AUGUST 18
IMAGINARIA MEETINGS
Terrace of St. Benedict | 7:30 PM | Free admission

Oscar-winning director Suzie Templeton in conversation with Luca Raffaelli

Suzie Templeton was born in 1967 in Hampshire, England. Her first experience with animation dates back to childhood, when she made homemade special effects for her older brother’s short films. It was only at the age of twenty-eight, however, that she decided to pursue this vocation with professional determination, enrolling at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design (now the University for the Creative Arts) in Farnham. After earning her Bachelor’s degree in animation, she went on to the Royal College of Art in London, graduating in 2001.

At the RCA she discovered stop-motion not as a commercial technique but as a personal language. Drawn to the medium’s slow, solitary rhythm — the building of models, the handling of materials, the intimacy of working frame by frame — Templeton developed a dark narrative style, dense with silences and glances, far removed from mainstream, lighter registers. “Animation has become the channel for my most difficult emotions,” she has said.

The two short films she made during her studies — Stanley (1999) and Dog (2001) — won awards at major international festivals, establishing her as a wholly original voice in European animation. Dog won the BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film in 2002, catching the attention of producer Hugh Welchman and conductor Mark Stephenson, who brought her into an ambitious project: an animated film to be screened in sync with a live orchestral performance.

This gave rise to Peter and the Wolf (2006), a free adaptation of Sergei Prokofiev’s celebrated suite. What began as a project meant to be developed alone grew into a production effort spanning more than five years, with a team of over two hundred people split between the UK and the legendary Se-ma-for studios in Łódź, Poland. The result is an extraordinary film that reworks Prokofiev’s score with characters of rare expressiveness, post-Soviet industrial settings, and a wordless narrative of absolute visual power. In 2008 the film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, the Grand Prize and Audience Award at Annecy, the Golden Rose at Rose d’Or, and numerous other international honors.

Suzie Templeton is regarded as one of the most significant European animators of her generation: rare in her aesthetic consistency, in her ability to transform material into emotion, and in her courage to tell difficult stories through a medium too often relegated to childhood.

AUGUST 19
IMAGINARIA MEETINGS
Terrace of di St. Benedict | 7:30 PM | Free admission

Animation for Peace: a global initiative by ASIFA & AWG — Anastasia Dimitra in conversation with Deanna Morse

Deanna Morse and Anastasia Dimitra, animators and members of ASIFA and the Animation Workshop Group (AWG), present the Peace Project, an international initiative involving artists, educators, and young creators from around the world in exploring peace through animation. A meeting dedicated to the power of animation as a universal language capable of fostering dialogue, empathy, and collaboration across cultures, featuring a presentation of works and materials from the project and a closing discussion with the audience.

AUGUST 20
IMAGINARIA MEETINGS
Terrace of St. Benedict | 7:30 PM | Free admission

Joanna Quinn in conversation with Nancy Denney-Phelps

An informal, story-filled conversation in which Joanna Quinn and Nancy Denney-Phelps will discuss their recently published books, their respective artistic journeys, and whatever else emerges naturally from their exchange. An event with plenty of smiles, anecdotes, and stories from the world of animation. Joanna Quinn will present BERYL, dedicated to her iconic character, her studio, and her creative process. Nancy Denney-Phelps will discuss ON THE ANIMATION TRAIL: 20 Years of Festival History, a journey through twenty years of animation festivals, from experiences in Beirut to China and beyond. Following the talk, attendees will be able to meet the authors and take part in a book signing.

AUGUST 21
IMAGINARIA MEETINGS
Monastery of Sr. Benedict (Church of St. Benedict) | 7:30 PM | Free admission
F.A.N. Festival Animation Network

A meeting with Vassilis Karamitsanis of Animasyros, Cristina Lima of CINANIMA, and Beatrice Mazzone of Imaginaria, dedicated to FAN – Festivals Animation Network, the international network connecting five European animation festivals with the goal of promoting auteur animation cinema, supporting new talent, and fostering cultural exchange through collaboration between festivals. A brief presentation of the project’s activities will introduce a screening of a selection of short films from the FAN Tour Masters program, a journey through the works of some of the most important European animation authors, brought into dialogue with diverse audiences and cultural contexts thanks to the international network of partner festivals. An opportunity to discover the value of collaboration and the role festivals play in spreading and championing contemporary animation.