A VERY ANIMATED FESTIVAL
Always open to the impact of formats of every kind, this year the #15FestivalSevilla will devote unusual and special attention to the various trends in animation produced in Europe, with a handful of very eye catching titles. Painter, sculptor and multidisciplinary artist, the Hungarian Mirolad Krstic makes the jump to feature films at the age of 66, two decades after winning at the Berlin Festival with his short film 'My Baby Left Me' (1995). Krstic goes for fast paced action with multiple references to the world of art: Krstic will compete in the Official Section with 'Ruben Brandt, Collector', or the adventure of a psychotherapist who, along with a handful of patients, forms a gang of art thieves.
In New Waves, two films with the Palestinian conflict as the background will maintain an unexpected dialogues: the Italian-French 'Samouni Road', by Stefano Savona, melds real images with the scratchboard technique in an unusual, heart-rending, striking proposal that takes us to the Gaza Strip with the portrait of a family marked by tragedy. 'The Tower', by the Norwegian director Mats Grorud, also offers a family group, in this case confined for several generations to a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. Animation at the service of a humanist, emotionally intense story.
In New Waves-Non fiction, 'Chris the Swiss', by Swiss director Anja Kofmel, shows that animation mixes perfectly with documentary: creative and firm, the film is an intimate exercise in memory by the director, marked by the death of her cousin in the war in the Balkans. He is the Chris of the title, a journalist who died in mysterious circumstances at the height of the war, and it’s his trail that Kofmel follows, mingling archive images, interviews (with journalists, with a Spanish mercenary and even the terrorist Carlos, the Jackal) and forceful black and white animation.
The four films will also be included in the Filmlovers of the Future section, as will 'Funan', which comes to the festival after winning at Annecy. The debut behind the camera of Denis Do, this co-production between France, Belgium and Luxembourg delves into another traumatic story marked by violence: in this case, that of the genocide in Cambodia. Political animation based on reality, inspired by the experiences of Do’s mother, a victim of the terror of the Khmer Rouge.
THE WOMEN STRIKE A BLOW
The #15FestivalSevilla will share radical female looks, such as those of the Romanain Adina Pintilie and the Finnish Anna Eriksson. The former, co-founder of the Bucharest Experimental Film Festival, surprisingly won the Golden Bear in Belin with 'Touch Me Not', an unusual, unreserved exploration of intimacy and sexuality, that plays with the limits of reality and fiction, through the journey of a woman who is struggling against her traumas using unconventional methods. Bodies far removed from what is ‘normal’, minds trapped in their desires and fears, and the director herself dealing with her intimacy in front of the camera, form part of a trajectory as uncomfortable as it is fascinating. It will be in our Official Section. Sex is also a vehicle in the first film by Anna Eriksson, who has previously had a long, successful musical career: in 'M (Experimental Film)', a title which is a real declaration of intent and which Seville will show in its Permanent Revolutions section, the filmmaker studies the convergence between desire and death, Eros and Thanatos, on a sensorial journey in which Eriksson, as well as director, is protagonist, writer and editor. She also participated in the processes of wardrobe, set decoration and sound for the film.
In 2014, the Seville Festival welcomed 'Pas a Genève' (2014), a film with echoes of the 15M movement and its spirit and it was directed by lacasinegra, a collective for whom the audiovisual is a key that opens a thousand doors. María Antón was part of that restless group of filmmakers and artists, and now she returns alone with '<3', a documentary which, in the style of 'Comizi d'amore' by Pier Paolo Pasolini, offers a panorama of the view of new generations about subjects such as romantic love, sexual identity or fidelity. With her camera and using the power of conversation, Antón approaches adolescents and young people, listens to them and offers tools for reflection. The film will be shown in the Permanent Revolutions section.
ROY ANDERSSON AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Festival and of the EFA Award for Best Comedy, 'Una paloma se posó sobre una rama a reflexionar sobre la existencia'(2015) rounded off, with its frozen laughs, the extravagant Trilogy of Life by the Swedish director Roy Andersson. A filmmaker with a long career, interrupted during periods dedicated to advertising, Andersson will be the subject of a tribute at the #15FestivalSevilla, with the screening of his six feature films: the first three, 'Lördagen den 5.10' (1969), 'Una historia de amor sueca' (1970) and 'Giliap' (1975), and the above mentioned trilogy which is completed by 'Canciones del segundo piso' (2000) and 'La comedia de la vida' (2007). The Festival will also show two of his short films, 'To Fetch a Bike' (1968) and 'World of Glory' (1992), offering a complete panorama of the formally daring work by Roy Andersson, a reflection on the human condition, usually drawn with a sense of humour that is far from conventional.
The 15th Edition of the Seville European Film Festival, which will be held from 9th to 17th November, 2018, continues to support education, innovation and new trends, and will again be the meeting place for directors and creators from the European continent and a curious public, ready to enjoy a film lover’s adventure in which there is room for everything.
© Studio 24
Photo: Studio 24
A VERY ANIMATED FESTIVAL
Always open to the impact of formats of every kind, this year the #15FestivalSevilla will devote unusual and special attention to the various trends in animation produced in Europe, with a handful of very eye catching titles. Painter, sculptor and multidisciplinary artist, the Hungarian Mirolad Krstic makes the jump to feature films at the age of 66, two decades after winning at the Berlin Festival with his short film 'My Baby Left Me' (1995). Krstic goes for fast paced action with multiple references to the world of art: Krstic will compete in the Official Section with 'Ruben Brandt, Collector', or the adventure of a psychotherapist who, along with a handful of patients, forms a gang of art thieves.
In New Waves, two films with the Palestinian conflict as the background will maintain an unexpected dialogues: the Italian-French 'Samouni Road', by Stefano Savona, melds real images with the scratchboard technique in an unusual, heart-rending, striking proposal that takes us to the Gaza Strip with the portrait of a family marked by tragedy. 'The Tower', by the Norwegian director Mats Grorud, also offers a family group, in this case confined for several generations to a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. Animation at the service of a humanist, emotionally intense story.
In New Waves-Non fiction, 'Chris the Swiss', by Swiss director Anja Kofmel, shows that animation mixes perfectly with documentary: creative and firm, the film is an intimate exercise in memory by the director, marked by the death of her cousin in the war in the Balkans. He is the Chris of the title, a journalist who died in mysterious circumstances at the height of the war, and it’s his trail that Kofmel follows, mingling archive images, interviews (with journalists, with a Spanish mercenary and even the terrorist Carlos, the Jackal) and forceful black and white animation.
The four films will also be included in the Filmlovers of the Future section, as will 'Funan', which comes to the festival after winning at Annecy. The debut behind the camera of Denis Do, this co-production between France, Belgium and Luxembourg delves into another traumatic story marked by violence: in this case, that of the genocide in Cambodia. Political animation based on reality, inspired by the experiences of Do’s mother, a victim of the terror of the Khmer Rouge.
