Animix, the annual Israeli International Animation, Comics, & Caricature Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary! The festival will take place from August 5 – 9, 2025 at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. Animix Artistic director: Nissim Hezkiyahu, Animation curator: Ben Molin, Producer: Galit Bersky.
Festival Highlights:
The popular duo of Nir and Gali will be honored at the festival – if you are not yet familiar with their dry humor and animation, you’re in for a treat! Nir Berger and Gali Edelbaum are partners in work and life, and their joint work has become one of the most prominent and beloved in Israeli animation. Their short videos have been featured on the popular program Eretz Nehederet as well as promotional content. A special feature of the awards ceremony will be a Kahoot quiz on the most esoteric and humorous details of their videos, with audience participation. There will also be a talk on the creation of promotional content for television, covering topics such as how to combine storytelling with commercial work, and using humor to convey a message.
American animator, graphic designer, cartoonist and filmmaker Bill Plympton will be a guest of the festival. Twice nominated for an Academy Award, Plympton has created 8 feature length films, as well as many shorts. He will present a program of short films at the festival and conduct a workshop on the principles of his craft: “Cheap, Fast, and Funny.”
The ongoing war has made its mark on artists and their craft, and its impact may also be seen in the programs and works participating in the festival. There will be a panel on Tehran – comics and caricatures from the Islamic Republic. Creative artists within Iran have been victims of the oppressive regime, and this special encounter will present significant works in visual media that criticize the regime. The panel will be followed by a screening of the film Persepolis (2007), based on the graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi that depicts her coming of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution.
Leading caricature artist Yonatan Wachsmann will give a talk on “How Do You Draw War?” that invites the audience to embark on a chronological journey from October 7th to the recent war with Iran, through the caricatures and illustrations he created throughout that period, in an effort to draw reality, even when it is incomprehensible.
The annual international animation competition will feature a rich selection of films from around the world as well as from Israel. Competition categories include: short features, documentaries, student films, music videos, films for children and youth, and this year, for the first time, there will be an award for experimental animation, films that break boundaries.
The full program and schedule may be found on the Animix website: https://animix.co.il/
