FNE at Art Film Fest 2019: Latvian Coproduction The Humorist Heads to Art Film Fest Competition
Slovakia 11-06-2019KOSICE: Michael Idov’s debut feature The Humorist is one of two Latvian coproductions screening in the main competition of the Art Film Festival, which runs 14 – 22 June in Kosice, Slovakia.
KOSICE: The Latvian/Belgian/Lithuanian/French coproduction Oleg by Juris Kursietis screens in the main competition of the 27th Art Film Fest, which takes place 14 – 22 June 2019 in the Eastern Slovak city of Kosice.
BITOLA: American cinematographer and director Edward Lachman is this year`s recipient of the Golden Camera 300 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Manaki Brothers Film Festival, which will be held September 14th to 21st 2019 in Bitola.
This was announced at the press-conference of the festival on Wednesday along with a video message from the first laureate of the 40th edition of the festival. Lachman expressed his gratitude for the reward which once again relates him directly with his Eastern European origin and said "In Eastern Europe I found art, in America, life".
The festival art director, Blagoja Kunovski – Dore, said that Lachman's name is at the very top not only of the American but also of the world film and it is a great pleasure that he accepted the invitation to come the festival.
"For decades Lachman has been at the forefront of American cinema and has been nominated for an Oscar several times. But now we are pleased to present him with our Oscar, the Golden Camera 300 forlifetime achievement, which he absolutely deserves. Having him as a new laureate of the Golden Camera 300, with the inspirational dimension of his tireless creative energy and with all his humane, altruistic nobleness in the character of Ed Lachman, the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Manaki Brothers, gets the most appropriate enchantment of cinematographers` art " – Kunovski said.
The festival director, Gena Teodosievska, noted that the preparations for the jubilee edition are intense.
"And while all together we worked hard on this edition, we have also worked on our other collaborations – the festival received the IMAGO, the International Cinematographers’ Association award for extraordinary contribution to the promotion of film art; we presented five short Macedonian films at the festival for short film in Poznan, Poland along with five young directors; at The Danish Film Institute last week we presented several Macedonian feature films from the younger generation of directors. This festival is forming partnerships with European and world festivals, which was our mission as well – not to be just a festival for screening films, but also a link between our filmmakers and European and world filmmakers" – Teodosievska said.
The President of the Macedonian Film Professionals’ Association, Igor Ivanov – Izi, also addressed the media, emphasizing that the Association remains committed to the Festival, which is the most important project of the Association. Ivanov informed that traditionally the Association will present the Big Star of Macedonian film award.
The director of the Cultural Center in Bitola, Maja Andonovska Ilievska also addressed the press conference and said that this year the Center as a main venue will dedicate particular attention to the Festival, given the jubilee edition and respond to the high criteria of the festival.
On behalf of the Municipality of Bitola, Evgenia Bektash Josifovska said that as every year, the Municipality will support the festival providing accommodation of the guests, printed materials, as well as other organizational matters.
BRATISLAVA: Slovakia will be out in force at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and MIFA, sending an eight-person delegation, including five producers among the attendees.
Discover Slovak Animation at MIFA
The Russian/Estonian film won the Best Doc award at the Zlin IFF for Children and Youth 2019.
Call for applications is open until August 16, 2019
The eighth edition of MIDPOINTs local module for Slovak filmmakers will take place in Bratislava from September 23-25, 2019.
Intensive 3-day workshop will focus on the script development of participating projects. Slovak creative teams of writers and/or directors and producers can apply with their feature-length film project.
We are very happy to work again with writer, director, editor and acclaimed script consultant Ivo Trajkov, who will act as the group leader of the program.
The program also offers tailor-made online consultations after the program concludes, according to the need of each project.
The workshop will be conducted in Slovak language and it is organized in partnership with Slovak Film Institute.
The deadline for applications is August 16, 2019 – read more about the program here and in case you are Slovak filmmaker with a suitable project, apply here.
MEET US
MIDPOINT is traveling to Transilvania International Film Festival, get in touch to schedule a meeting!
June 5 - 9, 2019
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., MIDPOINT TV Launch & Writers´Room Program Coordinator
MIDPOINT operates under the auspices of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
FEST ANČA 2019 WILL SCREEN SHREK REMAKE AND FILMS BY ANIMATOR WHO WORKED WITH TERRY GILLIAM
The 12th Fest Anča International Animation Festival starts on 27 June in Žilina, Slovakia, bringing four days filled with animation, presentations, concerts and accompanying events.
This year the festival’s main theme for screening sections, guests, concerts and events is identity. The film focus will examine how people associate identity with jobs and families, the formation of identity, and the associated stereotypes. We will also highlight digital- and national-identity. This year’s film focus is curated by Czech film critic Eliška Děcká.
Feature films are always popular attractions at Fest Anča. And this year we’ll screen the legendary Coraline (2009, produced by Laika Studios, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman), which has won many prestigious awards (three Annies and Annecy) with Oscars and Golden Globe nominations.
A real curiosity among feature films is the collaborative Shrek Retold created by a community of Shrek`s Internet fans. The film is a scene-by-scene remake of the popular DreamWorks movie that was produced in 2018 as a crowdsourced project involving over 200 amateur artists and professional filmmakers. It is the brainchild of American comedian, filmmaker, and organizer of the annual Shrekfest - Grant Duffrin. His Tweet encouraged project participation and immediately became a huge viral hit.
Fest Anča 2019 will pay homage in a retrospective to the late Dutch animator Rosto, who passed away in March aged 50. His work was also related to identity through self-reflexive films inspired by dreams and nightmares. Rosto collaborated with many remarkable artists like Terry Gilliam, Tom Waits and The Residents, who dubbed the characters in his film The Monster of Nix - which we’ll screen along with his earlier work.
The festival’s special guests in 2019 include British animators Candy Guard and Vera Neubauer who variously address femininity in their films.
Candy Guard established her reputation for comic observation and witty dialogue with award-winning animated shorts, but especially with the animated series Pond Life, created for Channel 4. It follows the life of Dolly Ann Pond, a self-centred young woman who lives alone in a cul-de-sac - an almost perfect metaphor for the 'dead end' life she sees herself trapped in. The series was very popular in the 1990s and won numerous awards.
Czech-born Vera Neubauer`s films have been screened around the world. Among other prestigious prizes, she has been awarded two BAFTAs. Although her films cover a wide range of genres from children`s cartoons to experimental pieces, the common denominator is a strong female element.
Another Fest Anča special guest from Great Britain is Tim Webb, the director of multi award-winning short A is for Autism. This animated film created in 1992 for Channel 4 is considered seminal in the history of animated documentary, since it deals with a topic rarely addressed by filmmakers. It is based on extensive research, and includes contributions from autistic people – drawings, live footage and commentary – in a way that both enthrals and educates viewers. Tim Webb currently teaches at the Royal College of Art, his filmography includes several award-winning films, and he also develops graphic novels.
Slovak animation will be represented by an unprecedented number of new films this year. Over 30 animated shorts and music videos by Slovak directors were registered for the 2019 competition. Fest Anča will screen an inaugural non-competitive Slovak Panorama to complement the Competition of Slovak Films, which together will showcase Slovak animation from the last two years. This volume of entries represents a huge success – since as recently as 2017 there were too few Slovak films to open the Slovak Competition.
The focus on Slovak production is also reflected in the Industry Days programme. Slovak schools of animation can meet producers, present their work, and discuss the needs and outlook of Slovak animation. The section includes a workshop on copyright for animators by the LITA, Society of authors.
The festival also spotlights older local productions such as Pictures – Folksongs (1989). We’ll celebrate the launch of the DVD of this kids’ puppet animation series with author Helena Slavíkova-Rabarová. This show based on folk proverbs and songs has just been reissued by the Slovak Film Institute.
The 12th Fest Anča will also screen feature films such as Seder-masochism by American animator Nina Paley, and This Magnificent Cake! by Marc James Roels and Emma De Swaef. The latter premiered last year at Cannes and will open this year’s festival. Both films are considered seminal in their respective genres, and the directors are among today’s most exciting animators.
The festival will present an extensive children’s programme on Anča Kids’ Day (Thursday) – showcasing great cartoons including the Slovak feature film Mimi and Lisa: The Christmas Lights Mystery. The winner of the Anča Kids’ Award will be selected by a special children’s committee, and the kids’ programme will continue throughout the festival.
The music programme will include concerts by Samčo, brat dážďoviek and experimental drone/noise/industrial project Odpał. Live-coding project Fishcore by Fero Király allows the audience to see how the performer’s mind works. Musician Dalibor Kocian will appear as a DJ under renowned alias Stroon, and with his new clubbing-aesthetic project Early Millennial. Promoter and keen experimenter Tea Tralna will also present her DJ set.
Popular PechaKucha Ancha and animation masterclasses are also part of the programme.
A big change this year is the change of venues due to the recent fire at the popular Stanica Žilina-Záriečie S2 hall – the programme and most screenings will be held at the New Synagogue and Puppet Theatre in Žilina The festival's accreditation centre will also move to the New Synagogue. Several screenings and late-night music programme will be held at the Smer 77 Club just seven-minutes’ walk from the Synagogue. S1 hall and Stanica Žilina-Záriečie bar are still open and part of the festival.
Other big news is that Game Days has separated from Fest Anča - after several successful joint editions, both events underwent organic changes and parted ways as supportive friends. The first edition of Game Days Trnava took place between 30 May and 2 June 2019. We wish them every success.
Fest Anča 2019 will be held from 27 to 30 June in Žilina as the only animation festival that targets a mainly mature audience in Slovakia. It’s high numbers of visitors and dozens of internationally-renowned animators make the festival a truly unmissable event in the animation world.
Buy your ticket here.
2019 Fest Anča International Animation Festival is financially supported by the Slovak Audiovisual Fund and LITA.
More information:
http://festanca.sk/2019/en/galeria/
Ticket pre-sale:
http://www.festanca.sk/2019/vstupenky-na-12-fest-ancu/
Programme:
Complete programme will be published in the second week of June.
Festival video:
Press accreditation:
http://www.festanca.sk/2019/akreditacny-formular-pre-novinarov-2/
Press package with festival visuals and photos:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vu48bdtAmVEnNhD9bKg0fJQqleqT1Pbv?usp=sharing
Organisers:
Fest Anča
Stanica Žilina-Záriečie
New Synagogue
General partners:
Audiovizuálny fond
Dell
Partners:
LITA
Literárny fond
Slovenský filmový ústav
Mesto Žilina
Bábkové divadlo Žilina
Rosenfeldov palác
Klub Smer 77
Inviton
BB print
BenQ
PRETO Ryba Žilina
Urpiner
VINALMA
Main media partners:
RTVS
Rádio FM
Rádio Devín
Media partners:
Film New Europe
Film.sk
Kinečko
Kapitál
A2
25fps.cz
Filmpress
Cinemaview
9múz
ARD systém
The following grants were announced by the Bulgarian National Film Center on 31 May 2019.
ZAGREB: Oscar winner Danis Tanovic’s Croatian HBO series Success debuted in the USA on 5 June 2019. The six-part drama is HBO’s first series from Croatia and was one of the winners of the HBO Adria First Draft screenwriting contest, designed to find new talent and material from the region.
