Sunday, August 17
We arrive at Sebastopol. We reach nearby Khersones by ferry, where directly on the banks of the Black Sea one can visit Greek ruins. This tour through the ruins is crowned by a refreshing swim in the sea.

Today Paul Bush has invited those who are interested in his production methods to visit his improvised studio which he has installed in his cabin. The general interest in his work is great, possibly because until now his scratch technique has hardly been seen in Russia, the Ukraine and Byelorussia.

Paul Bush demonstrating his scratch-on-film technique in a makeshift studio in his cabin. Photo © oTTo Alder.

After the competition there is a presentation of the "Moscow Animation Project" in the cafe. For the 850th Centennial of the city of Moscow, the city council has put up U.S. $2 million for this project. Under the direction of creative director Michael Aldashin, 40 short films will be produced before the end of the year and will then be compiled and shown in cinemas and on television. Besides Aldashin, Yuri Norstein and Alexander Tatarsky, to name but a few, are also involved in the project. Moreover, non-Russian artists will also be invited to participate.

Afterwards, Nathalya Loukhynik presented the KROK childrens' workshop. In June, a short animation film had been completed by twenty children. Within the framework of the KROK festival, the professionals present expanded and added to this film. The result will be shown to the public at the end of the festival.

After the press conference, we returned to the bar. This form of nightly entertainment was aptly termed "the Re-animation Club" by the festival.

Monday, August 18
My time at KROK is coming to an end. The ship docks at Artek. Directly after breakfast we take a boat to Yalta. For the first time in my life I am visiting this beautiful town that is overrun by tourists, of which I am one. Afterwards I participate in a so-called mass swim which takes place in the inviting waters of the Black Sea.

The final screening of the competition turns out to be the most impressive. Pink Doll (Valentin Ohlsvang, Russia), End of the World in Four Seasons (Paul Driessen, Canada), Clocks (Kerstin Winter, Germany), Bird in the Window (Igor Kovalyov, USA) and Many Happy Returns (Marjut Rimminen, GB) are such outstanding films that they recompense us for the partially weak selection in the other categories. There were just too many films in each program and therefore, the programs were overly lengthy. In this same program we get to see the newest commercials by the Russians Konstantin Bronzit, Rinant Gazizov and Alexei Karaev. For the last several years, the commercial area has become a very welcome field of activity for Russian artists. Many animators and directors are able to earn a good living this way. The high quality of these commissioned films is notable.

Artek is a recreational center for young people and children. The festival organizes a workshop for children and supplements the holiday program for the young visitors by providing open air screenings. The motto of the festival is, "The best films of the world for the children of the Ukraine." Both showings in Artek are crammed full of spectators who follow the program with great enthusiasm. The gigantic screen of one cinema is erected directly on the beach of the Black Sea, lined on both sides by acacias. Diagonally above, the moon hangs cheekily, filling the balmy summer night with its milky haze.

On the footpath along the beach leading back to the ship, I can faintly hear the dance music and the joyous shouts of the enthusiastic dancers in the distance. Without getting a moment of sleep, I dance until the early hours of the morning. Now the rising sun sadly ends the KROK magic. Just a day before the final prize awards are announced and a week before the end of the festival, a morning bus takes me to the airport at Simferopol. In the bus I realize that KROK is a sheer indescribable festival, a marvel. Thank you, KROK!

See the complete list of award-winning films in this issue.

oTTo Alder is the former program director of the Stuttgart International Animation Film Festival. In 1995 he was involved with the founding of the Fantoche Festival in Baden, Switzerland. Since 1993 he has been responsible for the animation program at the Leipzig Festival in Germany. He has also served on the juries and selection committees of numerous festivals, and is working on a documentary film about the Russian animation artist Fedor Chitruk.