More than screenings at Countryside Animafest Cyprus

It is almost time for Salamiou village to fill with film screenings, videographers and animation enthusiasts as the Countryside Animafest Cyprus Festival gets ready for its 21^st edition. Held from August 10 till the 13, the 2022 festival will feature some 41 films from 21 countries but also an exciting programme of parallel events, screenings, exhibitions and participatory activities.

In between the daily animation screenings, two art exhibitions will take place at the festival’s two exhibition spaces. Jury-member, award-winning animation filmmaker and illustrator, Lucija Mrzljak will present a unique picture book exhibition with a selection of her work. Lucija started as a caricaturist at political magazines such as Le Monde Diplomatique and Newsweek and later the legendary Estonian children’s magazine Täheke started to frequently publish her drawings. She illustrated several books for children in collaboration with Estonian and Croatian authors and exhibited illustrations at numerous group exhibitions throughout Europe and Russia before presenting her work to Cyprus audiences.

Also hosting an exhibition is Katerina Attalidou who, in collaboration with The Island Club, will display a painting showcase titled Melusine accompanied by live story-telling by Myrto Papachirstophorou. Both exhibitions will be open to the public throughout all of the festival days from 10am to 10pm.

Adding to the festival’s agenda are four workshops which each have something planned for all tastes and ages. Stefanos Karampampas’ workshop on Thursday at 11am is titled Making a Birdhouse. In the two-hour workshop, Stefanos will teach children how to make bird feeders made of wood and recyclable material.

On Friday at 11am, Lucija will return with a session titled Drawing with Sound. The goal of this workshop is to explore connections between music and drawing practices. Participants will experiment with creative listening, intuitive drawing, music improvisation and exploring alternative perceptions of sound.

Up next is another creative workshop for young participants with guest Elizabeth Hobbs and the Animafest team sharing the tips and tricks of animation. The Saturday morning workshop is dedicated to the festival’s increasing young audience and will include playful techniques and optical devices which are just a few of the practices that the festival team will enchant young participants with.

The final workshop for this year is a stencil art session with artist Vasilis Vasiliou. Taking place on Saturday afternoon, between 5pm and 7pm, the visual and street artist who goes by the name Twenty Three will introduce participants to stencil principles.

But that’s not all! Beyond the workshops and screenings, Animafest also has daily music performances. It’s no festival without live music, is it? And so, the four-piece band The Circle & The Boat will be the first to take the stage and welcome festival-goers on Wednesday evening with a live set at 7pm. On the following evening, Vlamis and the Suns will perform a mini-concert as the father and sons trio take the floor.

Friday night has something more traditional in store and two performing bands. Up first will be Michalis Terlikkas with Mousa Lyra in concert at 7pm, and at 7.50pm the beloved Cypriot band Monsieur Doumani will lift the spirits. Wrapping up four days of fun and the festival’s 21^st edition will be DJs Cotsios o Pikatillis and Charis Charis who will play a late-night set at Saturday’s closing event at 11pm.

Countryside Animafest Cyprus Views of the World

Annual festival with screenings and parallel activities. August 10-13. Salamiou village, Paphos. www.animafest.com.cy