Tales from Town of Mindcery (Neobyčajné príbehy z mesta Mindcery) – Veronika Trokšiarová, Zlata Golecová

Slavo Turanec – Kamilka! Feat. Hudobné teleso Praktikábel – Slavo Turanec 

Mercy (Milosť) – Ivana Laučíková

Out of Time (Čas vypršal) – Jan Juhaniak

Slovak Short Films

Affinity (Afinita) – Laura Matušáková

Slovak for a Word – Behind the Back (Slovenčina na slovíčko – Za chrbtom) – Marián Vredík

I Don´t Want to Get Yet (Ešte nechcem ísť) – Klára Fedora Homzová

Connected (Spojení) – Peter S. Kološ

ANA – Romana Candráková

Delirium Collectoris – Adriana Mišková

Deathless Love (Láska neumiera) – Zuzana Hodulová

Like a Fish (Ako ryba v mori) – Nataša Strelová

Dandelions (Púpavy)– Alexandra Chovanová

Zuza – Children from ZUŠ Krčava, under the guidance of Mária Basanda Kováčová

Grown up (Dospelá) – Virág Emma Csuport

Heights (Výšky) – Leonard Lofaj

The full official selection, including foreign films and all this year’s competition categories, will be announced on Sunday 2 April.

Fest Anča International Animation Festival 2023 is financially supported by the Audiovisual Fund. The festival received financial support from the LITA Fund. The Fest Anča Student Forum has received a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants.