20 Animation Projects for the NEXT LAB Generation

 Next Lab Generation announced  the twenty projects selected for the fourth edition of its workshop, which kicked off on January 8th with an initial online phase. These 20 animation projects will work on the application of creative tools within the virtual environment and the use of real-time engines, and will receive advice on their production, applying R+D+i and the latest technology. The final result of this eight-week experience will be an animated teaser of each participating project, produced in record time.

The Spanish Next Lab initiative, to discover new talent and promote the most advanced animation production from a technical and narrative point of view, haseceived projects from 26 countries, doubling the number of countries participating in 2023. The projects selected come from Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and Russia.

Themes include: captivating stories with a dreamlike tone that envelops the viewer, interspersed with stories that explore vital thoughts told with humor. Also, projects that address social criticism and even series aimed at children’s audiences.

After an initial seven-week online phase involving learning the tools, working on the project and a masterclass, only the 10 best projects will go on to the workshop’s second phase. This will take place in Madrid from February 26 to March 2, and will conclude on February 29, March 1 and 2, with an event that will bring together professionals from the sector and will include—in addition to other activities and conferences—a public pitch by the finalist.

Experts:
Daniel Martín Peixe, an animator with 13 years of experience at Disney (including Zootopia and Moana), who currently works at Moon Studios as a cinematics animator; animation director and digital artist Federico Moreno Breser, Real Time VFX Supervisor at Reel Fx and Quill software expert;
Enric Sant, one of the winners of Next Lab 2022, multidisciplinary artist with more than 10 years of experience in the video game industry and director of Lumen, VR animation series awarded at Annecy 2023;
Joaquín Martínez, one of the winners of the first edition, who has been working for four years with VR animation, experimenting with new workflows and combining it with teaching experimental animation
Raúl Colomer, CTO at Hampa Studio and focused on the development and implementation of real-time workflows in 2D and 3D animation, using immersive technology for previewing with open-source software.

The full lineup of projects:

• ¿Hay algún muerto en la sala? by Miguel Medrano Malo, Lucía Sampedro and Carmen Álvarez (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participants: Miguel Medrano Malo and Lucía Sampedro.
• Calcetines by Nacho Campa Martínez and Guillermo G. Fidalgo (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participants: Nacho Campa Martínez and Guillermo G. Fidalgo.
• Catwalk by Lidia Luna, Omayra González Pérez and Toni Mortero (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: Omayra González Pérez and Toni Mortero.
• DESECHABLE by Carlos Gómez Salamanca, Diego Cañizal (Colombia, Spain). Feature film project. Workshop participants: Carlos Gómez Salamanca and León Felipe Carrizosa.
• DIBUS by José Antonio Vaca Cerezo and Adrián Andújar Jiménez (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: José Antonio Vaca Cerezo and Adrián Andújar Jiménez.
• Dream Jobs Agency (DJA) by Jose Ignacio Molano Silván (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: Jose Ignacio Molano Silván (Mol).
• East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Almu Redondo (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participants: Almu Redondo.
• La ruina más alta by Douglas De La Hoz (Colombia). Series project. Workshop participants: Douglas De La Hoz and Daniel Hincapié.
• Las Almas de Escazú by Nicholas Hooper and Isidora Fajardo (Chile). Series project. Workshop participants: Isidora Fajardo and Felipe Guzman.
• Lázaro by Beatriz García de Leániz González (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participant: Beatriz García de Leániz González.
• Martina e Guará by Paula de Abreu (Brazil). Series project. Workshop participants: Paula de Abreu and Sergi Miranda.
• Maybe yes, maybe no by Yura (Georgiy) Boguslavsky and Asya Kiseleva (Russia, Armenia). Short film project. Workshop participant: Yura (Georgiy) Boguslavsky.
• Nanomia by Alejandro Díaz Vidal and Iván Martínez (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participants: Alejandro Díaz Vidal and Ruben Manchón Martínez.
• Parallel Lines at Infinity by Isabella Papa (Brazil, Portugal). Short film project. Workshop participants: Isabella Papa and Baboo Matsusaki.
• PUTA BARCELONA by Pablo García-Munté (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participant: Pablo García-Munté.
• Tales of Vichaya by Luis Felipe Verástegui Ríos (Peru, Brazil). Video game project. Workshop participant: Luis Felipe Verástegui Ríos.
• The Cutting of the Forest by Vernante Amarilla Pallotti and Daniele Zen (Italy). Short film project. Workshop participants: Vernante Amarilla Pallotti and Elisa Maggioni.
• The Whistler by Alejandro Muñoz Fernández and Fernando Llor (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: Alejandro Muñoz Fernández and Fernando Llor.
• Welcome to Fucking Rainbowland by Nuño Benito and Nacho Subirats (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: Nacho Subirats Morate and Nuño Benito de Castro.
• Zoe & Chill by Jamil Lahham (Canada). Short film project. Workshop participants: Jamil Lahham.

Parallel Lines at Infinity

Puta Barcelona

Welcome to Fucking Rainbowland

A jury made up of professionals from the sector will select the three best projects as winners of the edition, which will be presented at Annecy MIFA 2024 during the Next Lab Generation conference. In addition, each of the winning projects will receive €8,000 gross in development assistance, three months of mentoring, a travel grant and accreditation for a representative of the project to attend the Annecy Festival 2024.

(central image cover: Las Almas de Escazú by Nicholas Hooper and Isidora Fajardo)