27. 7. 2021

Short Animated Films for Children Are Not Just About Animals

The proof is this year's thematically colorful international competition of short animated films for children, in which children will be presented with 52 films from 23 countries. Our festival programmers reaped the greatest harvest of movies yet again in Russia and France, where animated productions have been very successful for several years.

A very pleasant change is Spain, which has an unusually large representation this year (e.g. The Extraordinary Story of Bruna, Roberto, and Fly). Some Czech films have brought us some happiness from some regular participants like Tomas Bata University in Zlín (Sounds between the Crowns), Prague's FAMU (Children from Všehovíce, Azyl, Kuku), and Czech Television (Snoozy The Badger).

In the category for the youngest audiences, this will be full of stories from the world of animals, children, or creatures from the realm of fantasy. They will compete for the Hermína Týrlová Award, whose work is reminded of by, e.g. the Latvian animated film How Shammies Travelled, in which creatures made of pieces of fabric set out on a great adventure. Films for young audiences don't have to offer only cuteness; cleverness and wit can also be found. For example, the Dutch Ink, the Russian Little Snowman, and the French The Big Crunch have a comedic touch.

The content, which is more focused on the human world, is a category of animated films for the first stage of primary school. Topics of relationships between parents and children (Fox for Edgar), self-perception (Roberto, Dylda), or nostalgic looks into the past (Reflection) are beginning to appear.

The present and its problems are reflected in the minds of filmmakers in the section for older children. In addition to stories such as parental love (Umbrellas, Daisies and Sparrows), there are also those about people with less fortunate destinies (Penguin and Whale, Framed Memories). The highly cited ecology is the subject of the films Liyoki, WhateverTree, and Only a Child. The latter Swiss film is a remarkable feat, based on a speech given by a girl named Severn Suzuki at the UN summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Thanks to the chosen form of several art techniques, her words acquire a poetic dimension.

At the Zlín Festival, the jury for animated short films is composed of film professionals and child jurors. This concept is unique and brings both groups enriching experiences and, above all, distinctive views of selected films.

We believe that all our movie-goers, big and small, will have fun with this year's animators and experience joy and pleasure.

A list of the competition animations of 61st Zlín Film Festival 2021:

Děti ze Všehovíc (CZE, 2020, Petr Mischinger)

Azyl (CZE, 2021, Eva Matějovičová)

Alaska (RUS, 2020, Oxana Kuvaldina)

Bémol (SUI, 2021, Oana Lacroix)

Beyond the Line (KOR/USA, 2020, Jinuk Choi)

Big and Small (RUS, 2020, Natalia Grofpel)

Daisies and Sparrows (SIN, 2020, Ervin Haun)

Dylda (RUS, 2020, Anastasiia Zhakulina)

The Extraordinary Story of Bruna (SPA, 2021, Marc Riba, Anna Solanas)

Flo the Seal: Flo and the Real Chill Out (POL, 2020, Mateusz Jarmulski)

Fly (SPA, 2020, Carlos Gómez-Mira Sagrado)

Fox for Edgar (GER, 2021, Pauline Kortmann)

Framed Memories (MAL, 2020, Mclelun Lee)

The Great Milestone (SPA, 2020, Ignasi López Fàbregas)

Home (HUN, 2020, Kinga Rofusz)

How Shammies Travelled (LAT, 2020, Edmunds Jansons)

I am a Pebble (FRA, Mélanie Berteraut Platon, Yasmine Bresson, Léo Coulombier, Nicolas Grondin, Maxime Le Chapelain, Louise Massé)

In the Woods (CZE, 2021, Ivana Češková)

Ink (NLD, 2021, Erik Verkerk, Joost van den Bosch)

Kid Cat (FRA, 2020, Quentin Azzaro, Hugo Barret Castan, Amélie Ben Naceur, Marine Granger, Nils Perrais, Clémence Ponchaut, Nolwenn Raffin, Aïda Tchistoganoff)

Kiko and the Animals (FRA/SUI, 2020, Yawen Zheng)

Kuku (CZE, 2020, Daniela Hýbnerová)

Little Forest (ARG, 2020, Paulina Muratore)

Little Snowman (RUS, 2021, Aleksey Pochivalov)

Liyoki (FRA, 2020, Sarah Munos, Armel Boutillon, Arthur Lefebvre, Aurélie Tapponier, Francesca McCall, Jeremy Livingston, Thibault Cambresy)

Lullaby (RUS, 2021, Marina Karpova)

Lupin (FRA, 2020, Helene Ducrocq)

Marmalade (BUL, 2020, Radostina Neykova)

Matilda and the Spare Head (LIT, 2020, Ignas Meilūnas)

My Grandma Matilde (MEX, 2021, Miguel Anaya)

My Tagalong (CAN/CHN, 2020, Jerry Wang)

Nestling (RUS, 2020, Marat Narimanov)