Armenia can become an attractive destination in the European market for animation film production

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. For the first time this year, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain joined the 16th ReA International Animation and Comics Art Festival and is hopeful to continue and deepen its cooperation with the festival.

On October 25, as part of the festival, the program "Animation from Spain: “NEW PERSPECTIVES” took place at the Malyan Theater, showcasing various contemporary Spanish short animated films created in different styles and visual solutions. 

During the opening of the program, Cristina Conesa Sancho, Chargée d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, stated that the Spanish animated film industry has entered an important stage of development, even earning nominations for the Oscar Awards, creating a prime opportunity to expand cooperation with other countries, including Armenia. “Armenia is a very attractive destination for us: not only to can we share our knowledge expertise and knowledge, but also learn from the Armenian experience.” said Cristina Conesa Sancho.

In this direction, the festival has already taken concrete steps: in June this year, Armenian ReA and the Spanish NEXT Lab Generation signed a cooperation memorandum at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival. 

Next Lab Generation is a platform to experiment and incorporate new technological tools in animation, virtual reality and video games, digital content bridging art with technologies. Through various events, workshops and research projects throughout the year, it seeks to advance audio-visual content using cutting-edge technologies such as VR, AR, AI, and XR. 

"As a leading regional festival in the animation industry, ReA highly values international partnerships. We serve as a platform to bridge animation sectors across countries, facilitating knowledge exchange and creating new, unique opportunities for professionals on both sides. European countries, including Spain, are of strategic importance to us, as they possess a distinctive history and vision for the development of animation," said Vrej Kassouny, Founding director of the ReA International Animation and Comics Art Festival. He added that the presence of animated films and professionals from Spain, France, and Belgium at the festival is a testament to this collaboration.

Among the festival's notable guests was Frederick Vinel, a representative from the French CARTOON, who shared insights about CARTOON’s experience in organizing international networking and collaborative events for animation professionals. Véronique Encrenaz, head of the MIFA animation market at the renowned Annecy Animation Film Festival, also presented the MIFA platform and highlighted this year’s achievements.

The Director of Animac, the International Animation Film Festival of Catalonia, curator and producer Carolina López, who was also a member of the graduation film jury at ReA, said, “I truly love student films because they are the heartbeat of the future animation. The ideas that young people have in their heads and all the new aesthetics they bring up, are incredibly energizing. I am very pleased to have had the pleasure of being on the jury for these graduation works,” said Carolina López. Speaking about the Spanish films presented to Armenian audiences at the festival, she noted that Spanish animation has deep and rich roots. We brought some premieres and some films that haven't been seen before and next to some others that have won many awards. “We have brought both premieres and award-winning films to introduce Armenian audiences to the rich traditions of Spanish animation,” added Carolina López.

One of the most significant Spanish films screened at the 16th ReA festival was the Catalan animated feature film "Once Upon a Time… (Érase una vez…)" released in 1950 and officially recognized to be of national interest. The film involved the participation of prominent Catalan figures, intellectuals, politicians, artists and techniques, who worked to make this title an emblem of Catalan cinema and a benchmark in animated film. 

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ReA Festival (Formerly known as ReAnimania Int. Animation Film Festival of Yerevan) is one of the prestigious and leading festivals in the region. Founded in 2009 by political cartoonist, painter, animator and filmmaker Kassouny, the festival symbolized a mission to “rejuvenate” the animation industry in Armenia, both locally and internationally, as an ever- evolving field.

The mandate of ReA Festival is to celebrate the vibrant community of animation films, producers and animation artists in Armenia, in the Southern Caucasian region and not only.

The fest consists of 3 important components: the films screened, MarAni Market of Animation and ReA Comics Art.

Since its inception, ReA festival has attracted over 40,000 attendees, collaborated with and received support from 130 sponsors, hosted 230 critics and juries, (e.g. Tiziana Loschi, Jean-Paul Commin, David Sproxton, Max Howard, Bill Plympton, among others), 70 speakers (Sean M. Bobbitt, Javier de la Chica, Ed Hooks, Dave Bossert etc.), and many other significant educational and business leaders within and outside the film and Animation community.