Registration is now open for ANIMARKT Pitching 2020 — the competition section of the CEE’s premiere event dedicated to the stop-motion animation industry — offering handcrafted filmmakers with projects in development the chance to win prizes including an in-kind contribution of 100,000 PLN in production funds, professional software or a two-week artist’s residency in Argentina. Organizers will select 15 finalists to present their projects during the event in October in Łódź, Poland.
“It has been proven many times that an award at ANIMARKT Pitching translates directly into the future of the artist and his or her project,” said Agnieszka Kowalewska-Skowron from MOMAKIN, the organizer of the ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum. “For instance, the production of the animated film Astra, directed by Michał Łubiński, our 2018 finalist, is presently underway.”
ANIMARKT Pitching is open for projects of 30 minutes’ duration or less in development, with at least the first version of the script completed. The prerequisite is that 80% of the animation is planned to be created in stop motion. As one of the event’s objectives is to support artists from Central and Eastern Europe, submissions from Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Estonia, Germany, Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia will be given a priority.
As ever, Pitching finalists will be able to get well prepared for their October presentations with training sessions on presentation and public speaking techniques, script or production.
“Pitching participants work with our experts even before the event. We make sure to help each finalist feel confident before his or her decisive performance,” said Paulina Zacharek from MOMAKIN, who co- organises the ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum, adding that the event will provide an opportunity to discuss the issues very important for creating a film, such as puppet-making.
Among the experts who will conduct the training sessions are recognized journalist Nancy Denney-Phelps, member of the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA) and juror at many animation film festivals, and Edwina Liard, a French producer from Ikki Films, whose credits include the Oscar-nominated animated film Negative Space. Participants have the opportunity to take part in public speaking exercises with a composer and musician Nik Phelps or discuss scripts with Anna Bielak, a screenwriter and script consultant well known in the Polish animation community.
This year’s ANIMARKT Pitching prize pool includes special distinctions in the form of vouchers of 60,000 PLN (approx. 13,500 EUR) and 40,000 PLN (approx. 9,000 EUR) funded by the Audiovisual Technology Center (CeTA) in Wrocław to use its facilities, equipment and services, or a co-producer’s contribution to the film from the French studio Folimage. The participants may also win professional work tools, namely the Dragonframe 4 software, professional support in the form of the expert consultation on the making of a stop motion puppet with Marcin Zalewski, or industry accreditation for the Mifa 2021 Trade Show in Annecy.
Another very attractive award is a two-week artist residency at the Animation Production Center Quirino Cristiani in Cordoba (Argentina) funded by APALAB. During the stay focused on the development of his or her project, the artist will have a chance to benefit from artistic consulting or participate in meetings with Argentinian animation producers.
The deadline for the registration for ANIMARKT Pitching is August 3, 2020. Fifteen selected projects will be announced on August 17. All of them will then be presented on October 9. Register at bit.ly/ANIMARKTPitching2020.
The ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum will be held from October 6-10, 2020 in Łódź. Apart from the Pitching Competition, the main program will comprise workshops, masterclasses and panel discussions for students and young specialists (the Masters section), this year revolving around topics related to the making of a stop-motion puppet as well as relations between animation makers and producers. The third part of the program, Business, concentrates on establishing contacts in the industry and recruitment sessions for international animation studios or stop motion projects. This year it will be extended to include a new meeting formula (Match and Meet). Another novelty for the event participants will be a special application My ANIMARKT App which enables to directly arrange networking meetings.
The Forum received financing from the Culture Promotion Fund of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and from the International Visegrad Fund, and is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
Learn more about the event at www.animarkt.pl.
