Animation Espresso offers a new way to pitch projects
On Tuesday 6 October 2020, the first annual pitching of Czech animated films took place in Liberec, held by the Association of Czech Animation Film as part of the international industry event CEE Animation Forum. Viewers were presented with a total of 23 projects at various stages of development. The development of animated films is one of the most important phases in the creation of a project, as it has a fundamental impact on its future quality, financing, and realisation. Animation Espresso is the first step on the path to high quality development. During the short presentation, the jury had the opportunity to judge the potential of the projects, their strengths and weaknesses, and the best approach for their future presentation. This activity focused only on Czech projects. At Animation Espresso, the type of project and its current phase of development are immaterial. It is designed for short films, feature films, and series – from the initial idea and artistic concept through to projects that are about to be made. Animation Espresso was developed as a tool which can help define the parameters of a project and provide creators with experience in presenting projects, so films made by students were […] ...
CEE Animation Forum 2020 as Virtual Pitching and B2B Event in October
The CEE Animation Forum, the largest industry and pitching platform for animated projects in development in the CEE region is going to be held online from 6 to 8 October 2020. The CEE Animation Forum is the leading pitching, financing and co-production event focusing on the animation industry, usually held annually in the Czech Republic in parallel to the International Festival of Animated Films Anifim. Due to the ongoing global situation, the event will take place online this year. Even with some adjustments to the new format, the focus remains on the pitching of animated projects in development. As in previous years, the new compilation of debuting filmmakers CEE Animation Talents will be introduced. A special emphasis is placed on 1:1 industry meetings, implementing a new online meeting platform. Pitching competition 28 films in development will participate in the pitching competition in 4 categories: short films, series / TV specials, feature films and a new section of XR projects for the first time in the 8-year tradition of the event. During recent months, all the pitching teams received coaching on how to prepare an online video pitch, provided by Matthieu Darras and Bonnie Williams. The international jury will consist of […] ...
Visegrad Animation Forum announces call for submissions for its 6th edition
The VAF Třeboň (May 1 – 3, 2018, Czech Republic) is the leading pitching event for animated film in the Central and Eastern Europe. As each year, animated projects in development compete in two categories: Short Films (single film less than 20 minutes long) and Series / TV Specials (web and TV series of any format and single films over 20 min.). Within the pitching preparation, the participants will get a unique opportunity for in-depth consultation with experienced film professionals on their story concept, project development, financial plan, market or festival strategy, possible coproduction workflow separation etc. The winners in both categories receive a traditional financial support of EUR 2,000 for further development. Besides this, the winning TV Series project gains direct access to Cartoon Forum 2018. The collaboration between the VAF and the world respected association CARTOON is extending. For the first time, a pitch for animated feature films will be organized. In this pilot edition, five VAF board members will choose the best project from their country (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia). After being pitched to different European distributors, 1:1 meetings with key representatives of the animation industry will be followed. The most promising project shall […] ...
Happy End in Cannes
Just a few days after its victory at the International Festival of Animated Films in Třeboň, this film from the Prague Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts was competing in Cannes. It didn’t bring home a Palme, howeverthis black comedy about death with a happy ending attracted attention in Cannes. The fact that the Czech student Jan Saska was present at the renowned film festival was a great success. His six-minute-long “Happy End” was among the favourites of the Quinzaine des réalisateurs / Directors’ Fortnight section, being the only Czech representative there. Happy End is a typically Czech farce full of hunters, drunkards and morbid humour. “There is something very Czech about the film – the tractor riding around to the sounds of the band Alkehol and the clinking of a case of beer. In another chapter hunters are shooting, a person gets run over by an old Škoda car, capped byautumn, woods and fields. There’s a certain local peculiarity. Yet at the same time there is no dialogue and the narrative methods are rather traditional;thus one can talk about some international comprehensibility,” the author of the film Jan Saska explains. In Cannes the film was warmly […] ...
Visegrad Animation Forum knows its winners
Third edition of Visegrad Animation Forum (VAF) was characterised by the quality of submitted products. Thanks to its programme concept, it attained the position of the biggest and most popular event focusing of animated film industry in Central and Eastern Europe. A number of guests described the dates 6th to 8th May as highlights of their year. ...
