Anibar, Even In Rain Drops
Cinema Jusuf Gërvalla has become our favourite place to start the day at Anibar, filled with laughter, warm conversations, and people brought together by a shared passion for animation and film.
Every morning, Meet the Filmmakers continues to inspire audiences through personal stories, offering space for meaningful conversations and reflections on some of today’s most pressing social issues.
At the same time, the VR Programme has been capturing the audience’s attention with its immersive experiences, inviting visitors to engage with storytelling in new and interactive ways.
Animator Sammy Lewis, whose film is part of the Commissioned Works programme, shared his impressions of Anibar with us. Although this is his first visit to both Kosovo and the festival, the welcoming community of filmmakers and animation enthusiasts made him feel at home from the very beginning. He has watched as many screenings as possible, describing each one as unique thanks to the festival’s remarkable cinema locations.
Later in the afternoon, the special programme Helium Films showcased seven carefully selected short films from the Swiss production studio’s catalogue of more than twenty works. Spanning over two decades of filmmaking, the programme featured everything from the studio’s debut film Ice Floe (2002), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, to Hunting (2025), a film that has received recognition at major international festivals including Annecy, Clermont-Ferrand, Bristol Encounters, and Fantoche.
The day also marked the first screening of Experimental Programme 1 at Cinema Jusuf Gërvalla. Pushing beyond the traditional boundaries of animation, these films experimented with image, sound, and form, offering audiences a fresh and thought-provoking cinematic experience.
The programme continued with Decorado, a film that explores the human condition in contemporary society. Through dark humour and existential anxiety, it examines themes of surveillance, control, conformity, the growing role of artificial intelligence in systems of oppression, and the individual’s struggle to navigate an increasingly fractured world.
Meanwhile, Cinema Old Bazaar hosted another feature-length screening with The Wanted 18, bringing to the screen the remarkable true story of nonviolent resistance during the First Intifada. In the late 1980s, the residents of Beit Sahour stopped buying Israeli milk as part of the Palestinian boycott of Israeli taxes and products. To become more self-sufficient, they formed a cooperative, purchased eighteen cows, and began producing their own dairy products. What started as a simple act of community self-organisation soon became a political statement, as Israeli authorities declared the cows “a threat to state security,” turning them into perhaps the most unusual fugitives in history.
As evening arrived, Lake Cinema welcomed International Competition 3, featuring Virgin Fandango, Water Girl, Tonight I’ll Dream About Water, Ivar, and Because Today Is Saturday. At the same time, Cube Cinema hosted Student Competition 3, presenting another compelling selection of animated works by emerging filmmakers.
Another day at Anibar came to an end, filled with films, conversations, and the people who make this festival feel so alive. With every screening and every shared moment, Anibar continues to bring audiences and creators closer together, creating memories that will last well beyond the festival’s closing night on Saturday.
