Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan has been represented for the first time at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Rashid Agamaliyev, the founder and Director of the first Baku International Animation Festival ANIMAFILM, told Trend on June 19.

“It was a great pride for me to represent Azerbaijan at such a significant event. In parallel with the competitive program, there was the International Animation Film Market at the festival, which is the largest commercial project in the field of animation in Europe. In this market we presented Azerbaijan, the project of the first international animation festival ANIMAFILM, which will be held in Baku on October 19-21, and the book “Azerbaijani animation,” Agamaliyev said.

He noted that many studios and animation organizations expressed interest in these projects, and now there are negotiations for cooperation. It is necessary to join the MEDIA Creative Europe program of the European Union, which supports the production and distribution of animated films, in order to integrate Azerbaijan into the animation industry of Central and Eastern Europe.

“We need to support the national animation, as this is the future of our children,” Agamaliyev added.

Azerbaijan was represented at the festival with the support of the organization CEE Animation, which supports the development of animation art in Central and Eastern Europe, including such countries as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Georgia, etc.

A film market was organized within the festival, which attracted content right holders and buyers from all over the world. Animation schools shared secrets and opened new programs, while students and graduates of the schools communicated with employers and looked for internships. At the business section of the festival, key figures from the world of animation spoke of their path to success and views on the future of the industry as well as conducted master classes.

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place every June in the French town of Annecy. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became an annual event in 1998.

The festival is a competition between cartoon films of various techniques, such as animated drawings, cut-out papers, modelling clay, etc., classified in various categories: feature films, short films, films produced for TV and advertising, student films, and films made for the Internet.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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