The day-long New England Animation Festival will take place at The Park Theatre, 19 Main St. in Jaffrey, on Saturday, Sept. 28.

The festival will present films in both of of the theater’s auditoriums. Films include new American and international animated feature films, plus classic feature and short films. Three of the new films will have talkbacks with the filmmakers. The festival will also have a private collection of animation cels on display.

Films of regional animators will also be screened. The festival is asking for regional short animated film submissions. They can be of any animation technique: traditional cel, claymation, computer-generated, cutout, and more. Submissions can be sent to media@theparktheatre.org. Filmmakers should include their contact information as well as an online link to their film.

Three feature animated films will have question-and-answer talkbacks afterwards in the auditorium via Zoom. 

“A Greyhound of A Girl” comes from Ireland and six other countries, and is a story of four generations of women traveling on a midnight car journey. The filmmaking team will taking part in a Zoom in from Eurpoe. Roddy Doyle (“The Commitments”) co-wrote the film.

“My Love Affair with Marriage” is about a young spirited woman, Zelma, who is determined to conform to the pressures of singing Mythology Sirens in order to be loved, but the more she conforms, the more her body resists. Written and directed by Signe Baumane and produced in Luxembourg, the United States and Latvia. Signe will be appearing via Zoom the to answer questions about her award-winning film. This film had a secret advance screening at The Park Theatre last year with Signe attending in person. Voice actors include Matthew Modine.

“Coco” is a two-time Oscar-winning animated feature from Disney Pixar in 2017. Despite his family's generations-old ban on music, young Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician. Jeff Stone, one of the film’s editors, will appear via Zoom in from the West Coast to discuss and answer questions about “Coco” and the other animated films he has been a part of (“Lightyear,” “Toy Story 4” and “Finding Dory”). Stone has family roots in Jaffrey.

A restored version of Max and Dave Fleischer’s “Gulliver’s Travels” (1939) will be shown on the theater’s 27-foot wide screen. The feature film “Robot Dreams” will be shown in the evening. It’s the story of DOG, who lives in Manhattan and he's tired of being alone. One day, he decides to build himself a robot companion. The film was adapted from a novel and directed by Spanish director Pablo Berger.

Films in the King Screening Room include “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” (1926), “Mr. Bug Goes To Town” (1941), Warner Bros. cartoons, regional filmmakers and “Felix The Cat” (1918 to 1929).

The Cornelius Collection of cel animation will be on display in the lobby and other areas of the theater. The collection includes signed animation cels from Chuck Jones (Looney Tunes/Bugs Bunny/Warner Bros.), plus Hanna-Barbera, “Rugrats” and “The Pink Panther.” They will be on display from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“We are very proud to produce the New England Animation Festival here at The Park Theatre. The festival is a day-long salute to one of the most important mediums of film expression. We are lucky to have a wide range of film topics and styles -- new, recent and classic – plus filmmakers talking about their films. We also extend a big thanks to Skip Cornelius for loaning his animation cel collection to the event. We plan to make the festival a yearly event for animation lovers,” stated Steve Jackson, CEO and managing director of The Park Theatre.

Individual tickets for films in the Eppes Auditorium are $10/$9. Films in the King Screening Room are $5. A festival pass for all films can be purchased for $45 and includes popcorn. They can be purchased at the theater box office, online at theparktheatre.org or by phone at 603-532-8888.