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