Animocje on Tour: The Best of Animocje 2025 - a selection of animated films from around the world, promoting Polish and international directors
The screening presents a selection of short animated films submitted to the competitions of the 14th edition of the International Animated Film Festival Animocje in Bydgoszcz. From over three thousand productions, the selection committee chose films for the Main Competition and the Music Video Competition.
The program The Best of Animocje 2025 features films selected by the international Jury and the festival’s programming team. The curated animations showcase the diversity of contemporary auteur animation – both in terms of themes and techniques, ranging from hand-drawn animation and stop motion to films created entirely using digital tools. An important part of the program consists of works by Polish creators, presented in dialogue with international animation and forming a broader artistic context.
The screening also includes the film awarded the Audience Prize at the festival. The program is intended for viewers aged 14 and over and aims to promote the art of animation as well as the achievements of Polish animated cinema within an international framework.
Wander to Wonder, dir. Nina Gantz, Belgium 2023, 13’50’’
Mary, Billybud and Fumbleton are three miniature, human actors who perform in an eighties kids TV series called “Wander to Wonder”. After the creator of the series has died, they are left alone in the studio. With their slowly decaying costumes and growing hunger, they continue to make increasingly strange episodes for their fans.
Martyr’s Guidebook, dir. Maksymilian Rzontkowski, Poland 2023, 8’51’’
Tony always puts others first, even as a child sharing cake. He helps strangers and lives with a literal angel who influences his extreme kindness. When Tony's selflessness backfires, he must learn to balance altruism with self-care.
Extremely Short, dir. Koji Yamamura, Japan 2024, 5’18’’
A man sets out in search of the shortest thing in Tokyo, which turns out to be a single syllable uttered by a dying man… The first installment in a series of animated shorts called "Bungaku Bideo" (Literature Videos), Koji Yamamura's Extremely Short translates into film a powerful story by Hideo Furukawa, read by the author himself.
Tako Tsubo, dir. Fanny Sorgo, Eva Pedroza, Austria, Germany 2024, 6’04’'
Mr. Ham decides to have his heart removed in order to be relieved of his complicated feelings. The doctor assures him that this is no problem at all in this day and age. Thoughtfully inclined, however, Ham keeps his heart for a while after the removal, perhaps to understand it better after all. "Tako Tsubo" is an animated, surrealistic reflection on how to deal with feelings in a meritocracy. Tako Tsubo, also known as stress cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome, is a rare, acute-onset and often severe dysfunction of the heart muscle, similar to that of a heart attack, and usually results from extraordinary emotional or physical stress.
Mr. Professor!, dir. Dominika Tkaczyk, Poland 2023, 15’01’’
In a world full of absurdity, and students in love with the perfect Mister Professor, his colleagues sentence the Professor to death. However, one of his infatuated students - Miss Haczyk, who is unable to speak - comes to help.
Smell Of The Ground, dir. Olivia Rosa, Poland 2023, 7’47’’
The film is an adaptation of the poem „There will come soft rains” by Sara Teasdale. It depicts the end of the Anthropocene epoch - the epoch of human beings and the beginning of a new one.
Voiceless, dir. Samuel Patthey, Switzerland 2024, 15’23’’
Dan is a young man who spends a lot of time in his flat. His routine is always accompanied by electronic music pumping through his headphones. But when he steps outside, he feels disconnected from the world around him and only finds solace in nightclubs. Techno music and drugs transport him to a world where he can be himself, where he feels free. One day, he catches the eye of a baby which will change his perception of the world around him.
The Car that came back from the Sea, dir. Jadwiga Kowalska, Switzerland 2023, 10’48’’
Full of exuberance and frivolousness, six friends drive to the Polish Baltic coast and back in a small, dented car. During their trip, their car and their country fall apart. Nevertheless, life goes on. Their journey is interfused with memories and snapshots from the past.
