Dystopian worlds and surreal animation await at AniNation Festival in Jerusalem

Animated films can create worlds that often transport and entertain viewers in a more visceral way than live-action movies, with wildly imaginative visuals, and the best of recent animated films, from Israel and around the world, will be showcased at the eighth AniNation Festival at the Jerusalem Cinematheque from November 19-21. 

Although a few of the films were made with children in mind, many feature imagery that may be disturbing to young viewers.

The opening event, which will focus on science fiction, will be Tibor Banoczki and Sarolta Szabo’s White Plastic Sky, a dystopian fable set in 2123 Budapest when the planet is almost devoid of resources. To preserve the human race, 50-year-olds go through a process that turns them into trees, which contributes a little oxygen to the biosphere. A young couple are torn apart when the woman decides to start the process of becoming a tree earlier than required. 

It will be followed by Jeremie Perin’s Mars Express, a similarly dystopian detective story about a race against time on Mars, where detectives have to save a student who has made an important discovery before he is killed by those who want to keep it a secret. 

Featured full-length films 

Among the full-length films at the festival will be Jan Svankmajer’s 1988 movie, Alice, an adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that is far more faithful to the spirit of the book on which it was based than the better-known versions, especially the Disney film. Svankmajer is one of the legendary figures of surrealist European animation, a Czech who has made unforgettably vivid films throughout his career. 

Words cannot do his creativity justice and this is a great opportunity to see one of his best films on the big screen. Alice is played by a live actress, while the other characters are made out of objects, such as torn stuffed animals and fish skeletons.

Svankmajer visited Israel in 2000 and I had the pleasure of interviewing him as my first assignment for The Jerusalem Post. Although he was happy to chat, he was more comfortable letting his mind-blowing movies do the talking.

Flavors of Iraq, by Leonard Cohen (not the musician), looks at Feurat Alani, a journalist who reflects on his father’s journey from Iraq to France. 

Feline lovers will enjoy Gints Zilbalodis’s Flow, a stunning, wordless film about a cat that takes refuge on a boat filled with all kinds of creatures after its habitat is destroyed.

Israel, in general, and Jerusalem, in particular, are centers for the creation of animated films. Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem has an animation track, and its students are known for producing some of Israel’s greatest animated films.

The program, BestZalel 2024 features a collection of films by its students, and there will be several other programs of recent Israeli animated films, both documentary and fiction. Animator and game developer Alex Klexber will speak about his career. 

There will also be a program of the best films from Annecy, an international animation festival. 

For the full program, go to jer-cin.org.il/en/lobby/anination-2024