03-11-2020

PRODUCTION: Czech/Slovak Animated Fichtelberg in Preproduction

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    Fichtelberg by Šimon Koudela Fichtelberg by Šimon Koudela photo: www.simonkoudela.com

    BRATISLAVA: The hybrid animated/live-action historical adventure film Fichtelberg directed by Šimon Koudela, which participated in the 2020 online CEE Animation Forum, is moving into preproduction as a Czech/Slovak coproduction. Arina Film Production is on board as the Slovak coproducer.

    The producers will capture all four seasons in the shooting phase, with 60 shooting days planned for outdoor and indoor filming and five days scheduled for filming backgrounds and effects. Another 25 days are expected for filming in the studio. The post-production phase will take 2 years.

    „After its development, the project was selected for the year-long workshop Dramatic incubator Fénix, where we, together with foreign colleagues, reworked the script more clearly and more attractively for a wider international audience. The Jizera Mountains [where the film is set] proved to be unsuitable for filming, so we are talking about other locations [in both Germany and the Czech Republic]. The right degree of artistic stylisation will also be crucial. We want to shoot the vast majority of shots in the studio, but also in real interiors. We tested the trick-animation shots while shooting a pilot demonstration, for which we created buildings, historical decorations, and props and focused on cooperation with costume designers,“ Czech producer Viktor Schwarz told FNE.

    The story of Fichtelberg takes place in the Jizera Mountains in 1551. The 20-year-old knight Henry has the Urbach village in his custody. Suddenly, people start to disappear under strange circumstances. The locals suspect mysterious Wallachians, who settled in the mountains nearby. When a young woman also disappears, Henry decides to find and rescue her from these demonic people. On the highest mountain, Fichtelberg, always covered with clouds, he discovers real hell.

    Fichtelberg is produced by Cineart TV Prague and coproduced by Slovak Arina Film production. The estimated budget of the film is 35 m CZK / 1.3 m EUR. The development was supported by the Czech Film Fund. The producers are looking for additional coproducers and funding.

    The completition of the film is expected in 2023.

    Production information:

    Producer:
    Cineart TV Prague (Czech Republic)
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    Coproducer:
    Arina Film production (Slovakia)
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    Credits:
    Director: Šimon Koudela
    DoP: Matěj Cibulka
    Editor: Jan Daňhel
    Animator: Šimon Koudela