Encounters Festival Attracts International Talent
This year’s Encounters Short Film & Animation Festival will be taking on a strong international flavour. Now in its 18th edition, and still taking place in Bristol, Encounters is one of the world’s leading showcases for international short film and short animation.
Early Soviet silent film Aelita: Queen Of Mars will be screened in a big-top circus tent, accompanied by a live score by experimental Finnish band Cleaning Women.
David Sproxton, Chairman of the Encounters Board and Aardman Animations said: “With a change of dates this year and a fresh face in the programming team, the 18th edition Encounters has some exciting new perspectives. We’ve had a remarkable international response to the call for entries this year, and the festival has pulled together a programme which reflects the very best in short film and animation talent”.
In addition to the usual ‘Brief Encounters’ and ‘Animated Encounters’ sections, this year will see the inclusion of ‘Focus on Finland’, featuring the best Finnish short film and animation as well as a pop-up “Cine-Sauna” (yes, a sauna). Also, experimental Finnish band Cleaning Women, whose industrial folk-pop musical style is created by unusual instruments made from scrap materials such as washing machines, will be providing a live score for a screening of Soviot-era silent film Aelita: Queen Of Mars (1924) – regarded as the first Russian science fiction film. The screening will be held in a big-top circus tent.
International personalities connected to the Brief Encounters competition include Italian filmmaker Yuri Ancarnani, winner of the Grand Prix in the Lab competition at Clermont-Ferrand; Portuguese director João Salaviza, a former Encounters winner and winner of the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlinale for his short Rafa and filmmaker Paul Negoescu, winner of last year’s Encounters Grand Prix. The Animated Encounters section will see work from the likes of acclaimed Bulgarian multimedia artist Theodore Ushev; Oscar-nominated Dutch animator Paul Driessen; Czech animator Michaela Pavlatova, whose film Tram won the Annecy Grand Crystal award, and Slovakian animating duo Martin Snopek and Ivana Laucikova, winners of the Grand Prix at Tampere Short Film Festival 2012.
Encounters Festival runs from the 18th- 23rd September 2012. The full festival programme and online delegate registration will be available from early August. For more information visit the website: www.encounters-festival.org.uk.
By Mark Player
Mark Player is a writer and film director. Setting up his own production
company in 2009, Mark has helped produce a number of short films; some of…
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