KLIK Amsterdam Animation Festival has announced that Polish-born festival curator, illustrator and film education expert Aneta Ozorek will be stepping in as the new Artistic Director, replacing Yvonne van Ulden who has helped lead and develop KLIK into an internationally regarded animation event for the past nine years. Ozorek will work with general director Bram Kranendonk to continue this positive trajectory.
Ozorek brings over 15 years of industry experience to the post, with a strong background in curating and developing animation initiatives in Poland and other European countries. She is Head of Shorts Section for Visegrad Animation Forum (Trebon), programmer at the Cinema in Sneakers Film Festival (Warsaw), and film section curator for the Street Art Festival of Katowice. In 2017, Ozorek was responsible for promoting 70 years of Polish animation at major regional events such as Annecy, Cartoon Forum, MIPCOM/MIPJunior and Cinekid. She is also Polish Ambassador of the European Animation Award and a member of the European Children’s Film Association.
“Aneta’s strong international connections tie in with the international ambitions that KLIK has set itself: to strengthen KLIK’s international position in the animation landscape through international collaborations with other festivals and organisations and to promote what the Dutch animation industry has to offer all around the world,” said Kranendonk.
As artistic director, Ozorek intends to further establish KLIK as a festival that finds unique ways to connect art and business; and to intensify the international promotion of Dutch animation in Europe and beyond.
“Everything started with chaos: friends, poetry, an experimental approach, brave program decisions, and a passion for the art of the moving image. KLIK was always connecting and inviting, never exclusive. Always collaborating, never competing,” Ozorek commented. “To set up an inspiring path into the future, we aim to further establish KLIK as platform that connects the greatest names in animation history with debutants and the biggest studios with independent artists. An innovative approach in connecting art and business will be a core element of the KLIK identity. We are witnessing a multitude of international partnerships that take animation to a global scale, rarely seen before. KLIK wants to contribute to this process by building a European and global strategy for the whole industry.”
KLIK celebrated its 10th edition in October at Amsterdam’s EYE Filmmuseum. The 2018 festival will open for entries in March.
