FARMINGTON, ME  (November 4, 2021)—The UMF Emery Community Arts Center is pleased to offer a special showing of the 21^st Annual “Animation Show of Shows.” This traveling selection features 10 of the “best of the best” of the year’s animated short films created by students and professionals around the world.

These original, thought provoking and moving works will be screened on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. The screening is free and open to the public. Some subject matter is of a mature nature and not intended for young children.

Curated and presented by Acme Filmworks founder Ron Diamond, the annual animated film series began in 1998. During its first 20 years, 40 of the films showcased in the Animation Show of Shows went on to receive Academy Award nominations, with 11 films winning the Oscar.

“Animation is an incredibly versatile medium that allows artists to explore situations and ideas that you won’t see anywhere else,” says Diamond. “From political and philosophical concerns, to the complexities of individual identity and personal relationships, animated short films are uniquely able to capture the many facets of human experience.”

The complete lineup of this year’s show includes:

Kids - Michael Frei, Mario von Rickenbach, Switzerland 
Rubicon - Gil Alkabetz, Germany
Portrait of Gil Alkabetz (Rubicon) - Marta Trela, Germany
Five Minutes to Sea - Natalia Mirzoyan, Russia
Récit de soi (Self-Narrative) - Géraldine Charpentier, Belgium
Le jour extraordinaire (Flowing through Wonder) - Joanna Lurie, France
Hounds - Amit Cohen, Ido Shapira, Israel
Portrait of Amit Cohen and Ido Shapira(Hounds) - Shlomi Yosef
The Fox and the Bird (Le renard et l’oisille) - Sam & Fred Guillaume, Switzerland
Daughter - Daria Kashcheeva, Czech Republic

The program also includes two mini-documentaries about the creative process featuring Alkabetz and Amit Cohen & Ido Shapira. The Animation Show of Shows is a 501(c)(3) not for profit and is supported by major studios, companies, schools and hundreds of animation lovers around the world.

Masks are required at all indoor events on UMF’s campus. All visitors to Emery Community Arts Center will be screened for COVID symptoms and required to register with name and contact information (either phone number or email address) upon entry. This information will only be used if the university needs to conduct contact tracing in the event of a confirmed exposure to the coronavirus.