Celebrate the animate

Life is better in animation. Vibrant colours, characters that can do what we humans cannot, moving pictures that move us out of our world. All this will be part of the upcoming Countryside Animafest Cyprus.

This fifteenth edition of the festival will start rolling on Thursday, right up until Saturday in Paphos. During the three-day festival around 60 animated films – with a running-time of up to 30 minutes – will be screened. These include entries in the national and international competitions, as well as animation from the animation workshop and the children’s film programme – just to make sure the kids don’t feel left out of a genre that is normally all about them.

And, for those of you who like moving pictures but also like things to slow down so you can see how they work, there is also an exhibition running parallel to the festival at the Kimonos Art Centre. The exhibition will showcase short films – and all the objects used for filming – by six students who participated in a workshop led by two professors of the Department of Digital Arts of the National Superior Fine Arts School of Paris.

The short films made during the workshop were inspired by the landscape of Paphos, the stories the participants heard, and the experiences they had while in the city.

The festival will end with the announcement of the winners and a performance by the Cypriot band Sandy Brour.

Sandy Brour have been rocking together since 2012 and have recently released their debut album Oi Sandy Brour, so expect to hear some original pieces and covers from the album.

For a full list of screenings visit http://www.animafest.com.cy/en/.

Countryside Animafest Cyprus
Animation festival with screenings, exhibitions, workshops, presentation and concerts. July 21-23. Medieval Manor House Courtyard, Palaepaphos Archaeological Site, Kouklia. Tel: 99-220809

Animation Exhibition
Group exhibition. Until July 23. Kimonos Art Centre, Kimonos Street, Paphos. Monday-Friday: 9am-1pm and 3pm-7pm, Saturday: 9am-1pm. Tel: 99478162

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