27.08.2023

26.08.2023

The Best films of Turku Animated Film Festival have been awarded!

At tonight’s Award Ceremony, a total of 9 awards were presented to films that captured the hearts of our jury and audience with their stunning visuals and daring, imaginative storytelling. Here are the best of TAFF 2023!

Grand Prix

27 – Flóra Anna Buda

“Many young adults today for economical reasons have to live together with their parents unvoluntarily. Alice’s attempt to grasp for autonomy in this sufficating enviroment is a rollercoaster of excess. The film convinces with its captivating visual realization and cinematically rich storytelling.”

Best National Film

Nun or Never! – Heta Jäälinoja

“This film is examining the role of an individual in a society of strict rules. Drawn with a sensitive line, the film tells a story of playful observations and finally reveals the audience everybody’s secrets.”

The award for Best National Film is sponsored by SET ry.

TAFF Junior Award

Battery Mommy – Seungbae Jeon

The amusing characters of the film lead a suspenseful story, where the narrative’s humour lightens it into a suitable everyday adventure for children.

Best Professional Film

Drijf  – Levi Stoops

“This film takes the audience in the middle of a strange journey, where the power dynamics of a relationship are examined. The film is provocative in a funny way, being lost with your partner can be empowering or a sheer nightmare.”

Special Mention – Professional Film

The TOBOS – Tobias Rud

Best Student Film

The Eastern Rain – Milly Yencken

“Based on the slightly absurd idea, that rain is falling not outside, but inside our houses, the film uses this animation film-specific narrative starting point to move towards experimental animation by combining a flow of expressive paintings with contemporary music.”

Special Mention – Student Film

Above The Clouds – Vivien Härshegyi

Tough Eye Award

Skinned – Joachim Hérissé

“Two people tragically bound together by interdepedence navigate through an everyday life moulded by violence and surpression. Atmospherich roughness and visual metaphors create an intense insight into the horror, which human connection can inherit.”

Audience Favourite

Blush – An Extraordinary Voyage – Iiti Yli-Harja

Our audience was particularly moved by this film that tackles the fear and realities of discrimination in a hilariously chaotic yet encouraging way – in space!

24.08.2023

17.08.2023

Few words on Accessibility and Safer Space at Turku Animated Film Festival

This year, TAFF is expanding its reach of venues compared to the past few years. For this reason, it’s a good time to update our accessibility information.

TAFF screenings will take place at the Aurinkobaletti Manilla Theatre, where we’ll also return to the Jo-Jo Theatre. This year, TAFF Pro Forum will be held at the Manilla Viinatehdas. In addition to these venues, the non-stop screening in collaboration with Turun Anikistit and Finnish Animation Guild will be hosted at the Taiteen talo Media Studios. Taiteen talo will also host the TAFF Junior workshop on Saturday. Our outdoor screening will once again be held at Kirjakahvila.

Aurinkobaletti and Viinatehdas are the only fully accessible venues for people using mobility aids. Taiteen talo is partially accessible, but Jo-Jo Theater and Brinkkala yard (of Kirjakahvila) are not accessible with mobility aids. You can read detailed information about each venue from our Accessibility and Safety page.

This year, TAFF’s free program includes an outdoor screening of the animated documentary ‘Flee’, a children’s animation workshop, and a non-stop screening at Taiteen talo. Children and teens under 16 years old can attend TAFF Junior screenings for free. Individuals with low income can purchase screening tickets for 7 euros. You can find detailed instructions on our Timetable and Tickets page.

We want TAFF to be an inspiring, relaxed, and safe space for everyone! We do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment at the festival.

Since 2023, we have been a part of the Keep Festive community, whose goal is to promote comfort and safety for all participants in animation industry events. Keep Festive stands against any inappropriate behavior and harassment.

We expect everyone visiting the festival to abide by the rules of a safer space and to respect the personal psychological and physical boundaries of others. Please refrain from using discriminatory or derogatory language, embarrassing others, making assumptions, or engaging in any disrespectful behavior. Many of our films address sensitive topics, so in discussions, please remember to respect people’s privacy and address intimate subjects with consideration. You can read our principles of spacer from Accessibility and Safety page.

From the page you will also find information about our content warnings for the films. The content warnings will be updated to the site by Monday August 21st.

16.08.2023

Here are our speakers of TAFF Pro’s Friday!

On Friday, the focus shifts to the future perspectives and technologies of animation and games. Speeches are given by Regional Artist for Games as Art, Jaakko Kemppainen and Game Designer Jussi Kemppainen and later in the day they will join Sonja Yrjölä for a panel discussion moderated by Mika Koskinen from Finnish Animation Guild. TAFF Pro Friday closes with games-themed animation screening. The Games X Animation screening is open to the entire festival audience.

Jaakko Kemppainen is a game design veteran, with over 20 years of experience on making games. He is an explorer, curiously going to unknown areas of games – be it new technologies, audiences or ways of mixing games and other art forms. He has done interactive TV, location aware games, virtual and augmented reality, playable light art and other experimental games, along with traditional video-, mobile- and board games. Currently he is finishing his 5 year period as the regional artist of games at Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

Forest of Forking Paths – Possible Futures of Digital Games

Digital games are a constantly evolving ooze of opportunities and potentials. New technologies and business models emerge every now and then, affecting the imagination of game developers. Sometimes evolution of games is cyclic, sometimes disrupting. This lecture tries to predict potential ways the digital games will evolve in the near and distant future. The emphasis is on the artistic side and gameplay, but the technology, business and society can’t be ignored either.

Based on over 40 years as a gamer and 20 years as professional game developer, regional artist of games, Jaakko Kemppainen derives, extrapolates and exaggerates the futures of games, based on where they are now and how they ended up here.

Jussi Kemppainen is an award winning VFX artist / 3D modeler / game designer / director with 24 years of industry experience in companies like Ubisoft Redlynx, Rovio, Supercell and Remedy. His background is in mobile-, AAA- and indie games as well as movies, music videos and TV series – both animated and live action. He is currently employed at Mainframe Industries as the VFX Lead.

Echoes Of Art: Exploring AI tools for game production

What does AI mean for professionals?

A detailed research project into how current generative AI tools could slot into traditional game production pipeline and the compromises that need to be done in order to accommodate these tools.

The prototype project in this research is a 2.5D point and click adventure game, with AI generated locations and AI designed 3d characters.

Sonja Yrjölä is an 32-year-old animation artist, currently residing in the capital region. She graduated as an animation director from Turku University of Applied Sciences’ Academy of Fine Arts in 2018, and since then, she has been engaged in various animation projects within the industry. Whenever time permits, she is working on her own hand-drawn animated art game project.

Participating in the panel as a lifelong lover of games, Sonja brings a unique interest in the enigmatic blend of art and games.

16.08.2023

Here are TAFF Pro Forum’s speakers

On Thursday’s TAFF Pro Forum, gaming and animation professionals and experts can present their projects and connect with each other and exhibitors. The day will be filled with inspiring talks and interesting exhibitions. TAFF Pro’s coffee corner will offer a relaxed environment for connecting among professionals.

You can find the schedule for TAFF Pro from our timetable and tickets -page.

Exhibitors of TAFF Pro Forum:

Game Hub – Hive
IGDA
Turku Game Lab
Turku Scene / WFFC

Antti Laakso is a director, animator, animation teacher, and game creator who graduated from Turku Arts Academy’s animation line. His latest project is the computer game ‘Dreams in the Witch House,’ which was released in early 2023. It is based on the novella by American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and combines elements from point-and-click adventure games and role-playing games.

Antti has also designed the visual identity for this year’s TAFF, drawing inspiration from the pixel art and fantasy imagery of 90s video games.

In his presentation Antti Laakso talks about developing his first released computer game, the horror adventure Dreams in the Witch House. How did the transition go from animation and film to games, and what kind of surprises there were on the long way to the finished product?
Curated by Tatu Pohjavirta.

Tiina Räsänen is an animator who employs storytelling as a versatile tool, not only in crafting visual content but also in UI/UX design and manual testing. Her engagement with the realm of games extends beyond mere playing, for she has also participated in Game Jams and contributed to the development of serious games.

In her presentation “Perspectives on Films and Games,” she delves into the use of animation in video games from the vantage point of the animation industry, exploring its connection with the motion observed in animated films.

Ville Korpela is a game-animator who has over a decade of experience in the game industry. Originally he studied traditional forms of animation such as drawn- and stop motion-animation in Turku Arts Academy and out of sheer love for gaming and games turned his skills and knowledge towards making game characters move. He has worked on several game development projects with companies mostly from Finland making mobile games, indie game projects to double A-games for all platforms, mainly working with Unity and Blender.

“Game animation is problem solving” is Ville’s take on what it is like to be a professional game animator centering on and detailing what a 3d character animators work is like and the different stages of the process. The presentation goes into how ones work crosses and interacts with other facets of game development such as game design, code and modeling to produce a game that is interesting and engaging. Discussed will also be “the why” game animation is so important to the game experience, storytelling and narrative of the game.

The audience will also hear about the realities of working in game industry – the challenges and triumphs along the way – and Ville’s thoughts on the future of game animation.

Liisa Vähäkylä served as the Executive Director of Finnanimation from 2009 to 2023 and has played a key role in founding both the Animation Europe Federation and the Nordic Animation Network. Additionally, she has extensive experience in organizing various animation industry events both in Finland and abroad. Liisa pursued animation studies in London in the mid-1990s and later ventured into multimedia studies in Helsinki.

With an academic background in Art Education and Journalism, Liisa has worked as a journalist and in the fields of advertising and new media. At TAFF Pro, Liisa will present her latest book, ‘Nordic Animation – Balancing the East and the West.‘

‘Nordic Animation – Balancing the East and the West’ is the first-ever book showcasing Nordic animation. The book was published in April 2023 as part of CRC Press’s Focus on Animation series. The book delves into the history of animation creation and the evolution of the animation industry across all five Nordic countries. While covering a broad spectrum of animation work and industry, the book particularly emphasizes known brands and emerging talents in the field.

07.08.2023

Meet our jury for Turku Animated Film Festival 2023!

We’re thrilled to present the esteemed members of our jury for Turku Animated Film Festival 2023! With diverse backgrounds in the animation industry, they bring their experience and knowledge to the table with their critical eye when deciding the fate of our Grand Prix.

You can enjoy our jury’s films in the Jury-screening, on Saturday 2pm. The directors will be present during the screening. You can buy tickets to the screening from our Timetable and tickets -page.

Kaisa Penttilä is an animation screenwriter and director born in Helsinki. She studied animation in Turku, Finland during the 1990s and later completed her Master’s degree at Aalto University. With over three decades of experience as a freelancer in the industry, she co-founded Animaatiokopla in Helsinki and has directed numerous award-winning short films, music videos, and TV series. Currently, she is working on a feature-length animated film in collaboration with Leena Jääskeläinen. Besides animation, Penttilä is passionate about exercise and playing the trumpet.

Thomas Renoldner is an Austrian artist with a focus on experimental film. Music, drawing, painting, installation and performance have been his artistic interests from his youth and many of these artistic approaches can also be found in his films. His career started with self-taught Super-8 films with first investigations of the possibilities of cinema, before going the academic route and studying animation in the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Since then Thomas’s work has explored multiple emotions and techniques, finding ways for cinema to open new perspectives for our perception of time and space.

A retrospective screening celebrating Thomas’ career and films from 1980 to 2020’s is screened after the Jury-screening on Saturday 4pm. You can buy the tickets to the screening from our Timetable and tickets -page. You can read more about Thomas’ films, interests and ideas in his own words from our news HERE.

Aline Höchli is a visual artist known for her animated films. She studied at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in film, specializing in 2D animation. In 2016, she founded the animation film studio Tricksfilms – now Koloss.
Her first self-produced short film “Cuckoo” premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and was shown at several film festivals in Europe and abroad. Aline was then artistic director for the film adaptation of her short story “Why Slugs Have No Legs” that won the prize for best animated film at the Warsaw Film Festival.
Aline Höchli is currently working on other short film projects in Bern, Switzerland, including “Caries“, which is scheduled for release in 2024.

07.08.2023

On Saturday, TAFF audience can enjoy the retrospective screening of our guest and member of the 2023 jury, Thomas Renoldner. Here you can read more about Thomas’ work, inspirations and thoughts – in 4 chapters, in his own words.

From „How to do a Trickfilm“ to „DONT KNOW WHAT“

Short films from 1980-2020 in 4 chapters

My primary and vigorously pursued artistic interests in my youth were music, drawing, painting, but also what can be named installation and performance. Many of these artistic approaches can also be found in my films, which follow different interests in different periods.

In a first period (1980-1990) – I call it my ‘naive, but cinema-analytic phase’ – I made selftaught super-8-flms. Some were realised spontaneously without much planning, others were more conceptional: basic investigations of the possibilities and regularities of cinema.

The second period (1989-1994) – my “academy years” – was the time of my studies in the studio for experimental animation at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. At that time I followed two different directions: funny, figurative cartoons and serious, abstract works in the sense of a visual music tradition. The most successful film of this kind was BUNT („Colorful“ – 1991), it was selected for the international competition at the Hiroshima Animation Filmfestival 1992 and thus opened up important life perspectives for me.

In a third period (1994-1998) – let’s name it my „split screen years“ – I explored different experimental techniques, among them the split-screen, executed directly in the 16-mm camera (Arrifex 16ST) by using multiple exposure and hand-cutted masks. The artistic interest behind was to explore, how cinema can open new perspectives for our experiences of time and space. An outstanding film in that sense was SOPHIA’S YEAR (1998), for which a specialised lab transferred 12 super-8-films to a 35mm negative.

After a ten years creative break (during which I produced the films of friends and did one commissioned work for the „Mozart Year 2006“) after 2010 a forth period began, – a phase of “restart, remix and renewal” – SUNNY AFTERNOON (2012) and DONT KNOW WHAT (2019) became my two internationally most successful films. I think that in these works I have successfully implemented all the experiences from earlier phases. And I am working on my next movies.

1 . 1980ies: the naive, but ‘cinema-analytic’ period:

1. How to do a Trickflm

Super-8, 1982, (edited 2023), 06:15

One of my first „test movies“, playfully experimenting with different animation methods. Usually I don’t show this film in public, but for this ‚retrospective’ of my work it is a nice way to demonstrate, how I started. I will give live comments to the silent movie.

2. Warten Sie auf etwas Besonderes ? (Are you waiting for somethings special ?)

Super-8, 1983, 04:22

The first part is a direct film: painting and scratching on live action sequences: partly leftovers of other films and one sequence particularly made for this film. I basically followed one vague idea about what I felt was typical for „avantgarde film“: to destroy the film material. As a contrast to the physically intense overstimulation of the senses I wanted to add a very slow second part: myself just staring at the audience, which I felt was quite ‘avantgarde’ too.

3. Die Begrenzungslinien der Projektionsfäche (The borderlines of the projection screen)

Super-8, 1983, 03:13

I ask the question of how cinema relates to reality, and I make the fact visible, that film always means to be fragmentary. We may also call it a ‘performance film“.

2 . 1990ies – part 1: the academy years: animation studies

4. Bunt (Colorful)

16mm, 1990, 04:05

I made this film during the year, when our first daugther Laura was born, with the idea of abstract images in the mind of a child growing up. 20 basic images and transitions consisting of 24 drawings in between them resulted in 500 watercolors, which I recorded using masked multiple exposure to 16mm film, and I completed the film by adding my minimalist music composition.

5. Würfel (Cubes)

16mm, 1990, 02:00

I found this 6 cubes image puzzle on a fea market and simple visually liked it. Then I decided to use them for a music video for the pop band „MARIA“, three friends of mine. Always two of the cubes follow the accents one of the three instruments: guitar, keyboard and drums.

6. Lonely Cowboy in 1992

16mm, 1992, 02:33

This is one of my few „classical cartoon“ movies. I made it on the occasion of the 500-years-anniversary of America’s „discovery by Christopher Columbus“. My commentary to that anniversary was to imagine, what a cowboy would discover in Northern America in the year 1992.

7. Rhythmus 94 (Rhythm 94)

16mm, 1994, 04:10

My diploma flm refers to early visual music (Hans Richter’s Rhythm 21 inspired the title) and evolves from realism (starting with a homage to E. Muybridge) to digital abstraction. Both visual and musical composition follow a strict polyrhytmic structure. Technically it is a quite complexe multiple exposure (via aerial image projection) of image loops of different lengths to 35mm, which After Effects would allow today with much less effort.

2a. commissioned film in between:

8. MTV- Station ID „Cubes“

35mm, 1998, 00:10

I was very lucky to meet Peter Dougherty (art director at MTV) at the Hiroshima Animation Festival and he invited me to contribute one of the hundreds of MTV Station IDs, which in the golden times of MTV could be realised by many lucky artists. For this entirely hand-made commercial based on my former music video „Würfel“ I built three different sets of cubes, and Christof Dienz contributed an outstanding musical composition, performed by the music group „Die Knödel“ (‘The Dumplings’).

3 . 1990ies – part 2: the split sceen years: experiments with time and space

9. Hiroshima.August.92

16mm, 1997, 05:56

During my visit of the Hiroshima Animation Festival 1992 I started my experiments with multiple exposure directly in the 16-mm-camera (Arrifex 16ST) by using hand-cut masks in the shape of horizontal and vertical stripes, which, when combined at the end of the film formed 64 tiny squares. The three chapters of this movie are called „Hotel Room“, „Collecting Houses“ and „Beach / City“.

10. Picnic in the green

16mm, 1996, 03:05

This film was meant as another technical test for a 12-windows split-screen exposure, also executed in the 16mm-camera to one film negative. I found out that when the camera stops, one or more frames can be incorrectly exposed, resulting in flashes of light in shades of red, orange, yellow and white.

But since I then really enjoyed the „experimental look“ of these ‘failures’, I decided to ask my friend Andi Haller to turn it into a ‘music video’. He contributed a great pop song, and in his lyrics he also referred to these destructive light flashes.

11. Sophia’s Year

12 times Super-8 split screen on 35mm, 1998, 10:53

After my mainly self-made split screen experiments, in SOPHIA’S YEAR I further developed the concept of transforming the experience of time and space into new cinematic forms. Each of the 12 windows of this split screen represent one month of the year 1995, when our second daughter Sophia was born. This work is also part of my refection about rules and taboos for certain film genres, when I combine the experimental approach of a strictly planned concept with the kind of random approach of an amateurish family film.

3a. commissioned film in between:

12. Mozart Party ’06

35mm, 2006, 00:10

On the occasion of the „Mozart Year 2006“ (his 275th birthday) it was my big pleasure to contribute with this provocative short film, since I knew, that the film must be short publicly, including two Ausstrahlungen at Austrian Broadcast. Inspired by the famous Austrian Sü.igkeit (literally translated from German language: „Mozart Balls“), I invented some other sweeties referring to other parts of his body as well.

4 . after 2010: restart, remix & renewal

13. Fuck the Cancer ! (short version)

2K digital video, 2016/2020, 05:00

In 2016 I had finished my video about my experience of tongue cancer therapy in the time between april 2014 and august 2015, consisting of self-encouraging selfe videos, stubbornly repeating the sentence „Fuck the Cancer !“. In 2020 I decided to shorten these 12 minutes to a more audience-friendly 5 minutes version.

14. Dont know what

4K digital video, 2019, 08:07

Employing the method of single frame editing the realistic film image transforms into a surreal, structuralist and even abstract film. It also creates a musical composition while experimenting with the human voice and transforming language into sound and music. But the main reason to make this flm was to enjoy myself and to celebrate, that I can talk and move my body.

4a. commissioned flm, for reasons of actuality

No more war („Kinospot gegen Gewalt“)

35mm, 1995, 00:15

In 1995 a group of antimilitarist activists asked me to produce this short flm on 35mm, so it could also be shown in Austrian cinemas. I decided to combine found footage with documentary photography. The photo at the end shoes a woman shot dead in Balkan wars and certainly reminds us all the many victims, – civilians and soldiers – which all the unerträglichen wars in mankinds history have and will cause.

Thomas Renoldner’s retrospective is screened in TAFF’s Saturday, starting at 4pm. You can buy the tickets for the screening from here.

02.08.2023

TAFF 2023 program is out!

Exciting news, animation friends and lovers! The moment we’ve all been waiting for is here – Turku Animated Film Festival’s program is finally out!

On August 23 to 27th Manilla Factory will be filled with the freshest animationshorts from around the globe, inspiring discussions and celebration of summer, life and animation!

Our program consists of competition-, panorama- and themed screenings, including screenings suitable for Juniors of different ages. On Thursday and Friday we have program for professionals of animation and games. Throughout the week we have workshops and screenings with a free entry on Taiteen talo and Kirjakahvila at Old Town of Turku.

You can find the festival timetable and ticketshop here.
Besides individual screening tickets, you can also buy the festival pass with access to unlimited screenings or a 6-ticket screening card.

Professionals and students of animation or games can apply for accreditation to the festival on our Professionals -page.

20.07.2023

TAFF Early Bird ticket shop is open!

Until August 1st, we are offering two ticket options for early birds and our biggest fans:

1. 6+2 Screening Card 40€: Enjoy the flexibility of attending 8 screenings of your choice or bring your friends, lovers and cousins with you! Early birds get 2 extra tickets with our 6-ticket Screening Card.
2. Festival Pass 42,50€ (reg. price 53€): Get the ultimate festival experience with unlimited access to all screenings and get discounts from our local partners during the festival!

Early Bird prices will be available for only two weeks, so don’t miss out! On August 2nd we will announce the festival program and open the complete ticket shop for festival passes, screen cards as well as individual tickets.

Until then, visit our ticket shop to secure your early bird tickets and be a part of the wonderful festival celebration!

17.07.2023

TAFF Official Selection is here!

Besides our thrilling competition series, TAFF presents a captivating exploration of animation with our Panorama Series. Our Panorama Series offers a comprehensive view of the newest animation from around the globe with a diverse range of animated films, music videos, and documentaries that will leave you inspired and mesmerized.

Our Panorama screening showcases different styles, techniques, and storytelling approaches as animators push the boundaries of the medium. For music lovers Playlist offers a unique audiovisual experience that will keep one captivated from a tune to another. Our Documentaries screening explores thought-provoking stories, intimate portraits, and social commentaries brought to life through the art of animation.

Panorama

Amok | Balázs Turai | 2022 | Hungary

Chimborazo | Keila Cepeda | 2022 | Spain

Deep breath | Leonor Pacheco | 2022 | Portugal

My Mother the Sea | Aspasia Kazeli | 2022 | Estonia

Sandwich Cat | David Fidalgo | 2022 | Spain

Shadow of the Butterflies | Sofia El Khyari | 2022 | France

The Garden of Heart | Olivér Hegyi | 2022 | Hungary

The Wind and the Trees | Todd Allan Stewart | 2022 | Canada

Trace | Asparuh Petrov | 2022 | Bulgaria

Documentaries

Armat | Elodie Dermange | 2022 | Switzerland

Hardly Working | Total Refusal | 2022 | Austria

Make or Break | Mike Plitt, Falk Schuster | 2022 | Germany

Sunset Singers | Jessica Poon | 2022 | Germany

The Best Grandfather in the World | Nina Bisyarina | 2022 | Russian Federation

The Harbourmaster | Mia Ludvigsen Henriksen, Konrad Hjemli | 2022 | Norway

The scent of beetroot and the people who live forever | Petra Stipetić, Maren Wiese | 2023 | Germany

Playlist

A humble lying song | Chiara Mazzoni, Daniel Damm | 2023 | Sweden

Be Gone | Sijia Luo | 2022 | China

Babe of the Moon | Rufus Dye-Montefiore, Luke Dye-Montefiore | 2023 | United Kingdom

Beautiful Figures | Soetkin Verstegen | 2022 | Belgium

Do Good And Bad Will Come To You | Karina Torres | 2022 | Costa Rica

Glitter Electron | Chihiro Sato, Takaaki Numa, E | 2022 | Japan

Hungry Ghost | Guido Devadder, Kaitlin McSweeney | 2022 | Belgium

Miles Davis – What’s Love Got to Do With It | Irina Rubina | 2022 | United States

Monsters | Iulia Voitova | 2022 | France

Muscle Hearts | Juho Maurinen, Santeri Laasanen | 2022 | Finland

Ocean | Polina Chuykova | 2022 | Russian Federation

The Chats – 6L GTR | marco Imov | 2022 | Denmark

Water Lullaby | Piotr Kaźmierczak | 2022 | Poland

Zen for TV | Aga Jarząb, Maciek Bączyk | 2022 | Poland

14.07.2023

TAFF Official Selection is here!

This year, the international competition features 42 films from 23 countries, selected from a total of 2222 films submitted to the festival.

A large number of this year’s directors are newcomers for TAFF, bringing new perspectives and fresh narrative styles for the experienced audience of the festival as well. The competition consists of the most interesting works by accomplished professionals as well as fresh promising talents.

Prominent themes in the competition series include intimate portrayals of family relationships, love, and sexuality, but the films also address larger societal questions.

“Animators have become deeply serious. Among the films, you can still find funny and imaginative stories, but the films convey climate anxiety, war, and the years of the pandemic,” describes Joni Männistö, the festival’s artistic director.

Even in the face of a heavy global situation, animation’s strength lies in its ability to present possibilities and alternatives that emerge from the filmmakers’ inner world.

“Animation is suited for absurd expression, enlivening and exaggerating life. One can get swept away by imaginative storytelling, and beautifully animated films with their rich colours delight the eye. Animation is a particularly good medium to visualize dreams, imagination, and the inner thought processes. Many animated films are very poetic and employ a lot of metaphor and symbolism in their storytelling.

“In the world of animation, everything is possible,” Männistö continues.

In addition to the Grand Prix and the best Finnish film, the festival will award the audience favourite and the best student film. The TAFF Junior Award will be given to the film that charms our Junior Jury composed of schoolchildren.

Official selection of TAFF 2023:

International competition

27 | Flóra Anna Buda | 2023 | France

Above the clouds | Vivien Hárshegyi | 2022 | Hungary

Anticipation of inevitable | Anna Kanaicheva | 2022 | Russian Federation

Carlos Montaña | Ita Romero | 2022 | Argentina

Doubt | Adela Križovenská | 2023 | Czech Republic

Drijf | Levi Stoops | 2023 | Belgium

Fox Tossing | Zénó Mira | 2023 | Hungary

Frozen Frog | Yiyang Sun | 2023 | China

Furrie | Lucie Grannec | 2022 | France

Garrano | Vasco Sá, David Doutel | 2022 | Portugal

Ice Merchants | João Gonzalez | 2022 | Portugal

Ikimono-san: Turtle | Atsushi Wada | 2023 | Japan

In his Mercy | Christoph Büttner | 2022 | Germany

Intersextion | Richard Roger Reeves | 2022 | Canada

Juice | Mona Keil | 2022 | Germany

La próxima te acompaño (next time i’ll join you) | Camila Dron | 2023 | Argentina

La saison pourpre | Clémence Bouchereau | 2023 | France

Mask | Matías Bárquez | 2023 | Chile

Maurice’s Bar | Tom Prezman and Tzor Edery | 2023 | France

Oliver the Giant | Júlia Lantos | 2023 | Hungary

Rehousing Technosphere | Wang & Söderström | 2022 | Denmark

Skinned | Joachim Hérissé | 2022 | France

Slow Light | Katarzyna Kijek, Przemysław Adamski | 2022 | Poland

Sewing Love | Xu Yuan | 2023 | Japan

Sunny Side Up | Misha Felix | 2022 | United States

Suruaika | Vlad Ilicevici, Radu C Pop | 2022 | Romania

Supper | Dániel Bárány | 2022 | Hungary

SWIM! | Isabel Santos | 2022 | United States

Sweet Dreams | Maria Zilli, Sara Priorelli | 2022 | Italy

The Eastern Rain | Milly Yencken | 2023 | Estonia

The Garbage Man | Laura Gonçalves | 2022 | Portugal

The Miracle | Nienke Deutz | 2022 | Belgium

The Nighthawk Is Not a Hawk | Wang Junjie | 2023 | China

The Tobos | Tobias Rud | 2023 | Denmark

Tinaboatsadawu | Anne Mirjam Kraav | 2022 | Estonia

Troada | Vitor Hugo Rocha | 2022 | Portugal

Unnamed Road | Songkai Zhou | 2022 | United Kingdom

Wild Housemates | Armelle Mercat-Junot | 2023 | France

Wild Tale | Aline Quertain | 2023 | Belgium

Wormwood-25 | Nadia Goldman | 2023 | Russian Federation

Y | Matea Kovač | 2023 | Croatia

ZUMAN | Honor Price | 2022 | United Kingdom

Finnish competition

Blush – An Extraordinary Voyage | Iiti Yli-Harja | 2022 | Finland

Castle Blue | Tapani Tolonen | 2023 | Finland

Golden Headacher | Niina Suominen | 2022 | Finland

Gravitating | Heta Okkonen | 2023 | Finland

Hound | Lauri Ketonen | 2023 | Finland

Hiukset kuin vesiputous | Tomi Malkki | 2023 | Finland

Noli Timere | Antti Tanttu | 2022 | Finland

Nun or Never! | Heta Jäälinoja | 2023 | Finland

Other People | Anni Sairio, Joonatan Turkki | 2023 | Finland

Sweet Like Lemons | Jenny Jokela | 2023 | United Kingdom

TAFF Junior competition

Ana Morphose | Joao Rodrigues | 2023 | Portugal

Battery Mommy | Seungbae Jeon | 2023 | Republic of Korea

Beanboy | Emily Hanning | 2022 | Denmark

Birds, by the Way | Alla Vartanyan | 2022 | Russian Federation

Dede is Dead | Philippe Kastner | 2023 | Czech Republic

Fiadh à Fireach (The Hind) | Helen Louise Woolston, John Francis Quirk | 2023 | United Kingdom

Foxwood | David Mathews | 2023 | Austria

From the Top | Rich Farris | 2023 | United Kingdom

Go Away, Alfred! | Célia Tisserant, Arnaud Demuynck | 2023 | France

In the Dance | Katya Mikheeva | 2022 | France

Jackdaw | Anastasiya Lisovets | 2022 | Russian Federation

Kids in Winter | Maing Caochong | 2022 | China

Naissance des Oasis | Marion Jamault | 2022 | France

Shackle | Ainslie Henderson | 2022 | United Kingdom

Somni | Sonja Rohleder | 2021 | Germany

The Hedgehog | Daniela Hýbnerová | 2023 | Czech Republic

The Line | Júlia Ventura Bruguera | 2022 | Italy

The Witch’s Lullaby | Dasha Vyatkina | 2022 | Netherlands

T-Rex | Julia Ocker | 2022 | Germany

To Be Sisters | Anne-Sophie Gousset, Clément Céard | 2022 | France

Trashball | Ida Lepparu, Andrei Bljahhin, Sameliina Paurson | 2022 | Estonia

Under a Shooting Contrail | Rika Nakayama | 2022 | United States

Wait | Jenny Wright | 2023 | United Kingdom

Whatman | Nika Zinoveva | 2023 | Czech Republic

20.06.2023

Join the TAFF Volunteer Team!

Hey there! TAFF is on the lookout for awesome volunteers like you to join us for our fantastic festival from August 24th to 28th. No need for specific qualifications or previous experience – we’ll give you all the guidance you need. Check out the different roles available below!

As a TAFF volunteer, you’ll be part of an amazing community, enjoy free access to screenings when you’re off-duty, delicious food and beverages, and afterparty to celebrate the festival’s success. Plus, if you want, we’ll be happy to provide you with a reference letter!

Our aim is to create a relaxed, cozy, and safe event for everyone, both our beloved visitors and our incredible volunteers. We kindly ask for your commitment of 3 shifts, totaling approximately 15 hours of your time. Don’t forget to mention in the application if you’d like to be paired up with a friend and double the fun!

Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to be part of the TAFF magic. Apply now and let’s make this year’s festival an unforgettable experience!

If you have any questions, please drop us an email at talkoo@taff.fi .

Fill the volunteer application here!

Please note that with this form TAFF (Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry) gathers information about volunteer applicants. The information is only accessible to festival employees and is kept only for as long as necessary. Information is not given out to third parties.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS:

• Set up  / close down / cleaning / decorating

Setting up the venue, bringing the festival atmosphere with decorations.

• Tech

Making sure the films are running smoothly

• Runner

Runner does whatever is needed at the moment

• ​​Ticket sales / info

Selling tickets and merchandise, answering questions and providing customer service

• Screening presenter / door manager

Checking tickets at the door, making sure everything is in order at the venue, presenting the screening

• Host

Hosting our international guests and helping them during festival. We are looking for people with good English skills, but proficiency in other languages is a plus.

• Security

Securing the evening events and helping our guests with issues that arise in them. Official licence required.

• Distribution

Handing out marketing materials around the city before the festival in August.

• Driver

Driving things and people around the city. B-licence required.

• Photographer

Taking and editing photographs during the festival. Own equipment required. We hope you’d send a compact portfolio to talkoo@taff.fi .

Fill the volunteer application here!

09.06.2023

Yet another year of most thrilling animation!

Turku Animated Film Festival, known among friends as TAFF, is embarking on its eighth edition from August 23rd to 27th, 2023! Once again, we have over 20 diverse program sections and nearly 200 films lined up, offering unforgettable moments in the realm of animation. In addition to film screenings, we are preparing a professional program, workshops, and other delightful side events. This year animation will meet video games!

At the festival, you will have the opportunity to enjoy carefully selected and captivating animated films from around the world. We offer intriguing stories, fresh perspectives, and delightful visual experiences.

As an appetizer we are presenting a selection of animation gems from the past few years at Ilmiö Festival at the end of July. There will also be a special screening for children. For those who are already hungry for captivating animated stories, we are offering a possibility to indulge in the art of animation on June 15th at Bar Ö, as we present a curated showcase of recent animated works in a relaxed and cozy atmosphere starting at 7 PM.

Leading the 2023 festival is producer Annika Dahlsten, alongside artistic director Joni Männistö. Working by their side are co-producer Anton Perttu and publicist Marja Ahtola. The visual look of the festival is by Antti Laakso whose video game Dreams in the Witch House was released earlier this year.

Annika Dahlsten has graduated from the Turku Academy of Arts as both an animation artist and a visual artist. Her works have been presented both in Finland and abroad, at exhibitions and festivals. Dahlsten starts this year in TAFF’s production, but she has experience in animation projects, e.g. piloting the animation and media art Echo project of the Arts Promotion Center Finland and Central Library Oodi 2018-2023. Dahlsten is the chairman of Turku Anikistit ry.

Joni Männistö is an animation artist who graduated from the Turku Arts Academy. His short animations have been screened at numerous festivals around the world. Since its inception in 2016, Männistö has served as the artistic director of TAFF. Additionally, he is part of the animation programming team for the PÖFF Shorts festival in Tallinn. Over the years, Männistö has been invited as a guest and jury member at various international film festivals. Currently, he resides and works in Tallinn.

Final details of the program are currently being fine-tuned. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates on the festival.

10.05.2023

Thank you for your submissions!

We’ve been blown away by an incredible 2222 films you sent for TAFF 2023. Our team is now immersed in the selection process and preparing to bring you an unforgettable festival experience. Stay tuned for updates as we curate a lineup that will showcase the best of animation.

Thank you to all the talented filmmakers who shared their work with us.

06.01.2023

Call for Entries!

The 8th edition of the Turku Animated Film Festival will be held again in Turku, Finland, August 23-27, 2023, presenting dozens of screenings during five days.

Submissions for TAFF 2023 are open until March 31.  Submit your work via the link below.

The competitions for animated shorts will be held again in 2023. For the International Competition, International Student Film Competition, TAFF Junior Competition and National Competition we are looking for original, bold, uncompromising & inventive animated shorts under 30 minutes to compete for Grand Prix, Best Professional Film, Best Student Film, Tough Eye award, TAFF Junior Award, Main Prize in National Competition and Audience award in International Competition. In addition, the festival programme consists of a seductive selection of carefully selected special programme.

The Competition is open for short animated films that have been completed after 1st of January 2022.

TAFF takes place in the hometown of the renowned Turku Arts Academy. Our venue is a beautifully restored old factory milieu by the River Aura in Turku, Finland. TAFF is organized by the non-profit Association Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry.

28.08.2022

THANK YOU FOR THIS FESTIVAL!!

The 7th TAFF ended with Sunday’s Audience Favorites and Best of TAFF screenings.

This year we were able to enjoy a particularly rich coverage of different styles and genres of animation. Even though old craft techniques are still cherished, animation does not stand still, directors are constantly renewing their expression and creating new ways of using well-known techniques.

At the 2022 TAFF nine films were awarded in ten (10) different categories. The main prize was won by Špela Čadež’s Steakhouse, which managed to convey the atmosphere of a home in crisis with its smoke and fog veiled story. Read the list of all winners and the jury’s statements for the choices from here.

After two years of pandemic, we are happy that we were able to enjoy the festival again in a warm atmosphere with both Finnish and international visitors. It is you, our guests and audience, who make our festival come alive!

“Animation often contains many layers of narrative, metaphors and symbolism. After the screenings, many films remain haunting in the mind, and the deepest secrets of the films may only be revealed in the post-screening discussions among friends. Audience have their own ways of interpreting stories and it is interesting to compare views. Thus, you get more out of the viewing experience than you expected.” describes the artistic director of the festival, Joni Männistö.

So thank you to our guests, friends and viewers!

Thank you to our judges, the board of the Turun elokuvatapahtumat Ry, our wonderful volunteers and our employees for their great work!
Thanks to our partners Rajupaja Oy, Scene Turku, Animaatiokilta ry, Institut Français, Turku Book Cafe, Aurinkobaletti, Tehdas Teatteri, Aura of Puppets, Laivahostel S/S Bore and Bagel House and Jalobus.
Thank you to YLE, Avek, Taike, the Finnish Film Foundation, the City of Turku, the Finnish Culture Fund and the Pro Manilla Foundation for supporting the festival!

Thank you, TAFF 2022!

See you again next year!

27.08.2022

The winners of Turku Animated Film Festival 2022 have been awarded!

This year 10 awards were given to very special films that touched the hearts and souls of our juries and audience.

GRAND PRIX –
Steakhouse by Špela Čadež

“Fog and smoke create a suffocating and intense atmosphere. This impressive cinematic experience reflects the emotional reality of verbal abuse.”

BEST NATIONAL FILM –
All My Mom’s Phone Calls by Iiti Yli-Harja

“Rough, tough  and honest. Masterfully paced work in which the form supports the content and vice versa. Finally a realistic portrait of a mother in a kitchen.”

TAFF JUNIOR AWARD –
Black Slide by Uri Lotan

“Layered storytelling, full of emotion.”
BEST PROFESSIONAL FILM –
Sierra by Sander Joon

“A playful story about a father – son relationship that manages to be both entertaining and emotional. The puchy sound design and vibrant art style compliment this colorful story.”

BEST STUDENT FILM
Goodbye Jérôme! by Gabrielle Selnet, Adam Sillard & Chloé Farr

“This whimsical story about a breakup in heaven captivates the viewer with its psychodelic aesthetic and straightforward emotional honesty.”

TOUGH EYE –
Backflip by Nikita Diakur

“Will machines take over the world? Will algorithms master tasks that us humans are too weak and inneficient to perform? Let’s find out in this slapstick comedy about a clumsy avatar learning to do a backflip.”

SPECIAL MENTION –
In my chest of fire there is still place to temple your dagger: a love story by Pablo Ballarín

SPECIAL MENTION: STUDENT –
Zoon by Jonatan Schwenk

SPECIAL MENTION: NATIONAL –
Bad to the Boner by Robert Lönnqvist
AUDIENCE AWARD –
Sierra by Sander Joon

25.08.2022

Here is the jury of our National Competition!

Lucija Mrzaljak

Lucija Mrzljak is a Croatian animation film director and illustrator based in Tallinn, Estonia. She studied at fine art academies in Zagreb, Krakow, Prague and Tallinn. Since 2016 she co-directed several animated short animated films with the Estonian director Morten Tšinakov in Eesti Joonisfilm studio in Tallinn and Adriatic Animation studio in Zagreb: Demonstration Of Brilliance In Four Acts (2017), The Stork (2020), Eva (2022).

Lucija lives and works in Tallinn as a director, illustrator and as a guest teacher at the Estonian Academy of Fine Arts. You can enjoy Lucija’s animation in our Jury 2 -screening.

Hanneriina Moisseinen

Hanneriina Moisseinen, (b. 1978 in Joensuu) is an awarded comic book artist and a master of arts. Moisseinen has published four comics so far and directed the animated films Birthday (2014) and The Drifter Who Loved Books (2017). Moisseinen lives and works in Helsinki.

Hanneriina’s Masterclass is part of TAFF Pro -program.

Tomi Riionheimo

Geography and biology teacher who drifted into animation productions through comics in the late 90s and stayed there. Self-taught graphic artist and filmmaker, shirt seller and foreign tour manager of the band Eläkeläiset, producer and owner of Indie Films Oy since 2001.

Tomi Riionheimo’s animations are part of TAFF Program in Comics-secreening.

24.08.2022

For five days, Manilla’s Culturefactory will be filled with the latest jewels of animation.

11.08.2022

Thursday and Friday are for professionals!

The two days of TAFF Pro brings together domestic and foreign animators and others working in animation. TAFF Pro strives to promote the vitality of the animation field and offers new ideas and contacts to industry players and students. This year’s theme is the combination of comics and animation. The pro program consists of master classes and panels, as well as cartoon-themed film screenings.

08.08.2022

Meet our jury!

Our jury for the International Competition are well established professionals of animation, whose works you get to enjoy first hand in our Jury screenings.

Daniel Šuljić (1971) is an animation film director and a musician, who works Zagreb and Vienna. He has studied painting and animation and has been widely recognized in his work in both teaching as well as directing animation. 

The screening at TAFF showcases the diverse array of films and a music video from Daniel’s career between the years 1993 and 2018.

Read more about Daniel and buy tickets to his screening from here.

Renata Gąsiorowska is an animator and cartoonist from Kraków, Poland. She currently lives and works in Wrocław. She has made five short films, a few animated music videos and several short comics published around the world. Renata’s school film, Pussy, has won multiple awards. Her newest short film Home in a shell was produced for HBO Poland as a part of “At Home” anthology.

Read more about Renata and buy a ticket for her and Lucija Mrzljak’s, from our Finnish competition’s jury, joined screening from here.

Julian Gallese is an artist from San José, Costa Rica. Julian has studied in Vancouver Film School as well as Royal College of Arts in London. Julian has made several independent short films and currently lives and works in London.

Read more about Julian and buy a ticket for his screening from here. 

08.07.2022

The Official Selection of the 7th Turku Animated Film Festival is here!

Once again Turku Animated Film Festival accumulated a record number of films for the international competition. Out of more than 2,000 entries, 44 films from 23 different countries were selected for the main competition series.

Spectrum of techniques and styles

This year’s TAFF will feature work from well-established professionals as well as rising stars. The International Competition includes Oscar-nominated Hugo Covarrubias from Chile, and Atsushi Wada, who has been awarded at the Berlin Film Festival. Špela Čadež returns to TAFF with her intimate drama Steakhouse. Estonian Sander Joon‘s first professional film Sierra is once again proof of the director’s ability to master new techniques. The representation of student films in this year’s competition is also significant and, as usual, in addition to the Grand Prix, the competition also awards the best student film. The films selected for the competition include works bathing in full colors that are visually polished to the last detail, as well as more minimalist and rough works with punk spirit. Old techniques are still cherished, but fresh digital technologies and artificial intelligence are also seen this year.

“One of the strengths of animation is that, at its best, the chosen technique supports the story. It can also be seen in this year’s films. Different techniques are smoothly combined with each other in several films and these decisions are specifically made to serve the story. They make the finished film stronger and more interesting.  

The directors want to create new styles and renew animation, so you always see something new and wonderful.” ponders the artistic director, Joni Männistö.

In addition to the main competition, the best films are awarded in the Finnish competition as well as in TAFF Junior category, suitable for the younger audiences.

Official Selection of TAFF 2022:

International competition

A Bite of Bone | Honami Yano | 2021 | Japan

A white white day | Vasily Chirkov | 2022 | Russia

Anxious Body | Yoriko Mizushiri | 2021 | France

Backflip | NIkita Diakur | 2022 | Germany

Bewogen Woerde | Fynn van der Ziel | 2021 | Netherlands

Bestia | Hugo Covarrubias | 2021 | Chile

Bird in the Penisula | Atsushi Wada | 2022 | France, Japan

Channidae | Pauline Morel | 2021 | Belgium 

Cucumbers | Leonid Shmelkov | 2021 | Russia, France

Cufufu | Bruno Quast | 2021 | Estonia

Ding (Thing) | Malte Stein | 2021 | Germany

Elephtant in Castle | Florence Yuk Ki Lee | 2021 | Hong Kong

Girl in the Water | Shi-Rou Huang | 2021 | Taiwan

Goodbye Jérôme! | Gabrielle Selnet, Adam Sillard, Chloé Farr | 2021 | France

Good Old Vinyl | Yarin Philipp | 2022 | Russia

Granny’s Sexual Life | Urška Djukić, Émilie Pigeard | 2021 | Slovenia, France 

Graziano and the Giraffe | Fabio Orlando, Tommaso Zerbi | 2022 | Italy

Hold Me Tight | Leoluna Robert-Tourneur | 2021 | Belgium, France

In my chest of fire there is still place to temple your dagger: a love story | Pablo Ballarín | 2021 | Spain

In the Upper Room | Alexander Gratzer | 2022 | Hungary, Austria

I Want To Be Bored | Magda Kreps | 2021 | United Kingdom

Lesser of Two Evils | Máté Horesnyi | 2021 | Hungary

Letter to a Pig | Tal Kantor |2022 | France

Lines | Ivan Stojkovic | 2021 | Serbia

Los Huesos | Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña | 2021 | Chile

Oneluv | Varya Yakovleva | 2022 | Russia

Pentola | Leo Černic | 2022 | Italy

Pests | Juliette Laboria | 2021 | France

Please let me in | Peter Millard | 2022 | United Kingdom

Regular | Nata Metlukh | 2022 | United States

Rites of Spring | Yiorgos Tsangaris | 2021 | Cyprus

Sauna | Anna Lena Spring, Lara Perren | 2021 | Switzerland

Sensual Pill | Sam3 | 2021 | Greece

Sierra | Sander Joon | 2022 | Estonia

Steakhouse | Špela Čadež | 2021 | Slovenia, Germany, France

Sweet Nothing | Joana Fischer, Marie Kenov | 2021 | Switzerland

The Debutante | ​​Elizabeth Hobbs | 2022 | United Kingdom

The dog’s leash | Nicolas Piret | 2021 | Belgium

The fourth wall | Mahboobeh Kalaee | 2021 | Iran

The Pattern | ​​Péter Bogyó | 2022 | Hungary

The Seine’s tears | Yanis Belaid, Eliott Benard, Nicolas Mayeur, Etienne Moulin, Hadrien Pinot, Lisa Vicente, Philippine Singer, Alice Letailleur | 2021 | France

The Visit | Mateusz Jarmulski | 2021 | Poland

Two Sisters | Anna Budanova | 2021 | France

Zoon | Jonatan Schwenk | 2021 | Germany

National competition

All My Mom’s Phone Calls | Iiti Yli-Harja | 2021 | Finland

Bad to the Boner | Robert Lönnqvist | 2021 | Finland

Burning Love | Tomi Niko Krister Malkki | 2022 | Finland

Heinola | Aleksi Mäkelä | 2021 | Finland

Letters to Parkkimäentie | Mika Koskinen | 2022 | Finland

Mona | Sirpa Kristiina Loivarinne | 2022 | Finland

Tales of The Outback | Lauri Ketonen, Konsta Verta | 2021 | Finland

The Paper | Katariina Anna Maria Haukka | 2022 | Finland

You were in my dream | Iida-Sofia Kivistö | 2021 | Finland

TAFF Junior

Battery Daddy | Seung-bae Jeong | 2021 | Republic of Korea

Black Slide | Uri Lotan | 2021 | Israel

Don’t blow it up | Alžbeta Mačáková Mišejková  | 2022 | Czech Republic

Franzy’s Soup-Kitchen | Ana Chubinidze | 2021 | France

I’m not afraid! | Marita Mayer | 2022 | Norway

Letters From the Edge of the Forest | Jelena Oroz | 2022 | Croatia

Lost Brain | Isabelle Favez | 2022 | Switzerland

Luce and the Rock | Britt Raes | 2022 | Belgium

Marea | Giulia Martinelli | 2022 | Switzerland

META | Antje Heyn | 2022 | Germany

Mom is always right | Marie Urbánková | 2022 | Czech Republic

Patouille and the parachute seeds | Inès Bernard-Espina, Mélody Boulissière, Clémentine Campos | 2021 | France

Reflection | Sanna de Vries | 2021 | Netherlands

Snail’s breakfast | Eugeniy Fadeyev | 2022 | Russian Federation

The Boy and the Elephant | Sonia Gerbeaud | 2022 | France

The Hand and the Egg | Fatemeh Gharavi Manjili | 2021 | Iran

The Turnip | Piret Sigus, Silja Saarepuu | 2022 | Estonia

Trails of the Morning | Maša Avramović | 2021 | France

14.06.2022

TAFF IS LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS!

Our volunteer application is now open! We warmly welcome you to be a part of the festival 24.-28.8. You don’t have to have any specific education or previous experience for most of the job, we’ll brief you. Check out the different job descriptions below.

We provide you with an awesome, communal experience, free entrance to the screenings outside your shifts, food & beverages and an afterparty at the end of the festival. You’ll also get a reference letter if you wish so.

Our aim is to have a relaxed, cosy & safe event for everyone, our visitors and our volunteers.  We wish to get your work input for 3 shifts / approximately 15 hours, rest of the time you are free to enjoy the festival atmosphere. You can also let us know in the application form if you’d like to be in the same shift with a friend.

THE APPLICATION FORM

Please note that with this form TAFF (Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry) gathers information about volunteer applicants. The information is only accessible to festival employees and is kept only for as long as necessary. Information is not given out to third parties. 

If you have any questions, please drop us an email at info@taff.fi .

JOB DESCRIPTIONS:

• Set up  / close down / cleaning / decorating:

Setting up the venue, bringing the festival atmosphere with decorations.

• Tech:

Making sure the films are running smoothly

• Runner:

Runner does whatever is needed at the moment

• ​​Ticket sales / info:

Selling tickets and merchandise, answering questions and providing customer service

• Screening presenter / door manager:

Checking tickets at the door, making sure everything is in order at the venue, presenting the screening

• Host

Hosting our international guests and helping them during festival. We are looking for people with good English skills, but proficiency in other languages is a plus.

• Security:

Securing the evening events and helping our guests with issues that arise in them. Official licence required.

• Distribution:

Handing out marketing materials around the city before the festival in August.

• Driver:

Driving things and people around the city. B-licence required.

• Photographer:

Taking and editing photographs during the festival. Own equipment required. We hope you’d send a compact portfolio to info@taff.fi .

09.06.2022

TAFF 2022 is on its way!

The most charming international animation film festival in Finland, Turku Animated Film Festival (TAFF), will be held again 24.–28.8.2022!

After two unusual summers, we can finally invite all our international friends, fans and guests to join us in the cultural complex of Manilla to enjoy the most interesting fresh works of animation. As usual TAFF will be a hearty mix of fresh and diverse animation films and side events by the Aura river.

Our festival programme is currently taking its final shape, but follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates on the festival and sneak peeks for this year’s films.

See you in August!

Producer

Anna Jauhola

anna@taff.fi

Creative Director

Joni Männistö

joni@taff.fi

Publicist

Marja Ahtola

marja@taff.fi

10.04.2022

The call for entries for the 7th edition of Turku Animated Film Festival has closed. In total 2140 films were submitted – a great number that will keep our festival management busy for a while.

Big thanks for all the submissions, which we’re looking forward to going through!

TAFF takes place in the hometown of the renowned Turku Arts Academy. Our venue is a beautifully restored old factory milieu by the River Aura in Turku, Finland. TAFF is organized by the non-profit Association Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry.

See you in Turku in August!

06.01.2022

Call for Entries!

The seventh edition of the Turku Animated Film Festival will be held again in Turku, Finland, August 24-28, 2022, presenting dozens of screenings during five days.

Submissions for TAFF 2022 are open until March 31.

The competitions for animated shorts will be held again in 2022. For the International Competition, International Student Film Competition, TAFF Junior Competition and National Competition we are looking for original, bold, uncompromising & inventive animated shorts under 30 minutes to compete for Grand Prix, Best Professional Film, Best Student Film, Tough Eye award, TAFF Junior Award, Main Prize in National Competition and Audience award in International Competition. In addition, the festival programme consists of a seductive selection of carefully selected special programme.

The Competition is open for short animated films that have been completed after 1st of January 2021.

TAFF takes place in the hometown of the renowned Turku Arts Academy. Our venue is a beautifully restored old factory milieu by the River Aura in Turku, Finland. TAFF is organized by the non-profit Association Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry.

30.08.2021

Thank you for TAFF 2021!

With the traditional ‘Audience favorites’ and ‘Winners’ -screenings, this year’s TAFF, the 5th edition of the festival, came to an end last night. Although organizing TAFF was quite a rollercoaster this year, we managed to create a safe, collective and joyful event in the end!

What we missed in this year’s festive side events, we luckily gained from our extensive and diverse program. This year’s films were exceptionally high quality and we got to enjoy the world-class animation as much with our souls as we did with our eyes. We got to see many touching, charming and amusing films that will tickle our minds even after the festival.Our warmest thank you to all the wonderful animators and filmmakers whose work we were honored to show.

TAFF 2021’s Grand Prix went to Soetkin Verstegen’s stunning Freeze Frame that creates a study of animation, and film, as an artform within it’s freezing narrative. Read more about all the winner films here.

We’d like to thank our judges, the board of Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry, staff and all of our volunteers as well as Rajupaja Oy, Scene – Turku European Film City, Kirjakahvila Turku, AB Dance Company and Finnish Animation Guild for their cooperation.
Thank you Arts Promotion Center Finland, Cultural Committee of Turku, Finnish Cultural Foundation and Pro Manillasäätiö for financial support.
And of course we’d love to thank all of our wonderful festivalgoers, you are what makes TAFF the festival it is!

See you all next year!

28.08.2021

The winners of TAFF 2021 are awarded!

The best films of Turku Animated Film Festival 2021 have been chosen! Altogether six films were awarded; each affected the viewers and judges in a special way.

Grand Prix

Freeze Frame – Soetkin Verstegen

“A spectacular film about film. Deep and beautiful piece, that illuminates our understanding of the world and the meaning of life frame by frame.” 

National Competition

Plunger (Karhupumppu) – Lauri Ketonen, Konsta Verta

“The film is at the same time of this world and detached from it. It creates a space-like place where inventive animation tells a lot with less and the sound milieu takes the viewer to the core of events. The film tells the story of breaking the routines in an identifiable manner and asks the fundamental question: is my life crap or am I the crap in my life?”

Best professional film

Precious – Paul Mas

“A touching portrayal of a little child’s desire to belong and the realities of life that the child is forced to absorb. Wonderful, functional character design.”

Best student film

Hide ‘n Seek – Barbora Halířová

“Insightful, magnificent animating and clever narration. The film is a wild merriment of metaphors where children’s game of hide and seek is a masquerade of a whole lifetime.”  

Tough Eye Award

Night Bus – Joe Hsieh

“Dramaturgically strong, suspenseful film noir, that powers through all the way to its cathartic end.”

TAFF Junior Award

Gon, the Little Fox – Takeshi Yashiro

“Impressively controlled storytelling in a visually dazzling world, where the masterfully crafted and designed puppets bring the tragic and touching story to life.”

Audience Award

Precious – Paul Mas

26.08.2021

Sold-out screenings

Updated Fri 27.8. 10:39

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, the capacity of our audiences is exceptionally small this year. Some of our screenings have been sold out and not everyone willing has been able to buy tickets in-person at our festival location. Please buy tickets (soon!) beforehand from our webshop for screenings that interest you, especially arriving in pairs or in groups, to ensure your place in the audience!

You will see each screening’s status on their page and here we also collect our screenings that have sold out.

Currently sold-out screenings:

Friday:

International Competition 6, 17:00

Thursday:

International Competition 3, 16:00

National Competition, 20:00

Wednesday:

International Competition 2, 20:00

24.08.2021

TAFF kicks off on Wednesday!

Turku Animated Film Festival will be held for the fifth time on August 25-29, 2021 in the beautiful milieu of Manilla. This year the festival will be enjoyed mainly by our local guests and the main focus of our program in the midst of restrictions is in our amazing films! This year’s festival has short animated films from 24 different countries that have been selected from more than 3,900 submitted titles.

The number of screenings in the International Competition was increased for this year by two additional screenings, as a result of which 59 competitive films have been divided into seven screenings with different content. Our program also has a National Competition as well as three Junior-screenings of movies suitable for our younger audience.

In addition to the competitions, this year’s TAFF will feature music videos at Playlist-screenings as well as animated documentaries at Documentary Panorama. For professionals we have TAFF Pro on Friday afternoon.

You can find our complete timetable and buy the tickets for the screenings from here. On Wednesday, the opening day of the festival, an outdoor screening will be held in the Brinkkala courtyard, to which there is free admission.

09.08.2021

How is the festival organization going?

Now that new Covid-19 cases are increasing and the region of Southwest Finland has entered the spread phase, we must introduce the most limited festival arrangements so that we can still organize a delightful and safe festival for everyone at the end of the month.

“Due to changing constraints and the tediously evolving corona situation, we still have to wait a moment with schedules and the opening of the ticket shop. In the meantime, we hope everyone will take care of themselves and each other and get vaccinated if possible,” says festival director Kimmo Sillanmikko.

We have added a Safety-page to our website, where we will update the festival’s safety instructions according to the information provided by the authorities. We hope everyone joining the festival will read them through beforehand. We will also inform those who buy our tickets and our volunteers of the current instructions by e-mail before the start of the event.

With the current arrangements, we follow the Southwest Finland Regional State Administrative Agency’s restrictions set on 4.8. Naturally, we will react if the situation still changes. With these restrictions in place, we will only sell a limited number of tickets to the screenings to ensure that safety distance is possible. During the festival, we take special care of the cleanliness of the premises and offer our guests several opportunities to take care of their hand hygiene. We oblige visitors and staff to use a face mask throughout the festival.

Let’s stay safe and see you on August 25-29!

23.07.2021

The films for the competition series have been selected

This year, the festival will be held mainly among domestic guests and participants, but our festivalgoers will still be able to enjoy cinematic experiences created around the world. This year’s series will feature films submitted in 2020 and 2021 and they have been selected from more than 3,900 short animated films. Although the number of titles in the main competition series were increased this year, a lot of great works and master-level creators were left out.

“The choices are becoming very challenging. This time around the number of films was also overwhelming,” commented TAFF’s artistic director, Joni Männistö, on the competition selections. “There are more and more great films, and it feels like they’re also longer than before. Students also make a lot of 7-10 minute movies.”

Fresh names and Oscar nominees

A total of 59 films from 24 countries were selected for the main competition series of the festival. The selections include new films from Bastien Dubois, Uri and Michelle Kranot and Miloš Tomić, who have previously visited TAFF. Animations from Adrien Merigeau and Daria Kashcheeva, both Oscar nominees, will also be seen as part of this year’s competition series. Eating in the dark, directed by Inari Sirola, a graduate of the Royal College of Arts, brings Finnish touch to the international competition.

In addition to the main competition series, the competition program also includes two series reserved for Finnish animators as well as for films suited for the younger audience. The domestic series features works from both students and better-known film makers. Familiar names for experienced TAFF visitors include for example Tatu Pohjavirta and Kaisa Penttilä, whose work Maihinnousu is also seen in the TAFF Junior series that’s suitable for children.

International competition:

All Those Sensations in My Belly | Marko Djeska | 2020 | Croatia
And then the bear | Agnès Patron | 2019 | France
Anna, cat-and-mouse | Varya Yakovleva | 2020 | Russian Federation
Arka | Natko Stipaničev | 2020 | Croatia
Awkward | Nata Metlukh | 2020 | United States
Ben and Kat or Kat and Ben Go To Little Lake Fountain | Elizabeth Whitfield & Nicholas Dimas | 2019 | United States
Carrousel | Jasmine Elsen | 2020 | Belgium
Cosmonaut | Kaspar Jancis | 2020 | Estonia
Daughter | Daria Kashcheeva | 2019 | Czech Republic
Displaced | Laura Benavides Ramirez | 2020 | Estonia
Easter Eggs | Nicolas Keppens | 2020 | Belgium
Eating in the Dark | Inari Sirola | 2021 | United Kingdom
Ecorce | Samuel Patthey & Silvain Monney | 2020 | Switzerland
Film Found | Claudia Munksgaard-Palmqvist | 2020 | Denmark
Freeze frame | Soetkin Verstegen | 2019 | Belgium
Genius Loci | Adrien Mérigeau | 2019 | France
Happiness | Andrey Zhidkov | 2020 | Russian Federation
Hide N Seek | Barbora Halířová | Czech Republic
Hit and Run | Hannah Brewerton | 2020 | United Kingdom
Homeless Home | Alberto Vázquez | 2020 | France
I Want A Sun In My Pocket | Laui Laessa | 2019 | Costa Rica
I Wish | Nadia Goldman | 2021 | Russian Federation
Lursaguak. Scenes from life | Izibene Oñederra | 2019 | Spain
Marbles | Natalia Spychala | 2020 | Poland
MATE | Chaerin Im | 2019 | United States
My Exercise | Atsushi Wada | 2020 | Japan
Naked | Kirill Khachaturov | 2020 | Russian Federation
Navozande, the musician | Reza Riahi | 2020 | France
Night Bus | Joe Hsieh | 2020 | Taiwan
Night Shift | Linda Stūre | 2019 | Latvia
Nod. Wink. Horse. | Ollie Magee | 2020 | United Kingdom
Poum Poum! | Damien Tran | 2021 | France
Precious | Paul Mas | 2020 | France
Purpleboy | Alexandre Siqueira | 2019 | Portugal
Push This Button if You Begin to Panic | Gabriel Böhmer | 2020 | United Kingdom
Radiovision – Mihovil Logar Speaking | Miloš Tomić | 2019 | Serbia
Room with a Sea View | Leonid Shmelkov | 2020 | Estonia
Serial Parallels | Max Hattler | 2019 | Hong Kong
Sh_t Happens | Michaela Mihalyi & David Štumpf | 2019 | Czech Republic
Sheep, Wolf and a Cup of Tea… | Marion Lacourt | 2019 | France
Socrates’ Adventures in the Under Ground | Aria Covamonas | 2020 | Mexico
Souvenir Souvenir | Bastien Dubois | 2020 | France
Symbiosis | Nadja Andrasev | 2019 | France
Thank you | Julian Gallese | 2020 | United Kingdom
The Chimney Swift | Frédéric Schuld | 2020 | Germany
The Dream Report | Jack O’Shea | 2019 | Ireland
The Hangman at Home | Michelle & Uri Kranot | 2020 | Denmark
The Man and the Head | Nilas Røpke Driessen | 2019 | Denmark
The piece of tail in the mouth of the snake that bites its own tail | Pablo M. Ballarín | 2019 | Estonia
The Stork | Morten Tšinakov & Lucija Mrzljak | 2020 | Estonia
The Surrogate | Stas Santimov | 2020 | Ukraine
The Zucchini’s Smile | Lucas Ansart | 2020 | France
TIE | Alexandra Ramires ( Xá ) | 2020 | Portugal, France
Vadim on a walk | Sasha Svirsky | 2021 | Russian Federation
Washing Machine | Alexandra Májová | 2020 | Czech Republic
We Have Everything | Francisca Villela | 2020 | Chile
What resonates in silence | Marine Blin | 2020 | France
Why Slugs Have No Legs | Aline Höchli | 2019 | Switzerland
WOULD YOU PLEASE? | Ada Güvenir | 2020 | Belgium

TAFF Junior:

A Stone in the Shoe | Eric Montchaud | 2020 | France, Switzerland
Away | Mathilde Pepinster | 2019 | Belgium
Beginning of the Light | Anastasia Melikhova | 2020 | Russian Federation
El Mago Georges | Katalin Egely | 2020 | Argentina
Gon, the Little Fox | Takeshi Yashiro | 2019 |Japan
Kiko and the Animals | Yawen Zheng | 2020 | France
La Bestia | Marlijn van Nuenen & Ram Tamez & Alfredo Gerard Kuttikatt | 2020 | France
Matilda and the Spare Head | Ignas Meilūnas | 2020 | Lithuania
Orgiastic Hyper-Plastic | Paul Bush | 2020 | Denmark, United Kingdom
Pearl Diver | Margrethe Danielsen | 2020 | Norway
Pishto’s Birthday | Sonya Kendel | 2020 | Russian Federation
Sweater | Zilai Feng | 2019 | United States
The Kite | Martin Smatana | 2019 | Czech Republic
The Landing | Kaisa Penttilä | 2021 | Finland
Tide | Joana Rosa Bragança | 2019 | Portugal
TIES | Dina Velikovskaya | 2019 | Germany

National competition:

Afterparty | Lauri Pulkkinen & Hertta Lehtovirta & Sanna Liinamaa & Janne Häkkinen & Ulkrika Fredrikson | 2019 | Finland
All tender things | Tatu Pohjavirta | 2020 | Finland
CRAZY | Inari Sirola | 2019 | United Kingdom
Do I know what I’m looking for? | Ylva-Lii Wahlström | 2019 | Finland
Eating in the Dark | Inari Sirola | 2021 | United Kingdom
Hello | Mikko Aumala | 2020 | Finland
Maybe Ur A Star | Aliina Kauranne | 2019 | Finland
Patent Nr. 314805 | Mika Taanila | 2020 | Finland
Plunger | Lauri Ketonen & Konsta Verta | 2019 | Finland
Rinse and Shine | Iiris Korjus & Katariina Haukka | 2021 | Finland
Taiga | Leena Lehti | 2021 | Finland
The Big Day | Joonas Ennala | 2020 | Finland
The Devil Knocks Thrice | Pauli Setälä | 2020 | Finland
The Landing | Kaisa Penttilä | 2021 | Finland
Treasure Hunt | Paula Garcia | 2020 | Finland
UV-Fright | Ylva-Lii Wahlström | 2019 | Finland
What Time Is | Niina Suominen | 2020 | Finland

22.07.2021

TAFF is looking for volunteers!

Our volunteer application is now open! We warmly welcome you to be a part of the festival 25.-29.8. You don’t have to have any specific education or previous experience, we’ll brief you to all the jobs. Check out the different job descriptions below.

We provide you with an awesome, communal experience, free entrance to the screenings outside your shifts, food & beverages and an afterparty at the end of the festival. You’ll also get a reference letter if you wish so.

Our aim is to have a relaxed, cosy & safe event for everyone, our visitors and our volunteers.  We wish to get your work input for approximately 10-12 hours, rest of the time you are free to enjoy the festival atmosphere. You can also let us know in the application form if you’d like to be in the same shift with a friend.

THE APPLICATION FORM

Please note that with this form TAFF (Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry) gathers information about volunteer applicants. The information is only accessible to festival employees and is kept only for as long as necessary. Information is not given out to third parties. 

After you have filled in the application form, we’ll be in touch in 3 weekdays. If you have any questions, please drop us an email at info@taff.fi.

Job descriptions:

• Set up  / close down / cleaning / decorating:

Setting up the venue, bringing the festival atmosphere with decorations.

• Technique:

Making sure the films are running smoothly

• Runner:

Runner does whatever is needed at the moment

• ​​Ticket sales / info:

Selling tickets and merchandise, answering questions and providing customer service

• Screening presenter / door manager:

Checking tickets at the door, making sure everything is in order at the venue, presenting the screening

• Distribution:

Handing out marketing materials around the city before the festival in August.

• Driver:

Driving things and people around the city. B-licence needed.

12.07.2021

One week left to apply for Portaali-screening!

Are you still hesitant if you can host a Portaali-screening? Did you have questions while filling out the application? Here we try to answer some questions that have come up:

Q: How long does the screening last?

A: The screening lasts 70 min and is shown late at night after sunset. This means that at earliest, the show would start between ten and eleven and end around midnight.

Q: My friends and I haven’t been to art events before and don’t understand anything about video art or animation, can I still apply to host a screening?

A: Of course! With Portaali-screenings, you can have a cultural experience with the people you enjoy in a familiar environment so it’s perfect for first-timers. The films can be enjoyed (or hated!) without prior knowledge of video art or animation, but we will also be happy to tell you more about them. You can read more about our selected films this week from VAFT and TAFF’s instagram.

Q: How many people might come to my backyard if I host a Portaali-screening?

A: The screenings are private, so you can decide how many people and who you want to invite to the event. Only the current restrictions and the size of the screening space should be taken into account in the number of guests.

Q: How much information do I need to tell about the screening area? Can the venue be changed later if we find a more fun environment?

A: We need information about the screening environment in the application so we can evaluate how to set up the projection equipment there. This also means that the venue cannot be changed later.

Q: Are there any restrictions for the screening venues?

A: The venues should be large enough to accommodate projection equipment and the audience. This area can be around the size of a large garage or more. The venue needs to have an electrical outlet (we will bring extension cords if necessary).

As the screenings are held late in the evening, the screenings must be approved by the housing association if necessary.

If you have not yet found the answer to your question, send an e-mail to annu@taff.fi.

05.07.2021

Invite Portaali-screening to you

The Ääriö Association, which organizes the Video Art Festival Turku, and the Turku Film Events Association, which organizes the Turku Animated Film Festival, will join forces in the summer of 2021 with portable Portaali- outdoor screenings. The screenings are free of charge and take place in a backyard, a park or anywhere outdoors in the Turku-area. Through the portal, the viewer can immerse themselves in a whole new world through video and animation art in a safe and communal environment. Portaali is a gateway to new dimensions and the themes of the shows reflect escapism, fantasy and diving into imaginative places.

Anyone can apply for the screening via the form below. The application is open 5.–19. July 2021. We will notify all applicants about the selections by 30.7. The selection emphasizes open, accessible and safe venues that are spread widely throughout Turku. The host of the screening takes care of inviting their close circle to the screening and providing a required number of seats for them. Portaali comes with projection and sound equipment, a screen and the 70-minute programme of video art and animation. Outdoor screenings will take place on 19.–22.8. after sunset and the person ordering the show must have a permit to use the space, for example from a housing association. Current hygiene and safety guidelines must be followed in the event.

Ääriö ry is a non-profit association from Turku aiming to promote the visibility of audiovisual art. The association organizes various contemporary art events, most notably Video Art Festival Turku (VAFT), which is held once a year.

Turku Film Events Association’s Turku Animated Film Festival, more commonly known as TAFF, will be held for the fifth time in the Finnish animation capital Turku at the end of August. TAFF was founded to promote animated film culture both in Finland and internationally.

In 2021, Turku celebrates the tenth anniversary of the city’s year as the European Capital of Culture. Portaali is part of the anniversary program.

APPLICATION FORM

Please note that with this form Ääriö ry and Turun elokuvatapahtumat ry gather information about applicants for the Portal-screenings. The information is only accesible to festival (VAFT and TAFF) employees and is kept only for as long as necessary.

Questions?

About applying:

Annu Suvanto, producer (TAFF)

annu@taff.fi

050 364 3683

Media inquiries:

Rose Pietola, festival director (VAFT)

videoartfestivalturku@gmail.com

Kimmo Sillanmikko, festival director (TAFF)

kimmo@taff.fi

01.07.2021

Here comes TAFF again!

Finland’s most charming international animation film festival, Turku Animated Film Festival (TAFF), will be held again 25.–29.8.2021!

After an exceptional year and the introduction of TAFF Pro Festival, this summer we’ll be able to enjoy the festival in person with all of our audience. As usual TAFF will be a hearty mix of fresh and diverse animation films and side events in the cultural complex of Manilla.

Our festival programme is currently taking its final shape, but follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates on the festival and sneak peeks for this year’s films. For a head start to the festival TAFF and Video Art Festival Turku (VAFT) have joined forces to present a portable Portal-screening with selection of animated films and video art pieces. More info on the screenings and application will be coming soon.

See you in August!