NEWS Animist

Priit Tender, the artistic director of Animist Tallinn, tells us about the upcoming festival.

By Aurelia Aasa Photo by Virge Viertek

Brand New Animation Festival in Tallinn kicks off this August for the very first time. Besides serving as an international competition, the festival will enrich the city with special events and industry meet-ups.

Priit, what kind of festival is Animist? Animist is a brand new animation festival in Estonia, focusing on animation both as a form of film and art. There has never been a separate festival for animated films in Estonia; and yet, the local field of animation has established a long tradition, it is a unique and advanced form of art. So that’s why we thought that animation needs a separate platform, namely a festival. Every year, the aim is to connect the festival with another field of life – in 2021, the festival focuses on anthropology. We are going to invite anthropologists, show them animated films and let them analyze the films from their perspective. Also, a workshop will be held in order to let animators and anthropologists collaborate. Why is it important that animation would have its own festival? In international large-scale festivals, animation can be easily lost in the middle of a busy programme. As far as I have heard from Estonian animators, an independent animation festival has been a long-awaited event. It doesn’t have to be the largest festival in the world. Our aim is to hold a small and professional event with the potential to add something on an international scale – to develop the field of animation and introduce new trends.

Where can Animist festival be located at an international level? Animist collaborates with the department of animation at the Estonian Academy of Arts, but it doesn’t mean that it is a student festival – however, the academy forms a great basis to start this festival. I don’t see Animist as a mass event; it will rather be professional, funky and edgy. And on the other hand, we also value the collaboration with the urban space – the festival takes place in Northern Tallinn, and we wish to involve local residents in order to find new audiences for animation films.

The fi rst festival will take place already in August 2021. The end of August is a good time – students have arrived in Tallinn before the studies start and lots of people are still on vacation. It is the people who make a festival, otherwise there are just film screenings. When filmmakers gather, discussions will arise and new ideas emerge.

What about the marketing part of the festival? We are collaborating with the animation industry together with Creative Europe Desk Estonia. This year we plan to invite various producers from the Baltic States. There will be a small meet-up where ongoing projects will be introduced, as well as creative partners will be sought.

What about foreign participants unable to travel to Tallinn – what are their options to take part in events and screenings? The majority of the programme will be screened on Apollo TV, and the international audience can purchase online tickets. EF