13+10 Animation Projects for Visegrad Animation Forum

The fifth edition of the VAF Trebon, a key industry meeting for animation professionals mainly from CEE region, takes place in Trebon, Czech Republic, May 2-4, 2017.Even if the pitching competition is open to all European animated projects in development, this edition is specific for a high number of submitted works from Central and Eastern Europe (Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia).

The projects selected for the category SHORT FILM:

1. Death of Mother Jugovic (dir: Jugovic Mihajlo Dragas, Serbia)
2. Flatastic (dir: Alice Saey, Lea Perret, France)
3. Goldhorn (dir: Lea Vučko, Slovenia)
4. Hurikan (dir: Jan Saska, Vojtěch Kiss, Czech Republic)
5. Malva and Leshy (dir: Marcin Karolewski, Poland)
6. Salvation Has No Name (dir: Joseph Wallace, Great Britain)
7. Silent Films (dir: Krste Gospodinovski, Macedonia)
8. Supper (dir: Daniel Barany, Hungary)
9. Symbiosis (dir: Nadja Andrasev, Hungary)
10. The Angst & The Bliss (dir: Niccolo Manzolini, Lucia Malerba, Italy)
11. The Kite (dir: Martin Smatana, Slovakia)
12. Waterloo & Trafalgar (dir: Matthew Torode, ZA, France)
13. Wild Beasts (dir: Marta Prokopova, Michal Blaško, Slovakia)

Wild Beasts, Marta Prokopova, Michal Blaško

The projects selected for TV SERIES & SPECIALS:

1. Castaways (dir: Péter Szeiler, Hungary)
2. Dinosaurs in the Sky (dir: Amanda Richardson, Great Britain)
3. Door to Othertown (dir: Bálint Gelley, Hungary)
4. Forest Disputes (dir: Artur Wyrzikowski, Poland)
5. Mimi & Lisa (Christmas TV special, dir: Ivana Šebestová, Katarína Kerekesová, Slovakia)
6. Mr.Passenger (dir: Jose Cavalheiro, Portugal)
7. Mum Is Pouring Rain (TV special, dir: Hugo De Faucompret, France)
8. The Elements (dir: Zora Cejnková, Czech Republic)
9. Vacuum (dir: Lukša Benić, Silva Ćapin, Denis Golenja, Croatia)
10. Why Paintings Don’t Need Titles (dir: Maria Procházková, Czech Republic)

Door to other town, Bálint Gelley

The winning project in both categories will receive 2,000 EUR for further development.

 In order to prepare a public pitching session, several preparation workshops for the authors and producers are planned. These modules focus on the three key elements of every project: good story assets, consultation of a realistic development plan and structuring a good pitch.

Tutors for the category Short films are Agnieszka Kruk (StoryLab.pro, scriptewriter), Phil Parker (BCre8ive Ltd, co-founder), Olivier Catherin (Pictanovo, producer), Philip LaZebnik (screenwriter for Disney and DreamWorks) and Thom Palmen (festival director, producer, distributor).

 Symbiosis, Nadja Andrasev

The winner of the category Series / TV Special will have direct access to Cartoon Forum 2017 without the need to undergo competitive pre-selection. Tutors are:  Joan Lofts (pitching clinics in Asia for the Asian Animation Summit) and Agnes Bizzaro (content coordinator for Cartoon Springboard).

At VAF this year, Graziella Bildesheim, the director of Maia Workshops, will closely follow both categories to select the best pitch, which will receive the Maia Award, consisting of a scholarship and automatic selection to participate in next year's Maia Workshops.

One of the primary objectives of VAF is to regenerate the Central and Eastern European (CEE) animation industry. Therefore, a cross-border network of producers is a vital tool. With this in mind, VAF launches a VAF Minority Co-Production Pool where invited producers interested in cooperation and in striking minority co-production deals in our region will present themselves, their companies and their slate of projects to fellow professionals. A closer look will also be given at one or two highlight projects per country.

The VAF Trebon will also offer a number of inspiring workshops and lectures open to the general public. The participants will explore opportunities for co-production between Korea and the EU, learn how to collaborate with a sales agent and distributor, or discover how to finance a short film using local funds. Hands-on case studies will feature Zsuzsanna Kreif, director of the successful TV series Candide, or the animated studio Cinemon Entertainment.

The fifth edition of the VAF Trebon takes place in Trebon, Czech Republic, May 2-4, 2017, in cooperation with Anifilm (International Festival of Animated Films, Trebon, CZ), and organized by ASAF (Association of Czech Animation) in collaboration with SPPA (Polish Animation Producers Association), APAF (Association of Animated Film Producers Slovakia), :D´SAF! (Slovenian Animated Film Association) and MOME (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest).

It cooperates with the Cartoon Forum, MAIA Workshops, and is organized with the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union.