Animation and Comics Festival opens in Tel Aviv this week

Tel Aviv transforms itself into Comic City this week! If you’re a big fan of comics and animation in general, you might fancy popping along to the Cinematheque in Tel Aviv for the International Animation, Comics and Caricature Festival, which opens on Wednesday and lasts for four days. It’s actually the ninth annual festival.

You’ll be able to catch a whole bunch (hundreds of them if you’re really keen) of animated films, many of them award-winners, and also be able to take part in various workshops, buy comics and so on. Bring the kids, they’ll also have plenty of things to keep them busy.

Some of Israel’s leading animation artists will be taking part, with a special honour being handed out to Danny Kerman, who will also be exhibiting some Tel Aviv caricatures as part of Tel Aviv’s 100th birthday extravaganza.

And see that little cartoon guy at the top of this article? His name is  Srulik, a legendary figure in Israeli culture and created by Israeli cartoonist Dosh. Dosh’s daughter, Daniela Gardosh, is going to host a meeting about the famous character. For Israeli culture buffs, this could be a great little meet-up.

You can also catch, among other things, a tribute to The Beatles via local pop star Danny Robas (Wednesday and Saturday at 10:30pm), “Celebs and the City” which will include animated figures of local celebs, and much, much more.

Tickets range from 25-60 shekels, depending on the workshop or exhibition; 60 shekels will get you into everything, which is a bit of a bargain. For more information, check out www.anicomfestival.co.il (no English, unfortunately), or call the guys at the Cinematheque on 03-6060823.