Animix Festival at TLV Cinematheque Aug 6th 2024

Here it comes, the beloved festival, "Animix" Tel Aviv - the International Festival of Animation, Comics, and Cartoons, curating the best of animation, cartoons, and comics in Israel and around the world, will take place this year for the 24th time. Since its establishment, the festival has become the largest framework in the country that curates and exposes interesting materials to the general public and connoisseurs in these fields while nurturing and exposing the new generation of animation and comics artists in Israel.

The festival, which will open on August 6 at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque until the 10th of the month, will focus this year on visual works dealing with the events of October 7th and the ongoing war in Gaza. The difficult reports, the chilling testimonies, and the tales of heroism are expressed in the artistic and unique language of animators, comic artists, and illustrators who will participate in the festival. Among the various events is the launch of the comic book "In the Heart of October 7th" - an anthology book in which 12 comic artists illustrate 12 stories of heroism that occurred on that dark day. Japanese manga artist Makoto Tanaka, who became famous for the manga story she created about the kidnapping of Noa Argamani, will come from Tokyo to the festival, talk about this unconventional work, and present a selection of her works, many of which are combined with the Hebrew language.

Also, the program "Iron Pencils" will be presented, in which special projects created during the war in Gaza will be presented - with the aim of making accessible and immortalizing in lines and colors, in graphic novels and animation, the stories that we must not forget. A special guest that evening will be Haim Yellin, a member of Kibbutz Be'eri. This year's festival honoree is comic artist, cartoonist, and illustrator Ilana Zeffran, whose works will be presented in a special exhibition, and workshops for children will be held under her guidance, as well as a special personal meeting about her work led by broadcaster Miki Haimovich.

This year, for the first time in Israel, an international animation competition will be held under the artistic direction of Tom Mader and produced by Tamar Sudovitz. Precisely at a time when the image of the State of Israel in the world is at a low, the traditional Israeli "Asif" competition has been expanded to international submissions in all categories: feature films, short films, documentary films, student films, music videos, and films for children and youth. Despite concerns about non-cooperation due to the war - artists from all over the world voted with their feet and will take part in the competition with over 300 films coming from more than 20 different countries around the world. Artistic Director of "Asif": Tom Mader, Producer: Tamar Sorovitz.

More of the festival's events: 25 years of the beloved character "SpongeBob" in collaboration with the "Nickelodeon" channel and with the participation of the character's legendary voice actor, Ido Mosseri, including a special event and exhibition, a special meeting on stage between the beloved children's author Galila Ron-Feder Amit and the illustrator Racheli Shaloh on the occasion of the release of the famous book "To Myself" in a renewed adaptation as a graphic novel, Haim Yellin, a member of Be'eri, who grew up in Argentina, will talk with Michel Kichka about the famous comic strip series "Mafalda" created by the Argentinian illustrator Quino and about the connection between the Argentinian comic book heroine and the events in Israel, and also a tribute to the satirical animation series "M.K 22" which marks 20 years.

There will also be a tribute program to the work of the illustrator, designer and animator Yitzchak Yoresh, who passed away this year at the age of 86. In the 1970s, Yoresh established the "Animation Unit" at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and laid the foundations for today's magnificent animation department, with numerous achievements and awards for Israeli students in Israel and around the world.

Ticket prices range between 28-48 ₪ per event.

Details on the Animix website www.animix.co.il

WhatsApp: amimixtlv and on the Cinematheque website: https://www.cinema.co.il/

Details also on the festival's Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/AnimicsFestival

(Illustration: Ilana Zeffran; Makoto Tanaka; Nosco; Ze'ev Engelmayer; Michel Kichka; Yuko Kono and Nobuhiro Yamashita)