Animation Festival: Electronic Theatre

Electronic Theatre is the annual best-of program, a compilation of outstanding animations chosen by the Prix jury from the submitted works in the “New Animation Art” category. It is a diverse showcase, blending video, performance, game simulations and AI-generated imagery engaging new ways of thinking about how we experience the digital-virtual-real world we live in. Combining fantasy, erotica and body horror, IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS follows an ambiguous hero undergoing numerous metamorphoses beyond conventional masculinities of game avatars. In Delivery Dancer’s Sphere, another hero, a female platform delivery driver, rushes with the speed of light through a labyrinth of endless paths, sliding into a parallel time and space. GLITCHBODIES uses video game aesthetics to introduce us to a mesmerizing group of characters with diverse bodies and minds. With images filmed in 2019 during the fire of Notre Dame, Le Mal des Ardents reconstructs the scene through photogrammetry and sound work, highlighting the behavior of the crowd. Through a series of AI-generated images of ocean creatures, PLSTC confronts the viewer with our devastating influence on marine life. Lebensraum also addresses contemporary problems, such as overpopulation, the destruction of our living space and the steady rise in sea levels, but with a humorous approach. Similarly, FuneralPlay speculates on a future in which users can choose between erasing their electronic footprint after death or uploading it to virtual heaven, published on blockchain.