ZLIN: The Scent of Oranges, a coming-of-age story directed by Ivan Pokorny, competes in the Films for Youth category at the 59th Zlin IFF for Children and Youth, which runs 24 May – 1 June 2019.

TREBON: Polish writer/director/designer/producer Agnieszka Sadurska is developing a TV special, The Wind over Aleppo. The project was presented at the recent CEE Animation Forum.

TREBON: Animation is still the often-neglected stepchild of film funding, but some bright spots –including the development of animated coproductions – are showing signs of promise. The CEE Animation Forum, which ran in cooperation with the recent Anifilm festival, presented a comprehensive overview of the situation in countries across the region.

TREBON: The young Serbian animation house Origin Tales will coproduce the eight-part TV series Move It or Lose It. The project was pitched by Italian director Raffaele Compagnoni and producer Feberico Riboldazzi from the Italian production company TIWI at the CEE Animation Forum, taking place during the Anifilm festival, which concluded on 12 May 2019.

TREBON: Polish production house Badi Badi builds on the international success of their previous projects with The Guardian of Legends, which was pitched at the CEE Animation Forum, taking place in tandem with the Anifilm festival of animated film, that concluded on 12 May 2019.

TREBON: Two French heavy hitters addressed participants at the CEE Animation Forum (6-8 May 2018) about the hard facts of selling animated films from CEE territories to international distributors. It’s hard enough for a film from CEE territories to be picked up for international distribution. Animated films, and especially animated shorts, have an even harder time. But there are some bright spots.

TREBON: The Anifilm festival of animated films, which concluded on 12 May 2019, gave its feature film award to the Chilean film The Wolf House directed by Christobal Leon and Joaquin Cocina. An expanded industry programme, due in large part to the companion CEE Animation Forum, attracted companies and job seekers to the popular South Bohemian town.

TREBON: The Polish/German team of director Eliza Plocieniak-Alvarez and film student producer Laura Messner presented their animation cut-out TV series The Very Hairy Alphabet at the CEE Animation Forum, running 6 - 8 May 2019 in tandem with Anifilm festival (7 – 12 May).

TREBON: Short films are a large part of the film industry in CEE territories, thanks in part to smaller national funding budgets. Likewise, animated films hold an equally important place in the annals of CEE filmmaking. The CEE Animation Forum, which concluded on 8 May 2019, devoted two pitching sessions to animated short film projects, and the 13 projects showed the international coproduction potential of shorts. The varied selection hit most age groups, and employed a wide range of techniques, with many of the films venturing into hybrid territory.

TREBON: Producer Radim Prochazka of Produkce Radim Prochazka and writer/director Petr Vodicka introduced their stop animation children’s film Babu in the Night City at the CEE Animation Forum, taking place in the Czech Republic on 8 May during the Anifilm Festival, running through 12 May 2019.