The screening of the award-winning Grand Competition entry Ernest and Celestine opens the World Festival of Animated Film Animafest Zagreb tonight at 8pm, Europa cinema. Before the screening, attended by Benjamin Renner, one of the three authors, the visiting original animation lovers will be addressed by festival producers Vjera Matković and Olinka Vištica and art director Daniel Šuljić. The festival will be supported and opened by the re-elected mayor of the City of Zagreb Milan Bandić, and head of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre Hrvoje Hribar.

The same evening at Europa, 10pm, you can see the King of Pigs, the Korean cold-blooded thriller by Sang-ho Yeun, a disturbing and violent animated film about abuse, social status and class differences.

Even though Animafest Zagreb 2013 officially opens at 8pm, screenings begin in the morning at Cineplexx Kaptol Centre, including one of the most popular animated films in Estonian history, Lotte and the Moonstone Secret. Given that the film is dubbed in Croatian, it will be a real treat for children and adults. The series of children and youth films is followed by Painting, the charming French film whose thrilling action takes place in a work of art. this film also competes for Animafest’s Grand Prix.

The best of recent European shorts will be presented in Cartoon d’Or section at 6pm. The five outstanding films also include Oh Willy..., last year’s double winner (Grand Prix and Audience Award).

Tuesday film programme at Cineplexx Kaptol Centre ends with two feature films – Tito on Ice, an extremely interesting adaptation of the eponymous comic book and a tour around former Yugoslav countries made entirely out of waste: cigarette butts, toilet paper, everything became part of a parallel underground universe where dreams, reality and animation coincide. The Colombian dark comedy Fat, Bald, Short Man is a story about a lonely 46-year-old Antonio, who is convinced his failure is the result of his looks: he is bald, short and fat. The film was made in the same technique as A Scanner Darkly, Richard Linklater’s magnificent film.

In addition to the outstanding film programme, Animafest will fill its six festival days, like every year, with an interesting side programme. Yesterday the interactive exhibition LEVEL UP! was opened at Forum Gallery, presenting in Zagreb for the first time the world of independently produced animated video games. Twenty recent works by renowned indie studios will be available until 8 June, every day from 10am to 10pm.

We invite you to join us for the unique pleasure of outstanding animation we have prepared for you at this year’s World Festival of Animated Film Animafest Zagreb.