The Netherlands’ energetic, artistic and not-to-be-missed animation event Kaboom Festival is ready to present another exciting program for its hybrid 2022 event, themed “Myths & Fairytales”. Dutch fans (and accredited professionals) can visit this “Animation Valhalla” in Utrecht and Amsterdam, while outside the borders audiences can tune in online from March 28-April 3.
Among the program highlights are the Feature Films in Competition program and Best of the Season which flaunt the variety of voices, stories and styles that have emerged in this year’s long-form feats. For example:
- Where is Anne Frank? | Ari Folman | The story of Anne Frank remains a crucial one to tell. We can all agree on that. So, dear parents, arrange a special family night out to educate ánd entertain your children with this wonderful take on a diary that must never be forgotten!
- Belle | Mamoru Hosoda | Maximalist at its core, Belle is a film of grand ideas, of familiar themes, and of the good old beloved anime sentimentality. Yet, for all its lush visuals and extravaganza, the film is also a heartfelt commentary on how we deal with pain and sorrow.
- Bob Spit – We Do Not Like People | Cesar Cabral | Building on a short film and a TV series, the film is a weird, post-modern, even philosophical rollercoaster embracing the subversive, countercultural and anarchic spirit of Angeli’s original cartoons. The question remains: can Bob escape Angeli’s brain and teach him a lesson for killing him off?
- Flee | Jonas Poher Rasmussen | The triple Oscar-nominated documentary is the engrossing and unflinching story of Afghan refugee Amin, who fled his country in the ’80s to live as an openly gay man. It’s also the true story of the director’s close friend.
The competition lineup will also present Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, My Sunny Maad, Poupelle of Chimney Town, Archipel and a black and white double bill of The Timekeepers of Eternity and Insect. The Best-of selection also includes Cryptozoo, Wolfwalkers and The Ape Star.
The Shorts in Competition section includes seven themed programs in addition to two collections each of documentary shorts and Dutch shorts, plus commissioned films, “New Directions,” “Offbeat Shorts” and the ultimate “Bonkers Shorts.” Meanwhile, the Immersive Media program will include a Best of Kaboom 2021 retrospective and six VR projects in competition, including the mesmerizing bird’s eye view of post-climate change Europe presented in Swarm.
Tied to the 2022 Kaboom theme, Myths & Fairytales is an out-of-competition lineup of films that explore our shared yet diverse storytelling roots, from the ’80s psychedelia of Marcell Jankovics’ Son of the White Mare to the cutting-edge, yet antique and romantic, silhouette animation of Michel Ocelot’s Princes & Princesses. Shorts collections will also present a timeline of both Fairytales from Around the World, Dark Fairytales, stories of inclusion and exclusion, and a spotlight on oft ignored folklore and fairytales from indigenous people and ethnic communities around the world, such as the Hawaiian mo’olelo of Kapaemahu, the story of two-spirit beings with healing powers.
The festival will also spotlight on Estonian studio Nukufilm and its legacy of stop-motion animation, including the children’s feature Captain Morten and the Spider Queen, the surreal musical romance-adventure Lisa Limone and Maroc Orange and the studio’s award-winning shorts — including Riho Uhnt’s hairy exploration of power dynamics, The Master, about a dog and a monkey whose human doesn’t return home, and must find a way to live together.
For in-person attendees, Kaboom is hosting Installations, ranging from a comics collection about animal rights, illustrated observations on dating and absurd pop-up drawing shelters for scribblers to spy on their subjects from. Mannenmythen will definitely offer food for thought, as siblings Max and Tosca seek to explode myths of traditional, unchanging masculinity and give men an overdue chance to emancipate their identity from cultural expectations. (You go, guy.)
Tickets for Kaboom Festival 2022 go on sale in mid-February. kaboomfestival.nl
