Primanima is an international festival and competition of first animations, which is held every autumn in Budaörs. Its co-founders, Anna Ida Orosz and Tamás Patrovits, launched it in 2012 with the goal to provide a platform and opportunity for young animation talents to present their very first artworks, to build professional connections and join international networks. In this regard, Primanima fills a void not only in the Hungarian, but the European festival scene too.
The demand for an opportunity for young artists to show their talents is well reflected in the fact that over 700 films coming from leading animation schools and studios around the world are entered to the festival every year. The selected short films compete in three categories-student films, graduation films and first films-for the awards given by an international professional jury and the audience. The goal of the festival has always been to give an opportunity to young artists to introduce themselves to the industry. But that is not the only way Primanima approaches the new generation of professionals. Every year, we strive to create a film programme in which we can show them and the festival audience extraordinary and thought-provoking animated shorts. We hope we did well in that! We think it is important to have young talents see and hear all that is different and beautiful about various animated films created across the globe, and a festival can give the perfect opportunity for them to get to know these great experiments, with some masterpieces among them, and each other too.
The short films selected for the Young Directors Competition Programme will be judged in three categories-student films, graduation films and first films-, competing for the awards given by the professional jury and the audience. Children's films and PrimaTeen films aimed at a younger audience will have their own sections. Since the 10th Primanima, the festival also has a Masters Competition Programme focusing on creators who already have more than one or two films behind them. And at the 11th Primanima, we have introduced the peculiar Silhouettes competition programme, with thematic sections on each night of the festival, featuring experimental, provocative and divisive, subversive and unconventional animated shorts. The programme also includes feature animation films which have their Hungarian premiere at Primanima, and exciting retrospective or thematic panoramas. In addition to the screenings, visitors can enjoy animation funzones for the children, international animation and graphic workshops, forums, masterclasses, concerts and parties.
Primanima has also contributed to the realization of countless other projects over the years. Primanima Animation Funzone became a regular activity in our festival centre, the Budaörs Animation Base and Creative Space (BABtér), and our Caravan regularly receives invitations from all over the country and beyond. Graphic arts education is provided by Primanima Print House, aiming at the production of publications and art prints in the future. So we are able to say that, in addition to preparing the festival, the team dedicates the entire year to animation.