MOME alumni presented at two of the world’s most prestigious international film festivals

Date: 2023.05.05

There is a place in Central Eastern Europe with a straight line to international film festivals, and each year, a number of animation directors from MOME’s Animation programme make a debut at prominent international festivals. This spring, animation shorts by Hungarian filmmakers will be featured at both the 76th Cannes Film Festival and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in addition to regional festivals. 27, a surrealistic reflection by Flóra Anna Buda on the problems of the twentysomething generation, is included in the official selection of both festivals, while Zénó Mira’s graphically expressive Fox Tossing will premiere at the latter.

Flóra Anna Buda’s animation short 27 has been shortlisted for the short animation films section of the Cannes Film Festival from over 4,000 entries from 12 countries, and chronicles the journey of a girl in her late twenties to find herself, in a surrealistic style, yet around highly realistic problems.

The protagonist, 27-year-old Alice, is still living at home with her parents, and spends most of her time daydreaming. Inspired by events of the filmmaker’s own life, the story straddles the line between reality and fantasy, and reflects on both individual and collective challenges faced by young adults, including the ambivalent relationship to intimacy and the housing crisis.

Flóra Anna Buda is not an unfamiliar name in the international festival circuit. After graduating from MOME’s Animation MA programme in 2018, her diploma film Entropy won the Teddy Award for Best Short Film in 2019 at the Berlinale. The first accolade 27, a co-production between the French Miyu Productions and the Hungarian Boddah, received came in the form of the Ciclic Prize of the Annecy MIFA Pitch Forum, enabling her to perfect the film concept in France over a period of 6 months.

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Europe’s most prestigious animation event will start on 11 June, just a few weeks after the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to Flóra Anna Buda’s film shortlisted for the animation short section, it will also feature a diploma film by Zénó Mira, another MOME Animation alumnus. His black-and-white, uniquely styled Fox Tossing is included in the diploma film section along with 46 other entries.

It revisits fox tossing, a particularly brutal form of entertainment pursued by European nobility in the 17th and 18th centuries, involving launching live foxes and other small animals high into the air. This savage pastime, favoured by the aristocracy in the Baroque era and long fallen into oblivion, is presented in black and white using an expressive style by the filmmaker, who drew and animated the entire film himself.

Mira Zénó graduated from MOME’s Animation MA programme in 2020, and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies. He has been working as an animation and graphic designer for eight years and is also active as an artist. This diverse interest and his passion for experimental animation is evident in Fox Tossing, which took over three years to complete.

In the weeks to come, animation festivals in the region will feature several animation short films with ties to MOME Anim, including The Garden of Heart by alumnus Olivér Hegyi at the Animafest in Zagreb, and films by five current and one former students at the Fest Anca Festival in Slovakia.

Autumn 2023 will mark a new chapter in the history of MOME Animation, which has seen major international success in recent years. The internationally competitive programme will continue in English language and offer additional specialisations, such as Animation, Video Game, and Immersive Storytelling.

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