International competition of animated feature films

The much sough-after main competition of animated feature films at Anifilm will this year present nine films. Categories for children as well as for adults will see big productions with renowned Hollywood names and bigger commercial potential face films by independent artists. The main competition for adults brings some very hot films this year. One of them is Rocks in my Pocket by the Latvian animator Signe Baumane working at the New York independent scene. This biography full of metaphors depicts her fight with depressions. The Prophet (adapted from Kahlil Gibran’s book) can offer big names from the world of animation (e.g. Bill Plympton, Joan C. Gratz, Joann Sfar, Nina Paley, Tomm Moore). The film was produced by Salma Hayek who also did some voice work together with Alfred Molina and Liam Neeson. The competition will also present the Spanish horror film Possessed with a very sophisticated claymation animation and a very unusual theme for an animated film. The last of the four competition films, Luxembourg film Extraordinary Tales, will be screened in Czech premiere. This innovative adaptation of E. A. Poe’s tales was voiced for example by Guilermo del Toro, Christopher Lee and Roger Corman.
The category for children will also have one Czech premiere – Moomins on the Riviera. The film fully respects the graphic style of writer and illustrator Tove Jansson and her kind humour and as such is a “true” adaption that will please all Moomins fans. The Irish studio Cartoon Saloon will enter the competition with their latest film The Song of the Sea about the last of the selkies. Captivating Japanese film Giovanni’s Island was awarded the Jury distinction at the Annecy festival. It depicts the events after World War II when a small Japanese island was occupied by the Soviets. Another Japanese input into the competition is the academy award nominated film The Tale of Princess Kaguya. The last competition film is the lavishly 3D animated atmospheric Swedish tale Beyond Beyond.