Animest Turns 20 and Serves Erotica
The Animest International Animation Film Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year! It is the only OSCAR®-qualifying film festival in Romania, as well as a partner of the EMILE Awards – the European Animation Awards. Over the years, Animest has become Bucharest’s key film festival and an established name on the international animation scene thanks to its official selection, masterclasses, workshops, and, of course, its parties, concerts and curated programs.
In 2023 and 2024, festival-goers experienced Erotica Vol. 3 and Erotica Vol. 4 as part of The Night of Erotic Animation. These were curated by Jakub Spevák, programme director of Fest Anča – Slovakia’s only OSCAR®-qualifying film festival – under the titles Take Me to Your Venus and Cactus, Slug And Horny Fruits in 2023, and Hidden Desires and Hot and Cold in 2024.
Jakub, do you see erotic films as a political act? For Take Me to Your Venus you wrote:
“Big Brother is watching you and He wants to control everything you do. Especially your body. How you move it, what you do with it, what you wear on it. He monitors if you’ve had an abortion, He supervises if someone wants to transition, He commands you whom to love – and the list goes on. But your body doesn’t belong to Him. It’s yours and you should do whatever you want with it!”
This was in 2023 and I still stand by these words. In fact, I believe that since then we’ve only seen more evidence of how our bodies continue to be controlled, erased, and manipulated by this so-called Big Brother. Of course, erotic films celebrate sexuality, desire, and the body, but I can also see them as a form of protest against repressive systems rooted in discrimination and hatred – systems that deny our bodily autonomy. I believe animation can be a powerful medium for reclaiming our bodies and fully inhabiting them. It helps us break norms, challenge taboos, and push ourselves to envision something new – something beyond the horizon.
Jakub, you write screenplays, your second book was recently published, you are part of the ballroom community, and yet you dedicate most of your time to animated films. What fascinates you most about this medium?
As someone working at the intersection of various art forms, I find that animation resonates deeply with my sense of fluidity, constant change, and syncretism. It has no real borders. It shifts form, crosses boundaries, merges genres and techniques, and holds the power to imagine the unimaginable. It’s wide open – not just as a medium, but also as a community. And that’s exactly why I love it.
What was your first rendez-vous with animation?
My parents used to say that I watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs nonstop every single day when I was little. But I wasn’t obsessed with Snow White – I was fascinated by the Evil Queen. Later, I remember being drawn to other villains, perhaps because I felt a connection to their otherness and, let’s say, queerness. I recall the sea witch Ursula from The Little Mermaid and the goddess of chaos Eris from Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. Then, as a teenager, Spirited Away completely changed me and my perception of animation. Finally, during my university studies, I worked in the festival department as a distributor of short student films – and that’s when I fell in love with short animated films.
How many pairs of “dramaturgical keys” do you carry when curating films for a festival?
Hm, it really depends on the theme, the festival, the target audience, and whether it’s a retrospective, a selection of the most recent animations, or framed under a more specific umbrella. All of that influences my approach to selection. But one “dramaturgical key” remains consistent in every program I curate: I try to tell a story through the films I choose and to make a point. A lot of the time, I draw inspiration from everyday life – it could be a song stuck in my head, some random words written on a wall, or a catchy phrase I’ve just heard.
Did you encounter any challenges when curating Eroticas for Animest?
Not really – it’s actually super fun, and I really enjoy it. I collect films throughout the year or already have some in my database. Then Mihai Mitrică, the artistic director of Animest, sends me a few recommendations from their call for entries – and finally, I mix it all together like a cocktail. For example: Sex on the Beach, haha. But maybe the biggest challenge is keeping the whole selection varied and entertaining while also representing the many different expressions of erotica – because our sex lives are incredibly diverse.
If you could be an animated film, which one would you be?
I loooove this question! I think I’d be Hotel Kalura by Sophie Koko Gate. Not just because I’ve just come back from vacation, but because: cosmic romance, volcanic eruption, ciggies, and a remix of a traditional Spanish folk song… that’s basically me in a nutshell.
Apart from being programme director and curator at Fest Anča, you are also a member of the pre-selection committee. How is your attention span doing after watching such a huge number of films (a total of 1,800 submissions for Fest Anča 2025!) in just four months?
I think it has decreased, but that’s also connected to social media and how fast-paced life has become. Watching 1,800 films in four months sounds insane (and it is!), but I’m not doing this job alone, so it’s great to have my colleagues on board. Of course, you need to find ways to relax and take care of your body and mind afterward, because you’re watching films about trauma, abuse, and other difficult topics. So, after my watching sessions, I usually go dancing, hit the gym, or just take a walk to shake it off a little.
We’ll wrap this up with a teaser: Erotica Vol. 5 is coming to Animest this year! Jakub, what can the audience look forward to? And can you share the title of this year’s curated section?
From the 20 selected films, I’ll just name a few: An Explosive Love Story by Adina Oana Enache, A Flame the Colour of Air by Emily Pelstring, Mambo No. 2 by Anne Feldmeier, or My Good Boy by Sara Priorelli. The audience can look forward to intergalactic lovers, sexual fantasies, something slimy in the underpants, and, not to forget, the iconic Slavoj Žižek yapping about the problem with online dating. Can’t wait!
