Starting Tonight In NYC: ‘Animated Spirits,’ 3 Nights of Contemporary European Animation

Starting tonight and continuing through Thursday evening, the Hungarian Cultural Center and the European National Cultural Institutes of New York will present three evenings of the latest contemporary animation from Europe. For New Yorkers who are unable to regularly attend international animation festivals, this is your best opportunity to see a top-shelf collection of new European animation, all in one place.

Now in its third year, Animated Spirits was founded by Zita Mara Vadasz, who is the director of the Hungarian Cultural Center in New York. This year’s program is the most expansive yet, featuring 44 animated shorts from 19 European Union countries.

Watch the festival trailer below:

The programs, which include both professional and student work, were curated by two well known figures in the European animation community: Anna Ida Orosz, who teaches at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Hungary and co-founded the Primanima World Festival of First Animations, and Holger Lang, a Vienna-based animation artist, filmmaker, producer, and teacher.

All the screenings are free (but require rsvp) and will be accompanied by a panel discussion with filmmakers, academics, and other industry figures.

Tonight’s opening night event begins at 7:30pm at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Manhattan (11 E. 52nd St). To rsvp, go here.

The Wednesday evening screening is being conducted in partnership with the Animation Nights New York screening series and takes place at 180 Maiden Lane in Manhattan. To attend that screening, rsvp here.

The Thursday screening begin 7pm at the Bohemian National Hall in Manhattan (321 E. 73rd St). Reserve tickets here.

For a complete line-up of films and panelists, visit the Hungarian Cultural Center website.

Image at top: “Pussy” by Renata Gąsiorowska will screen on Thursday evening.