“Lifeline”

From early commercials to award-winning short films until the millennium (e.g. 1930-40s ads, films by Marcell Jankovics, József Nepp, Péter Szoboszlay, Tibor Bánóczki, Tomek Ducki), thematic focus on human beings and being a human.

Films:

_Gyula Macskássy, György Szénásy: Lucky Jim / Szerencsés flottás (1942)
_Gyula Macskássy, György Várnai: Duel / Párbaj (1960)
_Sándor Reisenbüchler: The Kidnapping of the Sun and the Moon / A Nap és a Hold elrablása (1968)
_József Gémes: Concertissimo / Koncertisszimó (1969)
_Marcell Jankovics: Sisyphus (1974)
_Gyula Nagy: Scones / Süti (1984)
_Sándor Békési: Lights Before Dawn / Fények virradat előtt (1984)
_Líviusz Gyulai: Jonah / Jónás (1998)
_Pál Tóth: Another Day / Egy újabb nap (1998)
_Géza M. Tóth: Maestro (2005)
_Tomek Ducki: Lifeline / Életvonal (2007)
_Máté Horesnyi: Jacques’ Rampage / Jacques ámokfutása (2019)
_Balázs Turai: Amok (2022)

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

“Anima verité”

Films encapsulating the world around us with various artistic approaches, including cutting-edge documentary animations (films by György Kovásznai, Kati Macskássy, István Orosz).

_Sándor Reisenbüchler: The Year of 1812 / Az 1812-es év (1972)
_György Kovásznai: Nights in the Boulevard / Körúti esték (1972)
_Ottó Foky: Scenes with Beans / Babfilm (1975)
_Péter Szoboszlay: Hey, You! / Hé, te! (1976)
_Ferenc Rófusz: The Fly / A légy (1980)
_Béla Vajda: Moto Perpetuo (1980)
_Katalin Macskássy: Our National Holidays / Ünnepeink (1984)
_István Orosz: Mind the Steps! / Vigyázat, lépcső! (1989)
_Mária Horváth: Still Drawings: ”Drawings about a Landscape of a Life” / Állóképek: „Rajzok egy élet tájairól” (2000)
_Dávid Dell’Edera: Balcony / Balkon (2016)

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

“Female voices”

Classic and contemporary short films made by women with a female touch.

Films:

_Zsuzsanna Kreif, Borbála Zétényi: Limbo Limbo Travel (2014)
_Nadja Andrasev: The Noise of Licking / A nyalintás nesze (2016)
_Luca Tóth: Superbia (2016)
_Anna Katalin Lovrity: Volcano Island / Vulkánsziget (2017)
_Viktória Traub: Mermaids and Rhinos / Sellők és rinocéroszok (2018)
_Nadja Andrasev: Symbiosis / Szimbiózis (2019)
_Flóra Anna Buda: 27 (2023)

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

Fine art & animation

Short films and series from the oldest running studio in Hungary (established in 1971)

Films:

_Ferenc Varsányi: Honeymation / Mézes-táncos (1975)
_Csaba Varga: The Wind / A szél (1985)
_Dóra Keresztes, István Orosz: Wizards / Garabonciák (1985)
_Ferenc Cakó: Ab Ovo (1987)
_Zoltán Szilágyi Varga: Culturhistorical Manoeuvre at Night / Éjszakai kultúrtörténeti hadgyakorlat (1991)
_Tibor Bánóczki: Dead Water / Holtágban (2001)
_Kinga Rofusz: Arlequin (2003)
_Gábor Ulrich: Before / Mielőtt (2004)
_László Csáki: Wasps, Geese, Pear-Tree / Darazsak, ludak, körtefa (2005)
_Éva Magyarósi: Hanne (2005)
_Kati Glaser: FIN (2008)
_Marcell Mostoha: Avant (2021)
_Nikolett Fábián: Resting Fog / Nyugvó köd (2022)

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

MOME Anim

Highlights of student films from the past 20 years from the 45 year-old school (established in 1980)

Films:

_Tünde Molnár: I Am Simon / Simon vagyok (2009)
_Péter Vácz: Rabbit and Deer / Nyuszi és Őz (2013)
_Dániel Bárány: Party / Házibuli (2015)
_Olivér Hegyi: Take Me Please (2017)
_Éva Darabos: Bye Little Block! / Pá, kis panelom! (2020)
_Vivien Hárshegyi: Above the Clouds / Felhők felett (2022)
_Domonkos Erhardt: From The Corner of My Eyes / Szemem sarka (2023)
_Zénó Mira: Fox Tossing (2023)

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

Films of Réka Bucsi

_Symphony No. 42 (2014)
_LOVE (2016)
_Solar Walk (2018)
_Intermission (2022)

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

Bubble Bath / Habfürdő

Hungarian director György Kovásznai’s wildly idiosyncratic animated musical is one of the most indescribably strange, personal and totally irresistible cartoon features ever made. A walking ball of anxieties, shop window decorator Zsolt bursts into the apartment of his fiancée’s best friend Anikó, paralyzed with fear at his impending marriage. Zsolt is like a stoned hippie alleycat, or an Eastern European Frank Zappa in a tux; medical student Anikó a more curvaceous and leggy post-modern Betty Boop – and both unsure of their attraction to each other, of the choices they’ve made, of what life has in store for them. A truly insane mash-up of styles, from 1920s Art Deco to 1960s Psychedelia to late 1970s louche Roxy Music decadence, BUBBLE BATH is incredibly restless and creative, the bohemian love-child of Bill Plympton’s off-kilter individualism and Ralph Bakshi’s wonderfully warped, rubbery visual style. In other words: it’s not quite like any animated film you’ve ever seen before. Sadly, this was director and animator Kovásznai’s only feature film — he died of leukemia in 1983.

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

Son of the White Mare / Fehérlófia

Son of the White Mare, the second feature film of Marcel Jankovics, was released in 1981. The avant-garde, fairy tale-like plot of the film is based on ancient legends of nomadic tribes. Its breath-taking, dreamlike visual world is created from abstract geometric forms and the circular images of the mandala. Its unique, atmospheric score is based on murmuring sounds.

The film’s main character is Fehérlófia, who is a man with superhuman powers. He was born as the third son of a white horse and listened to old tales about the Forefather and the end of his reign, caused by evil dragons. Following the death of the white horse, the son sets out to fight the evil dragons and the Son of the White Mare is his coming-of-age story.

One of the great psychedelic masterpieces of world animation, Son of the White Mare has been restored in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative.

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

District! / Nyócker!

In terms of animation budgets, this was made on a shoestring, while its language is so raw that even today it’s hard to understand how it made it to the cinema, yet its success remains undimmed in the two decades since its release. Though it was inspired by the American animation series that were at the height of their popularity at the turn of the millennium (South Park, Beavis & Butthead), it is immediately obvious that The District! is truly unique, becoming a cult film in its own right. On the surface an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, The District! features pounding gangster rap and depicts the life of the X and Y generations at the turn of the millennium, offering insights into inner Pest prior to the gentrification process. The film won the Cristal Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

Heroic Times / Daliás idők

Sit back, put your worries aside, and enter a semi-mythical and romantic world of heroic knights. When adapting János Arany’s Toldi Trilogy, the film’s creator, József Gémes initially conceived of a film with no narration that communicated solely through images and music. The end result was not too far from this initial concept. The film did receive a brief narration for commercial reasons, though this spectacular work, each frame of which is inspired by the Romantic paintings of the 19th century, is still today a unique accomplishment in the animation genre. Heroic Times won the feature film award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 1985.

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.

Kojot négy lelke / Four Souls of Coyote

Directed by accomplished animation director Áron Gauder (Annecy Cristal Award), Four Souls of Coyote is billed as an epic adventure tale of the Native American creation myth. Through a unique re-telling of the creation of the universe, the film highlights the increasingly pressing need to live in harmony with the environment before it is too late.

Date: tba

Location: tba

For more information visit annecyfestival.com.