Celebrating International Animation Day with a new original film
Press Release for Spiritus Mundi: Animating the World
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2020 marks the 60th anniversary of ASIFA. Each year on October 28th, ASIFA celebrates the birth of animation recognized as the first public performance of projected moving images: Emile Reynaud’s Theatre Optique in Paris, on the 28th October 1892.
This year, as part of International Animation Day, we have asked each chapter and our partners to create up to a 2 minute animated story that gives us some insight about what makes them unique, what is significant for them as people of their region, culture, land, and language. Each chapter or partner organization that is participating this year has decided how their segment of the film will be created and what they wish to communicate about themselves.
The combined film is called Spiritus Mundi: Animating the World and is inspired by W.B. Yeats who saw Spiritus Mundi as the world spirit that provides inspiration to the poet or writer.
The film will make its debut on October 28th, 2020 to coincide with International Animation Day. The event will stream starting at 9:00 AM EDT on this YouTube channel with chat available for comments and well wishes. In this era of growing hate and prejudice, ASIFA as a multicultural, multinational, network of artists has the untapped potential for communicating about our shared humanity. As founder member John Halas stated, “we consider animation as a universal expression which is capable of immense contribution if given a chance.”
Chapters Involved:
ASIFA has over 40 chapters throughout the world supporting professional animators with a diversity of social-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, ages, and political systems. The chapters involved in Spiritus Mundi include:
- ASIFA Australia
- ASIFA Bulgaria
- ASIFA BIH
- ASIFA Finland
- ASIFA Hellas
- ASIFA Iran
- ASIFA India
- ASIFA USA Central
- ASIFA USA South
- ASIFA Switzerland
Spiritus Mundi: Animating the World will also be highlighted at a number of International Animation Day Showings including Paris, France, and Tehran, Iran.
In creating this film we are interested in exploring ways that we can bring awareness not only to our 60th anniversary but “help to promote progress towards peace and mutual understanding between all people.” as is stated in our ASIFA statutes preamble.
For more information: