Masterclass by Mirona Radu and Valentin Urziceanu
The story of Romanian animation started in 1920 in Bucharest, where the first ever Romanian animated film, "Păcală on the Moon", the first of a series of 80 creations of artist Aurel Petrescu, was shown. Newspapers at the time described the film as a "slapstick comedy with animated drawings" and it was a great triumph, opening a new chapter in local cinema. In 1957, Ion Popescu-Gopo took the Palme d'Or at Cannes with “Short History”, a philosophically imbued animated cartoons, considered by the author himself an anti-Disney film. Since then many Romanian visual artists and directors have thrown themselves into the adventure of animation, among the most famous being Radu Igazsag and Anca Damian, whose film “Marona's Fantastic Tale” (“L’extraordinaire Voyage De Marona”, 2019) was shown in “Scanorama” in 2019.
Who are the contemporary authors and which is the artistic direction of contemporary Romanian animation, as well as what funding and distribution means exist in the country, are some of the topics addressed in a presentation by Mirona Radu, artistic director of ABIFF – Animation Bucharest International Film Festival and Valentin Urziceanu, screenwriter and director of "Close Enough" (feature animation, 2022, 78 min).
Mirona Radu is a director and producer, working in the film industry – film production and distribution – for about 15 years, including international film festivals. Since 2019 she is a programmer and coordinator of an arthouse cinema in Bucharest. Since 2021, the founder and director of Film O'Clock International Festival, a film festival that unites simultaneous screenings in six countries on two continents. Having a background in visual studies, in 2022 she was appointed as an Artistic Director for ABIFF – Animation Bucharest International Festival. Mirona was also a member of the Europa Cinemas Label Jury at the Venice International Film Festival in 2020 and of the C.I.C.A.E. Jury at the Sarajevo International Film Festival in 2021. She is also a member of the International Europa Cinemas Association and this year started the UNIC Women's Cinema Leadership international mentoring programme.
Valentin Urziceanu is a Romanian scriptwriter and director of animated films (“Close Enough”, 2022, “The Iair of the Iron Dragon” – in production, “The Iron Dragon” – in production, “The Death Whistle” – in post-production, short films “The Dragon's Gift” (“Darul Dragonului”, 2021), “Chororo – Europe's Music Beyond Prejudices” (“Chororo – muzica Europei dincolo de prejudecăți”, 2016). He is also the founder of ABI Fundație, through which he implemented international cultural projects, film festivals and educational workshops.
Event in English
In partnership with „Film O'Clock International Festival“
The event took place on November 20th, 2022.