Program

Animation Festival

Ars Electronica Animation Festival

05.09. - 09.09. | 10:00 - 20:00

OK Offenes Kulturhaus Oberösterreich

These works include impressive special effects, hilarious cartoons, poetic narratives, dynamic music videos, science fiction, manga style, anime, surprising points of view, strange worlds and much, much more. And for the second time, the 2008 Ars Electronica Animation Festival will be screening programs for interested, curious and open-minded festival audiences in Linz and, simultaneously, at the Museumsquartier in Vienna.

Narration
Since Antiquity, every artistic work constructed according to the classical canon proceeds in a sort of wave-like movement. It begins with a prologue that relates the back story, followed by a build-up to an initial climax, the turning point of the narrative. The plot then reverts to a lower key from which there’s a last buildup to the finale. This set of rules has remained more or less unchanged since Aristotle. Not every film conforms to the classic laws of poetics—but the ones screened in this program sure do.

Water Worlds
It’s said that there are three things that you can watch with endless fascination: how fire burns, how water flows and how other people work. One of these three phenomena will be present in this program in copious quantities and from diverse perspectives.

SmartWorlds
Statisticians, politicians and other opinion leaders never tire of trying to persuade us that our world could function according to a set of rules and regulations. Be that as it may, most of it’s still characterized by the coincidental and the unpredictable, longings, fantasies, outlandishness and dreams. The films in this program transport us right into the heart of this world.

Bodies and Mutations
Since the cave paintings of primeval times, the urns and monumental sculpture of Antiquity, and all the way up to the present day, the human body has provided inspiration and subject matter for artists in cultures the world over.Technologies change, new techniques arrive and old ones depart; only the source of inspiration remains the same.

Views and Perspectives
How we perceive the world that surrounds us is determined primarily by our human sensory organs. Nevertheless, with a little help from the imagination, these limits can be expanded and redrawn. And thus, we suddenly see the world from new perspectives.

Late Night
When the night become pitch black, a different set of rules prevails. Dreams provide entrée into other worlds: chasms of the soul open up within them, but this is also where hopes and fantasies can come true. This program is an invitation to dream.

Animal Stories
Animals too have feelings, desires, complaints, problems, joys and longings—at least in films. Creaturely fates in all shades and nuances are presented for your consideration in this program.

Blood and Crime
Here yawn the deepest abysses of transgression, horror, panic and chaos; monstrosities, the nightmarish creatures of ancient sagas rule over this world of evil.This program is only for those with strong nerves! You’ve been warned.

Life Ages
Childhood reminiscences, everyday routines, family life, love stories, the (un)wisdom of old age. Stories drawn from all phases of life conduct viewers through an all-too-human Panopticon full of emotion, humor, wit and irony.

Japanese Animation
Visual imaginativeness and unconventional narrative forms characterize animation made in Japan. This program curated by the Japan Media Arts Festival showcases a cross-section of artistic productions from recent years.

ATTENTION:  presentation of the young animations at the Ars Electronica Center
Extended Run: September 10 to 14

Fr/Fri 5.9.    
10:00 - 11:30 Prix Selection: Narration
12:00 - 13:00 Prix Selection: Water Worlds
13:30 - 14:30 Prix Selection: Views and Perspectives
15:00 - 16:30 Prix Selection: Animal Stories
17:00 - 18:30 Prix Selection: Life Ages
19:00 - 20:30 Japanese Animation
21:00 - 22:00 Prix Selection: Late Night        

Sa/Sat 6.9.    
10:00 - 11:30 Prix Selection: Smart Worlds
12:00 - 13:00 Prix Selection: Bodies and Mutations
13:30 - 15:00 Prix Selection: Blood & Crime        
20:00 - 21:30 Electronic Theatre
22:00 - 23:30 Electronic Theatre       

So/Sun 7.9.    
10:00 - 11:30 Prix Selection: Animal Stories
12:00 - 13:30 Prix Selection: Life Ages
14:00 - 15:00 Prix Selection: Bodies and Mutations
15:30 - 16:30 Prix Selection: Views and Perspectives
17:00 - 18:30 Japanese Animation
19:00 - 20:00 Prix Selection: Water Worlds
20:30 - 22:00 Prix Selection: Blood & Crime
22:00 - 23:00 Prix Selection: Late Night        

Mo/Mon 8.9.
10:00 - 11:30 Japanese Animation
12:00 - 13:30 Prix Selection: Smart Worlds
14:30 - 15:30 Prix Selection: Views and Perspectives
16:00 - 17:30 Prix Selection: Narration
18:00 - 19:00 Prix Selection: Blood & Crime
19:30 - 20:30 Prix Selection: Water Worlds
21:00 - 22:00 Prix Selection: Late Night        

Di/Tue .9.    
10:00 - 11:30 Prix Selection: Life Ages
12:00 - 13:30 Prix Selection: Narration
14:00 - 15:30 Prix Selection: Smart Worlds
16:00 - 17:00 Prix Selection: Bodies and Mutations
17:30 - 19:00 Prix Selection: Animal Stories  

Filming and photographing during the screening are strictly prohibited.