Belgium Is Guest of Honor at 16th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival

Belgium is the guest of honor, but the 16th Kecskemét Animated Film Festival (KAFF), which starts this Wednesday, will also showcase the best of contemporary Chinese, Argentinian, and German animation, the organizers told MTI.

According to their information, the program of this year’s KAFF will be presented by Belgium,  the guest of honor, in three thematic sections: the block entitled Love Stories and Other Disasters will showcase on Thursday, Tragic Tales and Other Comedies on Friday, and the selection entitled Fatal Beauty on Saturday at the Hírös Agóra theater in Kecskemét.

The selection of the best of contemporary Chinese animation – on Thursday at the Malom cinema – will mainly showcase the work of young Chinese animation filmmakers.

The selection of children’s films of the Stuttgart International Animation Festival will be screened at the Hírös Agora on Friday. Films from the ANIMA – Córdoba International Animation Festival in Argentina will also be screened at the Mill Cinema on Saturday. The Argentinian festival focuses specifically on the artistic and technological dimensions of animation. Furthermore, two batches from last year’s Annecy festival will also be screened at the Agora on Saturday.

Eight feature-length films are in competition at this year’s KAFF: the title character of the well-known French children’s book series is brought to life in Little Nicolas – It’s time for happiness!

The European Film Prize winner Dogs and Italians are forbidden! won two prizes at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and Áron Gauder’s The Four Souls of Coyote recently won the Jury Prize in Annecy.

Also on show will be the much-loved bear and mouse pair Ernest and Celestine in The Way of Melody, and My Grandfather’s Demons, in which Rosa, who lives in the big city, discovers she lives in a place where she feels she is not loved after the unexpected death of her grandfather.

Nayola depicts the impact of 25 years of civil war in Angola on three generations of women. Where is Anne Frank? follows Kitty, the imaginary friend of a little girl, while Plastic Skies, also part of this year’s Annecy program, takes the viewer into the future, according to the release.

This year’s KAFF also has a very rich book offer. Zoltán Varga’s Cat and Mouse Games will be presented on Wednesday at the Katona József Library. The book takes the reader through the work of Béla Ternovszky.

Also at the library the following morning, István Orosz’s Father’s Book will be presented, in which the author, a writer and graphic designer, has turned the memoirs and several volumes of diaries of his father, László Orosz, the legendary teacher of Kecskemét, into a book, supplemented with his own memories and archival documents.

The new book of the Hungarians in Hollywood series, the biography entitled Emeric Pressburger, The Life and Death of a Screenwriter, edited by Tamás Kollarik, will be presented on Thursday afternoon at the Hírös Agora.

Sándor Kertész’s Buborékban beszélők – A magyar képregény 150 éve (Speaking in Bubbles – 150 years of Hungarian comics), which presents the history of comics in Hungary from the caricature series of the 1800’s to digital drawing, will also be on display at the Katona József Library on Thursday.

The KAFF’s musical program includes folk music and jazz concerts.

Several exhibitions will be on show as part of the free all-round arts festival:

80-year-old László Haris’s photography will be exhibited at the Chapel Gallery from Thursday.

A new initiative for this year’s festival is the KAFFFER fair, which will feature handmade goods by talented students from five art universities.

Via MTI; Featured Photo: Facebook/KAFF Kecskemét Animation Film Festival