The official festival programme will present 4 Czech exceptional animated feature films – My Sunny Maad by Michaela Pavlátová (Jury Award in Annecy, Golden Globe nomination, 2021), Even Mice Belong in Heaven by Denisa Grimmová and Jan Bubeníček (European Film Award nomination, 2021), A Colourful Dream by Jan Balej (Czech Lion Award in 2021) and Czech minority co-production The Crossing by Florence Miailhe (Jury Distinction in Annecy 2021). You can browse the programme HERE.

Industry programme of the festival, Futuranima, organizes the evening meetings dedicated to certain directors, and one of them will be dedicated to Michaela Pavlátová (March 2) and one to Florence Miailhe (March 4), who will both introduce their celebrated films in person within the meetings.

This year’s edition of Anima Brussels will also screen 4 Czech animated shorts, which have been selected for various sections of the festival. Red Shoes by Anna Podskalská, which premiered in Cannes’ Cinéfondation last year, enriches festival’s international competition for adult audiences, which also includes The Gypsy Dance by Radka Lacková competing in Watch and Dance section for music videos. International competition for young audiences will screen Sounds Between the Crowns by Filip Diviak, Rubic’s Cube by Krystsina Ramanava is part of the Animated Night selection.

In addition, 41st Anima also helds two Czech compilations of current Czech animation, which have been curated by Pavel Horáček, the artistic director of Czech Anifilm Festival. Chic Czech, focused on children spectators, will offer a colorful palette of Czech animated shorts from recent years. Some of the works resonated at the international level – such as The Kite by Martin Smatana (Berlinale’s Generation Kplus in 2019) or The Concrete Jungle by Marie Urbánková (Clermont-Ferrand ISFF 2020).

The selection of Czech This! aims to show the range of Czech animation for older audience, and includes Oscar nominated and Student Oscar winning Daughter by Daria Kashcheeva, Diana Cam Van Nguyen’s Love, Dad, which won prizes at Toronto IFF or BFI London last year, Sisters by Andrea Szelesová (Annecy 2021) or Washing Machine by Alexandra Májová (Clermont Ferrand 2021). Czech guests will also take part in the Czech This! programme. The Focus will open legendary Czech animator Jiří Barta with a presentation of his upcoming animated feature film Golem. Daria Kashcheeva will most probably also be present, both at the screening of her film Daughter and as part of the presentations of Czech film schools.

The presentation of Tomas Bata University in Zlín and Prague’s FAMU, which will be held within Futuranima on February 28th, also features several Czech animated shorts with international reputation – such as Happy End by Jan Saska (Cannes Quinzaine des Réalisateurs 2016), S P A C E S by Nora Štrbová (Visions du Réel 2020) or Fruits of Clouds Kateřina Karhánková (Annecy 2017), representing FAMU, and Old Gramophone’s Ghostly Tones by Kryštof Ulbert, Martina Tomková and Zuzana Čupová or Leaf by Aliona Baranova (Berlinale’s Generation Kplus 2020). Aliona Baranova will be one of the guests of the presentation.

You can watch all short films at Anima Online.