Over the last few months, the CINANIMA 2022 Selection Jury has been working hard to watch more than 2,000 films already submitted!
Today, we present to you the Selection Jury of the Short Film Competition
CATARINA ROMANO
“CINANIMA is one of the festivals that has most contributed to the development of Animation Cinema”.
She studied traditional and volume animation cinema at the Centro de Imagem e Técnicas Narrativas da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, under the guidance of Zepe and Nuno Beato. It was from there that a relationship was established that lasts until today. Catarina Romano remembers that Animation Cinema faced “very complicated moments”. She also considers that Portuguese Animation Cinema “has been developing” and that the creation of certain conditions has allowed more and more authors to appear in the area. Catarina Romano confesses that she feels the “enormous responsibility” that she has been entrusted with, but she is also enthusiastic about this edition of CINANIMA.
How long ago and in what way did your approach to animation cinema begin?
My journey in the field of Animation Cinema began in 2007 as a gesture of curiosity and experimentation when I enrolled in Centro de Imagem e Técnicas Narrativas da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, which ended up becoming a relationship that has lasted until today.
What analysis do you make about the evolution of Animation Cinema in the last few years?
Animated Cinema had to face some very complicated moments, which will surely be in the memory of many of us. Despite these difficult contexts, Portuguese Animated Cinema has been developing and conditions have been created so that there can be more and more authors in this area. Due also to the fact that we still have, through the cultural funding, the possibility of creative independence, the Portuguese Animation has been developing its own characteristics that have been successively recognized internationally. It should be noted, however, that many animation films are still made thanks to the personal investment of its teams who are subjected to precarious conditions. There is still a lot to be done in terms of developing conditions that can guarantee that this independence in creation can continue, in the area of training and in improving our working conditions.
How do you feel about CINANIMA and also being part of the jury panel?
CINANIMA is one of the festivals in Portugal that has contributed the most to the development of Animated Film through its dissemination. Being a juror is obviously a difficult position and an enormous responsibility, but it is also an opportunity, given the reputation of this Festival, to have access to new trends and to gestures that are risky – but which cannot yet reach their end, thus being able to have a more general vision of what is being done and what is still starting to emerge.
What are your expectations for this year’s edition?
My expectation is that we will have access to challenging films of great quality and that moments of convergence between the various members of the sector will also be created, thus allowing us to continue to create conditions for Animated Film to have the recognition and conditions necessary to continue to develop.
DAVID SILVA
“I’m very grateful to CINANIMA. It’s a huge honour to be here as a member of the Selection Jury”
David Silva has a degree in Animation and Multimedia Design, by the Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre and, since then, works in projects related to animation, design and illustration. He’s “very happy” to see a growing and notorious evolution of animation cinema at a national and international level. CINANIMA was the first Festival David Silva had the opportunity to visit, which contributed to the enrichment of his “baggage”. Since then, the will to “do more” has been growing and today he feels an “enormous pride” in being part of the Selection Jury. For this year’s edition of CINANIMA, her expectations “are enormous”, since animation “is increasingly rich and diverse”.
How long ago and in what way did your approach to animation cinema begin?
The first time I had contact with animation cinema was in Secondary School, in 2008, while I was studying Arts. We had to do a basic exercise with just a few frames and that was when I acquired an admiration for animation. Then I did my 12th year project in animation and went to study Animation and Multimedia Design in Portalegre, where I deepened my knowledge of animation.
What analysis do you make of the evolution of animation cinema in recent years?
Honestly, I’m very happy to see that animation cinema is growing, with more and more notoriety – not only nationally, but also internationally. Also, we’re starting to get more support from schools and universities, not only with more support material, but also with the creation of more courses and workshops. Of course there is still a huge way to go in promoting animation cinema in Portugal, but with festivals like CINANIMA I believe we will have more and more people following the path of animation.
How do you feel about CINANIMA and being part of the jury panel?
For me it’s a huge pride, since CINANIMA was the first Festival I had the opportunity to go to, in 2012, and I left full of desire to do more and with a huge baggage after a week of animated shorts and features. Besides that, over the last 10 years, it has helped me to meet magnificent people and have remarkable experiences. I am very grateful to CINANIMA and so it is a great honour to be here as a member of the Selection Jury.
What are your expectations for this year’s edition?
My expectations are enormous, since animation is getting richer and more diverse every year. Although last year we already came back from the pandemic, this year I think we will have even more public with a desire to see animation and exchange experiences.
MARGARIDA MADEIRA
“Every year you notice a reinvention. It’s always different and always good”
Her taste for animation cinema comes from the acquisition of other pleasures: tea and biscuits. It was during an academic adventure, through the Erasmus programme, in her second year of university, that she discovered the secrets of animation, the history of Cinema, among other aspects. It was during that exploration that Margarida Madeira discovered what she wanted to dedicate herself to: Animation Cinema. She believes that its evolution is cyclical – as in all forms of Art – and that the fusion between tradition and innovation of techniques translates into “positive results”. CINANIMA is also special to her: it was the first Animation festival that she knew and also the one that awarded her first film. Besides that, it’s the first in which she is part of a Jury panel.
How long ago and in what way did you approach animated cinema?
As liking cartoons doesn’t count, I think I started to get more interested in animation cinema in the second year of university, when I did Erasmus, in Poland. I enrolled in an Animation class not knowing that the professor was one of the most important Polish animators (Jerzy Kucia). The classes were intense and cool, from learning the principles of animation and applying them in exercises on the light table, to getting to know some of the most important works in the history of cinema, while drinking tea and eating biscuits. It was during this semester that I realised that this was what I wanted to dedicate myself to (the tea and biscuits part too).
What analysis do you make about the evolution of animation cinema in recent years?
Like all art forms, animation cinema is cyclical. The evolution of technique goes first and the concept catches up with it later. In recent years, I think we are in that place where there is a combination of new techniques with more traditional ones and a very interesting conceptual exploration. That conjugation can only have positive results.
How do you feel about CINANIMA and being part of the jury panel?
CINANIMA was the first in everything. The first Animation Festival that I got to know, the first that, a few years later, awarded a prize to my first film. It was also the first in which I was part of the jury panel, so I guess that says it all!
What are your expectations for this year’s edition?
I still have a lot of films to see… But, considering the ones I’ve already seen, I think it’s going to be a difficult task to make a selection. To say that it’s going to be a better festival than other years doesn’t seem fair to me. The joke of this is that every year you notice a reinvention. It’s always different and always good.