Results of Visegrad Forum
The winner of the second year of the Viserad Exchange Forum organized within AniFest is the animated film project “The Dressmaker”; the author, Inma Carpe, was awarded a prize connected with a sum of EUR 1,000 for film development. The second prize provided by the company Toon Boom was awarded to the project by Fruzsina Gaal “Inner Us”.
This festival platform presenting school works, talents and film projects also organizes a competition of school films of nine Visegrad schools. The award for the best film of the Visegrad school competition went to “Nesejdeš z cesty!” (You Shall Not Leave the Way) by a young author from the UTB in Zlín, Veronika Szemlová. Special mention and a licence for the Toon Boon Harmony PRO programme were awarded to Peter Budínský from Bratislavafor his movie “TWINs”. The company New Europe Film Sales awarded its own prize too; the representatives of this company, Jan Naszewski and Anja Šošič, has chosen the movie “Leaves” by Agnieszka Borowa from Łódź. “Final Call” by Sara Barbas was awarded a Special Mention.
One of the highlights was the presentation of Czech studios for professionals from abroad, but also the encounter of teachers and professors at a round table discussing the issue of education in animation.
Wednesday at AniFest: Visegrad forum starts, the jury is coming
The preparations for AniFest are just culminating and one part of the festival starts tomorrow. In the morning, the discussions over projects of new animated films will begin in Krušnohorské theatre and in the evening, school films from Visegrad countries will be screened. Also, the jury is coming tomorrow and the arrival of the honorary president is expected as well…the posters are hanging on the walls and in the Culture house, puppet skeletons are climbing up the walls. Looks like everything is ready for the big start on Thursday!
Projects for pitching forum selected
Christian Pfohl from Lardux films at last year's Exchange Forum
Second edition of Visegrad Exchange Forum knows the results of the selection for the pitching forum of short animated films and TV series. There are three Czech projects among the selected topics: Kateřina Horčicová and Marek Berger will present a short grotesque from the times of 2nd World War called Pérák, Nelly Jančíková and David Havel will represent Jan Balej’s short puppet animation „Muži v lóži“. Young animator Michal Kubíček succeeded also with a puppet project called 30 Amper.
There are also three Slovakian and three Hungarian projects and a Polish pilot of a TV serie about the life of Frydrik Chopin. Very promising is also Berin Tuzlič’s (Bosnia) project, there are also Danish, Serbian, Russian or Romanian projets – a truly international forum. One of the favourites might be the project represented by Tamás Liszka, producer of the succesfull feature „Distrikt!“.
The pitching forum will be held on Friday, April 27, in the Smetana Hall of Krušnohorské theatre. Each participant will have 8 minutes to present his or her project and answer the questions of the jury composed of international producers. Two best projects will be awarded with a money prize 1000 Euro from the Knauf company and with a one year licence of the animation programme Storyboard Pro by ToonBoom.
The Hungarian project Limbo Limbo Travel presented at AniFest 2011 by two students from MOME Borbála Zétényi and Zsuzsanna Kreif succeeded last week with the application for CNC support. The student project was presented at last year’s 1st edition of Visegrad Exchange Forum, where the coproduction with Christian Pfohl from Lardux films was established.
Visegrad films from AniFest in Moscow
The most interesting films from the Visegrád schools competition held at last year’s AniFest as part of the Visegrad Exchange Forum will be screened this week in Moscow. AniFest with collaboration of Czech Center Moscow is organizing a programme called „Animation – In the Heart of Europe“. Grotesque animations by Jaromír Plachý, the selection „From Year Zero“ produced by AniFest or the most interesting contemporary Czech shorts (including Ondřej Švadlena’s „Mrdrchain“ also awarded at last year’s festival) will be screened in cinema 35mm under the auspice of the current Czech presidency of the Visegrád Four. Our Exchange forum coordinator Michal Procházka will also lead a round table debate about animated production in the postsoviet countries and its problems. We will start animate in the Heart of Europe on Wednesday 22 February and will continue untill the following Sunday.
Call for films into the competition of animated shorts from Visegrád schools
Due to the this year’s succes, competition of animated shorts from the Visegrád animation schools will also take place at AniFest 2012 as part of the 2nd edition of Visegrad Exchange Forum.
The films can be nominated by schools, their professors, pedagogues from animation departments, who can submit up to 4 titles per school. Authors of the selected films will be invited to come to AniFest and its Visegrád Exchange Forum in order to present them in front of the international producers, professionals and the jury.
Every film entered must meet the conditions set forth in the Rules for International Competition for 2012 and of the AniFest Festival Statute.
PLEASE SUBMIT THE FILM BY FILLING THE ENTRY FORM AT THE FOLLOWING LINK:http://registrace.anifest.cz/entryform/en/submission.aspx AND ALSO SEND THE FILM ON DVD TO THE ADRRESS BELOW with a mark „VISEGRÁD“ on the envelope:
AniFest – Michal Procházka
Jindřicha Plachty 28
150 00, Prague 5
Czech Republic
THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS 20 DECEMBER 2011.
The school film competition of Visegrád region will have two juries, the first one composed of international producers, the second held by the Sales Agency Film New Europe Film Sales. Each of the juries will award one film.
The Prize of Visegrád Exchange Forum
The Prize of the sales agent Film New Europe Film Sales that comes with the offer of commercial acquisition of international rights for the winning film by the sales agency.
Call for projects: pitching competition at the 2nd Visegrad Exchange Forum, AniFest 2012
AniFest announces a competition of future animation short films projects with the producers´ pitching sessions.
The 15 selected projects will be presented at the festival programme of Exchange Production Forum in front of international producers, professionals and potential co-producers looking for new talents and young promissing filmmakers. Each project can be represented at most by one author and one producer at the final pitching session.
The pitching competition is open to any East European or Visegrad project. We accept also projects from Western Europe that has any relation to our region or that emphasises values of European culture exchange and international cooperation.
The pitching jury of international professionals will choose the best project that will be awarded by the KNAUF company award that includes a prize money of 1000 EUR for the development of the film.
You can submit your film by filling the entry form.
The deadline is February 28, 2012.
2nd Viségrad Exchange Forum
1. Introduction
Visegrád Exchange Forum is an iniciative of AniFest, International Festival of Animated Films. It brings together professionals, producers, filmmakers, talents, films and animation schools from so called Visegrád region.
After such an important iniciative started in April 2011 AniFest is organising the 2nd edition of Visegrád Exchange Forum 2012 that will take place at the festival (held from 26 April to 1 May in 2012).
2. Main Ideas:
The main goal is to establish Visegrád Exchange Forum as an opened, informal platform for a meeting of professionals, filmmakers and schools with an animation program from our region. The Forum offers an iniciative that supports mainly young professionals and a development of their new projects of animated short films. We are aiming to facilitate exchange of experiences and knowledge with the aime to establish a new network of people from animation scene with several principal goals. It brings…
- Young filmmakers, talents and students are supported and promoted in front of international professionals while entering the European audiovisual scene.
- The educational platform offers workshops, lectures and knowledge on principal skills of modern ways of developping, producing, coproducing of animation film projects.
- Visegrád Forum enables networking of producers and professionals from countries of Eastern Europe who are looking for new partners, coproducers and coproduction possibilities.
- It also offers a place for academic discussion about new trends in teaching animation at the Visegrád schools round table. Professors, pedagogues, representatives of schools can share their experience and reflection.
- Visegrád Exchange Forum establishes information crossroad that gathers information about the latest films, trends in our region
2.1. Visegrad school meeting
- School films competition – Schools from our region are invited to present their latest works, films and talents in front of international professionals. Every school can nominate 4 films in the Visegrád competition held at the Forum. Such an iniciative promotes new talents on international short film animation scene. This year we have also a new New Europe Film Sales Award for the best Visegrád school film accompanied by the acquisition of the film by the Film Sales company.
- Invited schools for 2012
- Polish National School of Film, Television and Theatre Lodz – PWSFTviT
- FAMU Prague
- VŠMU Bratislava
- MOME Budapest
- Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań
- Vyšší odborná škola filmová Zlín
- Vyšší odborná škola a Střední umělecká škola Václava Hollara Praha
- Akademia Sztuk Pięknychg Krakow
- UMPRUM Prague
- Filmová akademie Miroslava Ondříčka v Písku
and we are inviting also schools from abroad
- Artistic cooperation - Students and young talents are encouraged to meet new colleaugues, collaboraters or artistic friends from other schools.
- There is a presentation VŠMU Bratislava in 2012 as we organises a focus on one Visegrád School every year.
- Round table discussion - Pedagoques and representatives of animation schools are invited to share their experience and reflection on teaching of an animation in Visegrád region. The topics for the next year are:
- new grants possibilities for Visegrád schools
- cooperation between Visegrád schools
- how to prepare students for real animation life after graduation
- concept of the education in new European audiovisual market
2.2. Workshops and lectures
- Visegrád Forum offers a serie of workshops led by professionals and animation artists focusing on animation, production abilities and audiovisual market knowledge.
- It brings a critical reflection of traditions and modern trends of animation iniciate by lecturers and professionals.
- Forum gives an opportunity for local professionals to promote themselves in front the international audience. Last year we presented a Compote Collective and New Europe Film Sales. This year there will be a presentation of Se-ma-for.
- The topics for workshops and lectures 2012
- The future is transmedia projects
- How to be a freelance animator on the audiovisual market
- Develop your pitching skills
- Cooperation with France, Germany, Switzerland
- Distribution of short films
2.3. Networking of professionals
- The project also supports the self-confidence and communication skills of the local animation professionals.
- The Forum is inviting producers from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania with producers and professionals from Germany, France and Switzerland in order to continue in debates over coproduction and cooperation possibilities in our region.
- The Forum will be attended also by international sales agents and French and German distribution companies of short films.
- In 2012 we will profit from the presence of a representant of French Centre national du cinéma (CNC) who will explain more the French animation film policy and possibilities of a support of CNC for international French coproductions.
- We are also inviting people from Visegrád animation festivals and local professionals to iniciate an unformal meeting on visions and structural setting of animation policy in our region. The meeting could help to reflect and formulate common goals and demands to be publicaly imposed and promoted in order to improve our situation of animation.
2.4. Pitching of 10 projects and support of production of new films
- Visegrád Exchange Forum organises a competition of new projects of animation short films for young filmmakers and talents. The participants can be looking for new ways of finnacing their projects and establishing a coproduction with international professionals. The each of 15 selected projects will be presented in front of international producers and professinals by its producer and one of the artist.
- The Best project of the pitching will be awarded by an Award of the society Knauf that comes together iwth 1000 euro for the development of the film.
- The submission of pitching competition is opened to any East European or Visegrad project. We accept also projects from Western Europe that has any relation to our region and to values of European culture exchange.
- This pitching iniciative has a big educational impact for young filmmakers and producers who can present their project in front of the international professionals.
3. Experience of Visegrád Forum 2011
The first Visegrad Forum was held at AniFest 2011 (26 April – 1 May) with the presence of 9 schools, more than 40 students and 8 professors. We organised a competition of Visegrad school films 2009-10 in front of the international producers. There were artistic workshops, lectures on European audiovisual market and a round table discussion about the artistic education in our region. The festival also organized a pitching forum for 10 projects of future short films and 3 of them are now in pre-production.
3.1. Schools present:
- Polish National School of Film, Television and Theatre Lodz – PWSFTviT
- FAMU Prague
- VŠMU Bratislava
- MOME Budapest
- Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań
- Vyšší odborná škola filmová Zlín
- Vyšší odborná škola a Střední umělecká škola Václava Hollara Praha
- Akademia Sztuk Pięknychg Krakow
- UMPRUM Prague
3.2. Professors present from animation schools: Jerzy Kucia, Jiří Kubíček, Eva Gubčová, Zuzana Bukovinská, József Fülöp, Jacek Rokosz
3.3. Artistic workshops
The workshop of Joanna Quinn
Carte Blanche for Olivier Cotte: French traditions in animation
Dan Sarto: A Look at contemporary animated short films
3.4. Visegrád School Film Competition
Visegrad school films competition offered 35 films of local students.
There were 5 international professionals in the fhe jury of the competition: Nicolas Schmerkin (Autour de Minuit), Olivier Catherin (Les Trois Ours), Sebastien Vincent (Les Médias Associeés), Anja Šošič /New Europe Film Sales), Arnaud Demuynck (Le film du Nord).
The Best film award was given to Agata Pretka´s Porozmawiaj z nim / Talk to him /, the special prize went to Robert Proch and his Galeria / Gallery.
The jury gave also a special mention to Libor Pixa (Grafitiger), Zsófia Tari (Sofitaland), Kristina Dufková (Usnula jsem) and Joanna Wójcik (Charon Taxi).
3.5. The present international professionals at Visegrád Exchange Forum 2011:
Producers: Ron Dyens (Sacrebleu Production), Nicolas Schmerkin (Autour de Minuit), Olivier Catherin (Les Trois Ours), Sebastien Vincent (Les Médias Associeés), Arnaud Demuynck (Le film du Nord), Christian Pfohl (Lardux), Martin Vandas (Maur film), Michal Podhradský (Animation People), Tereza Krejčí a Ondřej Všetíček (AT Studio), Ivana Laučíková (Feel me film), Maria Stanisheva and Vessela Dantcheva (Compot Collective), Mihai Mitrica (Framebreed), Marek Toušek (3Bohemians)
Sales Agents: Anja Šošič (New Europe Film Sales), Peter Haueis, Eric Riewer (L´ecole de l´image Gobelins),
3.6. Case studies of East West coproductions in animation presented:
Producer Nicolas Schmerkin (Autour de minuit) introduced his collaboration with Czech filmmaker Ondřej Švadlena and Hungarian filmmaker Zsófia Tari.
Sébastien Vincent introduced the film Mouse the Mouth by Hungarian Andrea Kiss, which was shot in coproduction of Francie, Belgium, Norway and Hungary.
3.7. Visegrád Forum held a competition pitching of 10 project of future animated films from the countries of Eastern Europe And the results are:
- 3 projects of the 10 projects of our pitching are now in pre-production of coproduction
- New Europe Film Sales offers their prize for our Visegrad School Films Competition 2012 which is the acquisition of the best film
- establishing the network of international and local producers from our region
- Iniciating of a cooperation between Visegrád schools
3.8. Reactions of participants of 2011 Visegrád Exchange Forum:
József Fülöp, MOME Budapešť: Thank you very much for such a great iniciative that is so needed. We are more less libing in similar situation 20 years after the change of our countries. And we need to meet and reflect it.
Jerzy Kucia, Krakow: I am welcoming this very nice iniciative that helps the students and schools to meet each other. In our countries we have talents but not a big production. Maybe such a meeting and new coproduction possibilities could help us to have more films.
Eva Gubčová, Bratislava: I was really pleased by that iniciative. I hope the festival will keep it on because it offers us a great possibility of meeting and sharing our experience.
4. Conclusion
Visegrad Forum at AniFest is an open platform for young animation filmmakers and professionals from Central and Eastern Europe. They get artistic and practical knoledge about the contemporary animation scene, meet new friends and contacts for their future plans. Last but not least they can introduce themselves in the network of the European audiovisual market.
