The 14th KAFF comes again
Animation in the Spotlight Again – The 14th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival comes again
The largest and oldest animation festival of Hungary, Kecskemét Animation Film Festival is organized for the 14th time. Screening more than 300 films at seven venues, the festival offers several exhibitions, masterclasses, book launches and related professional events.
The competition programme of the 14th Kecskemét Animation Film Festival was chosen by three pre-selection committees. Members of the Hungarian pre-selection team were animation directors Dóra Keresztes and Sándor Békési, and animation teacher István Rittgasser. Animated features were selected by screenwriter-director Yvonne Kerékgyártó, distribution expert Péter Bálint, and film critic György Lukácsy. TV films were selected by Polish film curator Aneta Ozorek, and animation directors Éva M Tóth and Gábor Ulrich.
From more than 200 Hungarian entries, 2 feature films, 14 student films, 22 shorts, 23 TV episodes and 28 applied animation films made it to the competition programme; and 30 films were selected to the information programme. In the European competition, 6 feature films, 28 series episodes and 6 TV Specials are featured, and 12 animations are screened apart from the competition.
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| Nadja Andrasev: Simbiosis |
Besides the feature films praised at international festivals like Ruben Brandt Collector and The Legend of King Solomon, the section of Hungarian shorts premieres the newest animation of Nadja Andrasev, Symbiosis, in which a young woman investigates after the lovers of his husband. With its personal tone, the MOME animation graduate short film Entropia by Flóra Anna Buda is also featured. Its international career started at this year’s Berlinale, where it was acclaimed with the Teddy Award for LGBTQ films. Ferenc Rófusz’s new work, The Last Supper will also be premiered for the first time, where the iconic mural of Leonardo da Vinci is animated in a symbolic way. Competition programme also includes the surreal fairytale Mermaids and Rhinos by Viktória Traub, voted as Best Animation of 2018 by the Association of Hungarian Film Critics; the Budapest Metropolitan University graduate film Mamahotel by Tina Orosz, depicting the difficulty of detachment from parents in a funny way; and the short film Remake by Béla Klingl, which focuses on the protagonist’s lifeline.
Student films also include works from Moholy-Nagy University of Arts (Mercy by Eszter Molnár, Never Mind by József Simon), Budapest Metropolitan University (Inner Rooms by Nóra Kiss, Breakfast by Máté Horesnyi), Illyés Academy of Arts (Living Matter by Bettina Boros and Brigitta Boros), Partium Christian University (Insomnia by Klaudia Kádár), and from the animations of the Secondary School of Visual Arts (The Shadow by Lili Tóth).
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| Máté Horesnyi: Breakfast |
The 28 series episode include the newest Hungarian animations, such as the next chapter of the storybook adaptation of A Door to Othertown by Bálint Gelley; the episode of the series Candide, reimagined by György Kovásznai and directed by Zsuzsanna Kreif; and an episode from the series Fledglings by Ervin B. Nagy, depicting the life of famous Hungarian sportsmen.
Parallel to KAFF, the 11th Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Films is hosted with a competition of 6 feature films, 28 series episodes and 6 TV Specials. Furthermore, 12 films are screened in the information programme. KAFF also premieres the animated feature The Bears’ Famous Invasion in Sicily, an adaptation of one of the most famous Italian children books. Directed by Lorenzo Mattotti, the international premiere of the film was in Cannes this year.
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| Lorenzo Mattotti: The Bears’ Famous Invasion in Sicily |
Three bodies of jury will take part in the judging process. The national category will be judged by Indian animation director Ishu Pathel; Gábor Csupó, founder of the animation studio Klasky-Csupo; film historian Zsolt Pápai; and sculptor Pál Lakatos. The jury of the 11th Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Films is the following: Dutch animator Michaël Dudok de Wit, animation director Éva Katinka Bognár and film historian Péter Gerencsér. In the TV category, animation director Judit Wunder; TV media services director Balázs Medveczky from Duna Médiaszolgáltató Zrt.; Otto Alder, teacher of the Lucerne International Animation Academy; and ASIFA Vice President Mohamed Ghazala.
Between 19 and 23 June, KAFF takes place at eight venues, offering several panorama programmes for the visitors. This year’s guest country will be Africa, presenting a selection from the lesser known African animation scene. 2019 also celebrates the 150th anniversary of Japanese-Hungarian diplomatic relationships, with a special programme of contemporary Japanese animation for this very reason. During the festival, Marcell Jankovics will hold a ‘work in progress’ presentation of the series Toldi in the making; Michaël Dudok de Wit will introduce us to its oeuvre; Gábor Csupó shares his experiences on American animation, and István Orosz tells about his career leading to animation filmmaking. The festival also hosts exhibitions of the following artists: Ishu Pathel, László Csáki, József Haui, Éva Katinka Bognár, and István Horkay. Book launches also await the visitors: the history of the Kecskemét studio is presented in the newest volume by Zoltán Varga; followed by the reportage book of Tamás Kollarik and József Fülöp, Hungarian Animation Authors, Part I.
