The 3rd edition of Animist Tallinn will take place in Tallinn from 16-19 August, 2023. The festival international competition received 564 films from 65 countries, 37 films have been selected in the competition programme 2023. The Grand Prix, 3 000 euros will be supported by the Culture & Sports Department of Tallinn. The special prizes, 1 500 euros for animated films with dialogue or narration will be supported by the Yarnspinner.

Artistic director Priit Tender: “In addition to the usual animation countries such as France and England, films from Hungary, Portugal, China, Iran, Israel stood out for their artistic level. Strong personal memories and social conflicts, on the lighter side absurd humor, surrealism and poetic journeys emerged from the themes. The competition programme includes five film screenings”.

Programme co-curator Silvia Lorenzi: “We are very proud of the selection for this year’s “Animist” film festival, as we believe it covers a broad spectrum of topics related to human nature. It is by delving into the complexities that hide deep within our souls, where darkness can reside, reminding us of our imperfections, that we embark on a journey of self-discovery, with empathy and resilience. We hope to succeed in presenting programs that can partially answer the most challenging question of our time: what does it mean to be human?”


JUSTICE

“Our Uniform” by Yegane Moghaddam (2022, Iran)
“PLSTC” by Laen Sanches (2022, FRance)
“Tomato Kitchen” by Junyi Xiao (2022, China)
“Salvation Has No Name” by Joseph Wallace (2022, UK, France)
“From Our Side” by Simone Massi (2022, Italy)
“Being That Boy Again” by Jan Koester (2022, Germany)
“The Master of the Swamps” by Sasha Svirsky (2023, Germany)
“Box Cutters” by Naomi Van Niekerk (2022, France, Netherlands)
“Sunset Singers” by Jessica Poon (2022, Germany, Hong Kong)


UNTOLD STORY

“The Record” by Jonathan Laskar (2022, Switzerland)
“The Family Portrait” by Lea Vidakovic (2023, Croatia, France, Serbia)
“Love Me True” by Inés Sedan (2023, France)
“All Is Lost” by Carla Pereira (2022, Spain)
“The Angst and the Bliss” by Mangoosta (Lucia Malerba and Niccolò Manzolini) (2022, Italy, France)
“The Garbage Man” by Laura Gonçalves (2022, Portugal)


INNER BEAST

“My Tiger” by Jean-Jean Arnoux (2022, France)
“Sweet Dreams” by Maria Zilli (2022, Italy)
“Muerte Murciélago” by Carlos Saiz (2021, Spain)
“A Kind of Testament” by Stephen Vuillemin (2023, France)
“Garrano” by David Doutel (2022, Portugal, Lithuania)
“Stain” by Shiva Sadegh Asadi (2022, Iran)
“Amok” by Balázs Turai (2022, Hungary, Romaina)


NOT THAT FUNNY

“Pasajero” by Juan Pablo Zaramella (2022, Argentina)
“Eeva” by Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak (2022, Estonia, Croatia)
“Cucumbers” by Leonid Shmelkov (2021, Russia, France)
“Wild & Woolly” by Alan Jennings (2022, USA)
“Supper” by Dániel Bárány (2022, Hungary)
“RIM” by Hagar Faibish (2022, Germany)


FLOATING WORLD

“The Egret River” by Wan-Ling Liu (2022, Taiwan)
“Resting Fog” by Nikolett Fábián (2022, Hungary)
“Oneluv” by Varya Yakovleva (2022, Russia)
“Ice Merchants” by João Gonzalez (2022, Portugal, France, UK)
“Airborne” by Andrzej Jobczyk (2021, Poland)
“11” by Vuk Jevremovic (2022, Croatia, Germany)
“Miles Davis – What’s Love Got to Do With It” by Irina Rubina (2022, Germany, USA)
“Marie. Eduardo. Sophie” by Thomas Corriveau (2022, Canada)


On 2023 the jury members of the international competition are illustrator, artist and musician Dave McKean (UK), filmmakers Izabela Plucinska (Germany/Poland) and Natalia Mirzoyan (Armenia/Estonia).

The festival will screen many special programmes: 2 non fiction animation programs “Not My Problem” and “Focus on the Middle East”, experimental programme “Visionaries”, programme for young adults “Strange Guests”, night programme “Ecstasy” and one can also see short films created by jury members Dave McKean, Izabela Plucinska and Natalia Mirzojan. Animist offers an opportunity to see new Estonian animation and the festival traditionally ends with a special screening of the winning films.

Animist Tallinn is an annual animation festival that offers the audience an overview of the best contemporary films, values animation as an art form, promotes creative thinking and contributes to the distribution of Estonian animation. The screenings will take place in Cinema Sõprus and Kinomaja.

Discount pass of 40 euros sales is opened until June 30th.

The festival is supported by Estonian Film Institute, Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Culture & Sports Department of Tallinn.