Autumn in Yerevan began suddenly. And as the cold fresh air is abruptly replaced by a stuffy mixture of women’s perfume, about fifty people are milling about in the narrow foyer of the Cinema House, and everyone is greeting each other and happily discussing the latest news.
Thus, the annual international Armenian animation film festival, ReAnimania (ReA), has started in the capital. The opening of the festival took place at the Cinema House, which was attended by famous artists, animators, bloggers, actors, and numerous other figures of art and culture.
The opening ceremony began with an orchestral march, then the festival organizers greeted the guests and noted that the ReA festival is a platform that unites Armenia with international masters of animation art, as well as an opportunity for self-realization of talented Armenian directors.
The rich program of the festival is divided into two parts: full-length animated films and short films by directors from all over the world.
The short-film program features Aik Karapetyan’s “Walking back home.” And in the full-length film program, viewers will see works by directors from France, Spain, the US, Belgium, Iran, China, Japan, Latvia, and even Australia.
The ReA festival creates a retrospective look at other countries through the works of animation directors. This year, there is a retrospective of films by American director and animator Kirk Wise, known for such works as Beauty and the Beast, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. As part of the festival, all three films will be shown on the big screen, and viewers will be able to see their favorite characters that have become cult classics again.
On the opening day, there was a screening of the animated film Flow by Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis. The film became the highlight of the program; it will be shown also on Monday and Sunday at the Cinema House.
Another premiere was Australian director Adam Elliott’s work Memoir of a Snail, which will be shown on Wednesday and Friday—also at the Cinema House.
More detailed information about the program can be found on the ReAnimania festival website.
By Regina Melikyan