This weekend marks the end of another edition of the animation festival on the island of Pico, AnimaPIX. During the week, dozens of short films and four feature films were shown in programs in schools and at the festival’s epicenter, the Madalena Auditorium Library.

Also, for the general public, this Friday, December 6, at 10 a.m., Maria Simões’ play “Umana” returns to the festival to make you laugh, think, and celebrate on the stage of the Madalena Auditorium. Umana is a journey about the passage of time, loneliness, and memories. It is a comic drama about aging and the desire for eternal, feminine, intimate, joyful, and festive youth. The public is invited to this theatrical clown experience, open to ages 6 to 106.

At 6 p.m. on Friday, in the center of the village of Madalena, artist Christophe Kerbourch will present a sniff of circus arts, while the festival’s artistic director, Terry Costa, will unveil the new tool that accompanies the adventures of Néveda, a character who came into the world in 2019. On Saturday, the public is welcomed to MiratecArts Galeria Costa at 10:30 a.m. for a guided tour of the headquarters owned by the MiratecArts association, which produces AnimaPIX, among other festivals on the mountain island.

In the school program, an unfolding of tales by storyteller Lucrécia Alves and Ricardo Ávila’s Vumteatro puppets have already surprised hundreds of children, as well as the puppet theater “O Sonho da Néveda,” created by the Municipal Library team, led by librarian Fernanda Medeiros, writer Berta Vieira Soeiro and puppet maker Aldora Marcos.

Artist and painter of several murals in Madalena, Rocio Matosas, is back to build a mini-theatre that will remain for future programs at the festival. Books and celebrations are part of AnimaPIX, with this edition highlighting the 5th anniversary of Néveda, the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty, and the 500th anniversary of Camões.

The AnimaPIX festival is a MiratecArts project supported by the Regional Directorate for Culture and Madalena Town Hall. Follow along online via photos and videos on the official Facebook page: animapixfestival.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks the Luso-American Education Foundation for sponsoring FILAMENTOS.