Ars Electronica Animation Festival – Screenings

A phone call brings to life a family portrait painted in the style of the Late Middle Ages; an installation programmed by Golan Levin manipulates hands in real time; animation at the nexus of the Web (David OReilly) and gaming—this program brings out innovative routes computer animation filmmakers have been taking lately.

In this lineup, animation takes leave of the screen. It’s played out in public spaces, façades and landscapes, reconfiguring them in the process. Impressive spatial experiences and bizarre illuminated landscapes emerge before our eyes.

Not only representing reality but also giving accounts of “other stories” whose boundaries exist only in their narrators’ imagination as well as in the act of storytelling itself have been characteristic of artists’ approaches to computer animation. This program contains personal matters, amusing plots and a healthy portion of satire.

A beastly-bizarre discourse on the food chain in a highly cultivated TV studio discussion setting; the most adventuresome, totally awry, topsy-turvy Christmas you can imagine; advertising that celebrates its origins—this is a lineup full of fun, satire and irony.

Videos are a mainstay of the music industry. A wide array of styles and techniques are used in current productions: 3-D and 2-D animation, stop motion, hand-drawn & generative animation as well as mixed media.

The formulation of political statements has a long tradition in computer animation. Some filmmakers elaborate on current political issues; others go into the mental and intellectual wounds inflicted and dredged up by real events.

The films in this lineup describe situations at the edge of psychosis—personal perceptions, couples’ conflicts, therapeutic processes, breakups that make it seem like the whole world is breaking down. First and foremost, these are matters of individual perception.

An action-packed program full of suspense, stories about friendship, challenge, threat and sacrifice, struggles for survival with and against nature—energies expressed in images of impressive visual power.

Witty, off-beat, subtle, tragic and serious animated work produced by young filmmakers are screened during the Festival Ars Electronica. Every year, gifted young filmmakers submit their movies to u19 – CREATE YOUR WORLD (Austria), bugnplay (CH), MB21 (DE) (DE) und C3<19 (HU). The greatest are featured in Young Animations.

Erick Oh (KR/US) is one of today’s most interesting animators and filmmakers. His films have been screened at the world’s most important animation film festivals and honored with numerous awards. His latest work “O” will be screened in the Ars Electronica Animation Festival as world premiere. Trailer

The Japan Media Arts Festival honors outstanding works from a wide range of media in four award categories: Art, Entertainment, Animation, and Manga. It also serves as a platform that celebrates the winners of awards and outstanding creative works of art.

The Campus Genius Award (Gakusei CG Contest) honors digital artworks created by students. This year, it celebrates its 20th anniversary, which verifies its important role in the history of Japanese Media Arts. At this year’s Ars Electronica Animation Festival, a series of animated short films is being screened.

The International Students Creative Award is an international arts and information media competition sponsored by Knowledge Capital Association. It`s for Japanese and international university, graduate school, and vocational school students.