Mexico’s Pixelatl and France’s Annecy Festival are launching the second edition of Short Way, a call for short animated projects by Latin American artists. The call aims to develop and produce artistic animated shorts that normally don’t reach audiences through traditional networks and broadcasters.
“The success of the first edition of Short Way has reinforced the need to promote short films among young South American talents. A real business card, this more accessible format allows you to experiment a style, to make a point, and to travel internationally in the numerous festivals. The quality of the projects submitted last year promises a colorful second edition, and we can only rejoice in this collaboration between Pixelatl and Annecy (MIFA),” said Geraldine Baché, MIFA Head of Special Projects, Annecy Festival.
The initiative includes an online bootcamp, where artists and producers will develop their projects with the help of experts linked to both the Annecy Festival and Pixelatl. Also, it includes participation in Animation du Monde, MIFA Pitches 2021, where the creators will pitch their projects to international distributors and producers.
The call in 2020 was a success, driving this second partnership on the next edition of Short Way. Over 250 projects were submitted and, after the bootcamp and announcement of the winner, four shorts coming from Mexico, Argentina and Ecuador are now in production with their respective film institutes or online funding campaigns.
“There is a lot of hope for Latin American animation. It’s just a matter of showing a beautiful local story with wonderful art to the key players and they are fascinated by the themes, colors and techniques used. What we saw last year is that a lot of Film Institutes are willing to support the projects that participated in the bootcamp because of the advice received by industry experts. Annecy Festival (MIFA) has been a true partner by empowering local artists to express their personal stories,” said José Iñesta, Pixelatl’s director.
Key dates:
- Submission Deadline: January 25, 2021
- Selected Projects Announcement: February 22, 2021
- Short Way Bootcamp (online): March 15 to March 19, 2021
- Presentation of the winning projects at MIFA Pitches (France): June 14 to June 19, 2021
