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18th INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION ANIMAEVKA, Mogilev, Mogilevskaya Region, Belarus: 9 - 13 September 2015

My only previous encounter with Belarus was when I was thrown off the train in Minsk and sent back to Poland because I didn’t have a Belarus travel visa on my trip from Belgium to Moscow.  This all changed when I was invited to be a juror at the Animaevka Animation Festival.

Closing night ceremony

Closing night ceremony

The idea of traveling to Belarus has not often entered my mind, and my only previous encounter with the country was when I was thrown off the train and sent back to Poland because I didn’t have a travel visa on a trip from Belgium to Moscow.  This all changed when I was invited to be a juror at the Animaevka Animation Festival.

From the moment I arrived at the airport and met my translator Nina Kaltunova I felt that I was in for a wonderful adventure.  On the hour long drive from the Belarus capitol Minsk to Mogilev where the festival took place, Nina told me about the history of the country as well as about the time she has spent in Canada, and her involvement with a Belarus/Canadian group that sends underprivileged children from her country to Canada for visits.  The Canadian group also provides hockey equipment to young people in Belarus.

Nina also told me that before World War II Belarus was under Russian control and there were plans to move the capitol of the country to Mogilev which is located on the banks of the Dnieper River, nearer to the Russian boarder.  During World War II the country lost a quarter of its pre-war population including practically all of its intellectual elite.  In 1991 Belarus declared its independence from the Soviet Union and began to rebuild its economy which had been devastated by the war.

In Mogilev I was warmly welcomed by Festival Director Irina Belyakova.  The jury would not begin work until the next morning so I had time to explore the city.  Our hotel, The Metropol,  not only had an indoor pool but also a complimentary sauna and steam bath for guests, which was a welcome treat.  It was also across the street from the imposing Mogilev Regional Drama Theatre, built in the 1880’s in a combination of Neo-Renaissance and Russian Rival styles. The front features a charming bronze statue of a woman in turn-of-the-century dress coming down the steps with her little dog on a leash. 

Festival director Irina Belykova and Nancy

There is a large bluff overlooking the wide Dnieper River which affords a good view of the city on the other side of the river.  My favorite area was Lenin Street, a broad pedestrian boulevard which dates back to the 16th century.  The boulevard is full of shops, restaurants, and beer terraces  and it ends at the Square of Stars, where twelve chairs are situated around a massive bronze figure of a star gazer with his telescope.  The chairs not only act as part of a sundial but also match the twelve signs of the zodiac.  I was told that this is the only statue in the world dedicated to a star gazer and is purported to be so tall that it can be seen from outer space.  Legend says that if you make a wish and hold on to the astronomer’s finger your wish will come true.  Unfortunately I can’t verify this because I was too short to reach a finger.

Bill Dennis, Nancy and Nina Kaltunova at a zodiac chair at the opening ceremony

Rodina Kinoteatr where the festival took place is located on the Square of Stars.  The theatre, opened in 1939, has one screen with 200 seats and 3D capability.   The next morning I got to view the inside of the theatre and meet my fellow jurors; we were a very diverse group.  Tatyana Kublitskaya is an animation director at Belarus Films in Minsk, and also a graphic designer and illustrator.   Her most recent film is the 7 minute Song of the Lark, the story of how the Lark found his song.

I was really delighted to get to know Zbignieu Zmudzki better.  He is a producer at the renowned Se-Ma-For Studio in Lodz, Poland which has produced numerous award winning films such as Danny Boy and the Academy Award winning Peter and the Wolf.   Zbigniew told me his latest project is Flipper and Friends, a television series for 3 to 6 year olds.  He had several of the puppets from his new project with him and even though the series is for the youngest viewers the puppets are up to the high quality that I would expect from the studio.

Zbignieu Zmudzki showing off puppets from Flipper and Friends

My old friend and fellow ASIFA Board Member Bill Dennis was also on the jury.  It was delightful to spend time with him again since it had been quite a while since we were together.  Bill is foundeof ASIFA India and CEO of one of India’s top animation studios and the founder of ASIFA-India.  Although he spends a good amount of time in India, Bill and his family live in the States and I don’t get to see him very often.

Each year the festival invites the previous year’s Grand Prix winner to join the jury.  The 2014 winners were Yuliya Tkhey and Ramil Usmanov of Animator-Pro Studio in Kazakhstan for their film Timur and the Dragon.  The humorous film about a boy who wants to become a hero by defeating a famous dragon won the pair the festival’s Crystal Pencil, 10 grams of gold to help get them started on their new project, and a place on the 2015 jury.  It was great to meet Ramil and learn about what is happening in the animation world of Kazakhstan.   He gave me a beautiful traditional felt hat made by his family which I treasure.

Ramil Usmanov, Nina Kaltunova and Nancy enjoy a break from jury duty

Fellow juror Nadejda Slavova and I were already good friends.  She is the director of the Golden Kukor Animation Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria and earlier in the year I spent several days at her home while serving on the festival ‘s selection committee. 

Our jury foreman was Leonid Nosyrev - animator, director, and screenwriter at the renowned Soyuzmultfilm Studio in Moscow.  After his early work animating children’s films he became interested in the far North of Russia. He has made numerous animations reflecting the life of the peoples of that region. 

With members of the jury speaking Russian and English, my translator Nina Kaltunova had her work cut out for her.  She did an excellent job making sure that I understood everything that was said and translating my words into Russian which was crucial because we had some very intense discussions.

Festival Jury - Ramil Usmanov, Zbignieu Zmudzki, Nancy, Tatyana Kublitz, Nadejda Slavova,  Bill Dennis and Jury Foreman Leonid Nosyrev, seated

One film that engendered deep discussion was Bendito Machine V –the Trigger by Jossie Malis, a Peruvian born director who now works in Spain.  The 2D cut out film is about an exotic traveler who comes from far away to discover the beauty of an unexplored land.  Instead of finding peace and tranquility the traveler is trapped in the middle of a turbulent battle between two warring factions.    After considerable deliberation  the jury awarded the 11 minute film the Grand Prix for its strong anti-war statement, its exquisitely  filigreed  silhouettes , and its original story and style.

Being a big admirer of Estonian animation I was impressed with Ulo Pikkov’s Tick Tack.  The 7’14” film explores time and its ephemeral nature.  The watchmaker controls time but the mouse also liveing in the watchmaker’s shop is in control of the clocks.  Ulo created the mouse out of hundreds of watch parts and put him in a very realistic setting.  The beautifully crafted film was awarded the Best Experimental Film Award by our jury.

At most festivals the festival director or a special group connected with the festival select the Life Time Achievement Award winner,  but at Animaevka the jury was asked to do that.  Our choice was Russian animator Oksana Cherkasova whose impressive body of work is often drawn from folk traditions. Since the early 1980’s, Oksana has worked at Sverdlovsk Studio located in Yekaterinburg in the heart of Russia.  Behind each of her films lies thorough research coupled with a great passion for technique and  arespect for the subjects represented in her animation.  Although her films are quite different from each other stylistically, her love of tradition is strong in her non-traditional, poetic films.

Even though we had a lot of work to do there was still time for fun.  The opening ceremony, held in the Square of Stars in front of the theatre, was quite a spectacle.  Children and teenagers sang, danced, and marched, many of them in traditional Belarus dress or uniforms.  Following the program each member of the International Jury was presented with a lovely bouquet of flowers and  we were led up the red carpet to the theatre steps where we met the various ministers of the region.  I was particularly pleased to meet the Minister of Culture who had provided the funds to cover our expenses to the festival.

Rodina Kinoteatr, the festival theater, at the opening ceremony Nancy at the opening ceremony

A party followed inside the theatre building, with delicious food, vodka, and wine.  The pancakes with sour cream and caviar were a particular treat as was the delicious smoked salmon.   While we were working delicious lunches and dinners were brought to us in the room where we were screening and discussing the films.  The wonderful homemade food was so good, especially the kolduny, small boiled dumplings that can have a variety of fillings.  They are related to Russian pelmeni, one of my favorite foods.

Mikhail Tumelya entertaining with his balalaika at the opening party

Along with the International Competition there is a strong emphasis on programs for children and every afternoon the theatre was full of enthusiastic young viewers.  There was a separate international jury for children’s films made up of professionals who teach children animation.  There was also a separate Junior Jury comprised of young people from local schools who watched films and gave their own award.

The festival seemed to fly by and all too soon it was closing night which was held in the theatre.  Before the awards were announced the audience was treated to a spectacle with singing and dance performances.  A highlight of the show was Russian singer/artist Natalia Faustova.  Natalia had an exhibition of her delightfully fanciful paintings on exhibit in conjunction with the festival.  Many of the pictures displayed are from her book Cradle Songs for the Whole Family which also includes a CD of her songs.  I was very honored when she presented me with a copy of her book.

After the juries presented their awards there was a party with delicious food, wine and vodka.  It was also a chance for all of the juries to get together and have relaxed conversations. We had all been so busy at the festival that there had been no chance for all of us to spend time together.   It was also a time for farewells and after the intense amount of time we had spent together I knew it would feel strange not wake up the next morning and begin to watch more films together. 

On Monday the festival drove Nina and I to Minsk where I spent the next three days in a lovely apartment provided by the Ministry of Culture.  Minsk is a vibrant, modern city that has definitely moved into the 21st century.  This is a major achievement since the country’s economy was completely devastated by World War II.  During the war Minsk lost over 80% of its buildings and city infrastructure but like the Phoenix it has risen from the ashes.

On my first day in the city Nina and I visited Belarus Films, the primary animation and live action studio in the country.  My friend Igor Volchek has been working there for many years as an animation director as well as a composer.  He took time out from his busy schedule to give us a through tour of this state of the art studio. 

Oleg Silanovich, Igor Volchek and Nancy at Belarus Film Studio

Belarus Films has a complete range of facilities from preproduction to full digital post production.  During the 2014-15 season the studio completed 14 short animated films and 8 live action feature films.  Among their many award winning films are two of the Tales of the Old Piano series, each of which is about the life of a famous classical composer.

The studio is currently working on an animated adaptation of Chagall’s life and works.  It is still in the early stages of production but from what I saw it looks beautiful and I am looking forward to seeing the final film on the big screen.

I want to thank Oleg Silvanovich, Director General of Belarus Film, for taking time out of his very busy day to meet with me.  He presented me with DVD’s of animated films from the studio as well as two 1st day covers of stamps honoring the studio and a block print of the commemorative stamps.  Being a stamp collector these are a very special present to me.

Oleg Silanovich, Director General of Belarus Film presenting Nancy with 1st day cover stamps honoring the studio

Sadly Nina left me after the studio tour.  It was very sad to say goodbye to her because she was not only an invaluable translator but had also become a real friend.

The next day another old friend, Mikhail Tumelya, senior lecturer of animation on the faculty of screen arts at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts invited me to give a Master Class for his students on music for animation.  The students were a very attentive group who asked a lot of good questions and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them.  Mikhail is also a wonderful animator, balalaika player and singer who Nik often plays with on the KROK boat.

From Belarus I planned to fly to Moscow for KROK.   My Belarus visa expired at midnight on 17 September so I had to be out of the country by then but my Russian visa was not valid until 12:01 AM on the 18th.  I tried to change my visa dates before I left Brussels but neither consulate would help me.  I had originally planned to take the train from Minsk to Moscow but the train would cross the border before midnight so I couldn’t do that.  A producer at Belarus Film solved my problem by finding a flight that left Minsk at 22h45 and landed in Moscow at 1 minute after midnight.  I owe her a big thank you.

I am also very grateful to Festival Director Irina Belyakova for inviting me to be on the jury and taking such good care of me once I arrived.  There is no way that I can thank Nina Kaltunova for her tireless work as my translator and going way out of her way to take good care of me.

I’de also like to thank Igor Volchek , who not only gave me a great tour to the studio, but also took me to the airport and made sure that I got on my plane safely, and Mikhail Tumelya met me in Moscow and took me to the KROK boat.  Thank you so much to both of you.

My next article will be about my adventures in Russia.