Life in Israel as seen by young animators
Thirteen entries from Israel will be providing insight into the issues that are being addressed by young artists in the troubled eastern Mediterranean country today, at the 6th International Animated Film Festival, or AnimFest, which runs at the Greek Film Archive (48 Iera Odos, Metaxourgio, tel 210.361.2046) until Wednesday, March 23.
The environment and the life cycle of sea turtles and other marine animals are the themes addressed by Yuval and Merav Nathan in ?Lose This Child? (showing March 21 and 22 in the cycle of productions screening between 10 p.m. and midnight).
?White Tape,? by Michal and Uri Kranot, explores the theme of boundaries — the frame, the space between brushstrokes and the implications of occupation. This film is based on five seconds of footage from the ?shooting back? project, which was initiated by an Israeli human rights organization that gave Palestinians video cameras to document life under occupation (showing March 19 and 21 in the 10 p.m. to midnight cycle).
The other films from Israel that will be screened at the event are mostly school group projects and these will be screened on March 19, 21 and 22 from 5.30 to 7.15 p.m. These include another environmentally minded short (?The Rich Forest?), poignant tales of loss (?Stairs? and ?Leave a Mark?), a story about two women who inadvertently change each other?s fate (?Miracle Lady?), the adventures of a hapless burglar (?Late One Night?), and, last but not least, a 4-minute romantic comedy about a 35-year-old bachelorette who sets off to find love at the supermarket after watching a soup commercial on TV (?Soup?).
In the Panorama section of the festival, there is one Israeli entry, ?Automation,? by Nati Meir, which introduces Haim, a man who lives in Sderot and puts up billboards for a living and is sent into a state of shock and panic every time he hears an air-raid siren.
Ticket prices for individual screening cycles cost 5 euros, while a day pass costs 7 euros.
For more details, log on to the festival?s website, www.animationcenter.gr.
