The People of Animation Festival is celebrating its second edition in Leuven from 12 until 14 May. At this event which celebrates animated films, Poland will play a key role with filmscreenings, workshops and exhibitions for young people and adults. Polish artistsfrom the field of animated film, such as Krzysztof Rynkiewicz, Aleksandra Chrapowicka, Kaja Renkas, Bugosław Zmudziński and Robert Sowa, will be present. Apart from animated films from Poland and other countries, there will be a special focus on virtual reality animation and the themeof children’s rights, inspired by the Polish doctor and pedagogue Janusz Korczak.

+++ Have a look at the website www.paf2017.com 

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
>>> Leuven (KU Leuven, Kinepolis, Cinema ZED and Ter Beuke)
>>> Friday 12 May until Sunday 14 May
>>> €5 for the opening evening on 12 May
>>> Free entrance for the rest of the festival

PROGRAMME
          Retrospective of Krzysztof Rynkiewicz         
Professor Krzysztof Rynkiewicz, head of the department of animated film at the National Film School Schiller in Łódź will showcase a selection of his individual projects, children’s films and experimental films. His lecture will be illustrated with film extracts and a screening of Diary Written Almost Every Day.
+++ Have a look at the full programme.

>>> KU Leuven, Departement Letteren, MSI1 01.12 (Blijde inkomststraat 21, 3000 Leuven) – see map
>>> Friday 12 May 2017 – from 11:00 until 13:00

          Presentation of “Children’s rights”         

The Polish artists Kaja Renkas and Iwona Pom are instigating an active dialogue between various ethnic minorities in Leuven. In their capacity as visual artists and graphic designers, they intend to plan and run a series of creative workshops based on projects co-created by children from different minorities. Together, they will create a short animated film which tells a story about one of the Children’s Rights. The outcome of their creative sessions will be published as part of the People of Animation festival in Leuven.
+++ Find more detailed information about the project 

>>> Kinepolis (Bondgenotenlaan 145-149, 3000 Leuven) – see map
>>> Friday 12 May 2017 – from 20:15 until 20:30

          Animation films for children         
The Polish director Aleksandra Chrapowicka will screen three of her animated films for children: Where is a Fairy-Tale? (2009, 11′), The Three Cats (2015, 11’37”) and The Little Wolf Lupi and the Little Sheep Bobek (2016, 10′).  
+++ Read the description of the films.

>>> School Ter Beuke (Rerum Novarumlaan 1, 3000 Leuven) – see map
>>> Saturday 13 May 2017 – from 14:00 until 14:30

          Workshops for children (8 to 14 years)         
During the workshop “Digital animation on Layers“, organised by the Polish director Aleksandra Chrapowicka, children can choose their favourite character from Chrapowicka’s films and create a new story with them which takes place in Leuven. Based on their own plot, and working with the artist A.Chrapowicka, they will choose a favourite animation technique (pop, layer, cut-out) to perform their animated film. Digital motion design and voice recordings will be added as the finishing touch.
The second workshop “VR animation”, conducted by Iwona Pom, lets children discover the best example of panoramic animation and create a new scenario adapted to this new medium. This will be a 360° video for the PAF website.
Finally, there is the workshop “Scenario & Storyboard for Animation“. “I see it all in my head”, these famous words once uttered by the famous film director Alfred Hitchcock are the source of inspiration for working creatively with filmmaker Magdalena Wleklik. The workshop starts by asking participants to search for your best stories and then answer the question: how can you tell this story? You construct the entire drama from the beginning to the happy end. We use ready-made images, drawings or photographs to express our sensitivity and say something important about the world around us. This is the way to see the film in your head, just like Alfred Hitchcock said.

>>> School Ter Beuke (Rerum Novarumlaan 1, 3000 Leuven) – see map
>>> Saturday 13 May 2017 – from 14:30 until 16:30

          Screening of Polish animation films         
The students Animation film of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, directed by Robert Sowa and Bogusław Zmudziński, Artistic Director of the animation festival Etiuda & Anima in Cracow, will present their films.
The animation film studio was established in 1957 and started to teach animation at art academies in Poland. It became a place where artists, painters, printers and sculptors could work on animated film and enrich their experiences. This studio developed into the current faculty of animation film where you can obtain a Master’s degree. Every year, about three to seven film students graduatefrom the institution. They then take their films to various Polish and international film festivals such as the Berlin Film Festival, Cannes, Annecy, New York, Zagreb, Hiroshima and many more.

>>> Cinema ZED (Andreas Vesaliusstraat 9c, 3000 Leuven) – see map
>>> Sunday 14 May 2017 – from 16:00 until 17:00

          EXPO opening         
The artist Kaja Renkas is joining forces with Janusz Korczak Belgium for an exhibition about poster design and children’s rights. The exhibition opens a long-term artistic and educational project, together with designer Iwona Pom. The world of Kaja Renkas’ posters and playful collages tells a story of an imperfect memory in which badly-linked objects run through each other, perception is interrupted, reality distorted, skin becomes transparant, and all beings undergo fragmentation and metamorphoses. At the base of her work lies a sensual and reflective visual fiction of intrigue and mystery which seduces the spectator to the point of voyeurism.

>>> Cinema ZED (Andreas Vesaliusstraat 9c, 3000 Leuven) – zie kaart
>>> Sunday 14 May 2017 – 17:00 > 18:30

Krzysztof RYNKIEWICZ studied at the School of Visual Arts in Łódź from 1973 until 1978, where he obtained a degree in graphic design. From 1977 until 1987, he worked as a stage designer and actor at Teatr 77 in Łódź. Since 1987, he has been working at the animation film studio SEMAFOR, where he created 3 films. At STO FILMS in Łódź, he made 34 episodes for an animated serial for children. He is currently a professor at the High School for Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź. He teaches film animation and special effects and is head of the animation studio of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź.

Aleksandra CHRAPOWICKA was born in Łódź. She studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź and film animation at The Film School in Łódź, where she is currently giving lectures. She is interested in films dedicated to children. Her film credits are as follows Where is a Fairy- Tale? (2009), The Three Cats (2015), The Little Wolf Lupi and the Little Sheep Bobek (2016) and The Dreams of Teddy Bear Walenty (2017). For some years, she has been making animations to accompany music which is mostly played live by different philharmonic orchestras in Poland.

Robert SOWA is a pedagogue, director and lecturer at the faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. He is also dedicated to painting and photography. Robert Sowa has directed three films Fryzjer (Hairdresser, 1997), Portret we wnętrzu (Portrait in myself, 1999) and Sekwens (Sequences, 2007). His films have received many prizes at festivals in Poland and abroad.