Tribute screening of the restored version of Nostalgia, Andrei Tarkovsky’s masterpiece

International Animated Film Festival Animateka celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. A few days ago, we announced the programme of the 20th edition, which brings together a diverse selection of animated films from all over the world.

Eurimages and the European Film Academy have the pleasure to award producer Uljana Kim with this years’ EURIMAGES INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION AWARD. Uljana Kim, born in 1969 in a Korean family in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, graduated from the Institute of Cinematography in Moscow (VGIK) in 1993 and is a film critic by education. She emigrated to Lithuania, where she founded Studio Uljana Kim in 1997. At that time, she was the first female producer in Lithuania.

The winners of the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF)'s five competition programmes as well as the Just Film sub-festival for youth and children's films were presented with awards at the festival's award ceremony.

The directors of Poor Things and The Zone Of Interest will both receive the annual Dennis Davidson (former DDA) Spotlight Award, which shines a light on diversity and inclusion in cinema. Both prizes will be presented at the Closing Ceremony of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

The international short film and animation festival announced the winners of its 2023 edition this Saturday, November 11 at the PÖFF Shorts Award Ceremony.

The CEE Animation Forum, the largest pitching and networking event in Central and Eastern Europe dedicated to the animated projects, took place on 8^th and 9^th November. A total of 28 projects were presented in the 4 main competitions, with the juries presenting awards to a total of 12 animated works.

The project selection for CEE Animation Forum 2023 boasts an impressive lineup, featuring a diverse range of animated content across various categories. The total budget of all 28 pitching projects reaches a staggering €29 million, showcasing the ambitious scale and potential impact of these productions. To cater to different target demographics, the selection includes 8 projects for children up to 10 years old, 6 projects for teenagers, 8 projects for young adults, and 7 projects aimed at adult audiences.

“I am very proud of every team on the stage – from debuting students fearlessly stepping in front of a professional audience for the first time, to experienced filmmakers unveiling a multitude of highly ambitious projects. Their creativity and courage defined the essence of our CEE Animation Forum," said Marta Jallageas, managing director of the CEE Animation Forum.

Financial support for the event was provided by the Czech Film Fund, Ministry of Culture Czech Republic, Audiovisual Producers´ Association (Czech Republic), Pilsen Region (Czech Republic) and the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest.

 

LIST OF WINNERS

AUDIENCE AWARD

• My Little Heroes (d. Javier Galán, p. Ivan Agenjo, Peekaboo Animation, Fabrique Fantastique, Spain, Belgium)

CATEGORY FEATURE FILMS

• Winner: Nine Lives Left (d. Zacharias Mavroeidis, p. Maria Kontogianni, Wild at Heart, Greece)

Jury statement: We feel the potential of the story (at least we are going to discover what cats think of us!). But we feel this is not around the travel between childhood and teenager more about what we want for our life.

CATEGORY SERIES/TV SPECIAL

• Winner: Rainy Days (d. and p. Ani Antonova Hristova, Austria, Bulgaria)

Jury statement: We decided to give main Award to Rainy days for its great potential and unusual main character. We see the project as very original and poetic. We also appreciate the

personal aspect, since it’s female family business, artistic cooperation of two generations.

• Special Mention: Dolls (d. Joachim Hérissé, p. Stéphanie Launay, Komadoli Studio, France)

Jury statement: We decided to award 'Dolls' with a Special Mention for its quality and originality. We appreciated its connection to the tradition of Czech puppet animation. We consider the project very artsy, a counterpart to consumerism, and also a very personal endeavor.

CATEGORY SHORT FILMS

• Winner: Nightbloom (d. Kata Gugić, p. Vanja Andrijević, Bonobo Studio, Croatia)

Jury statement: For the quality of the artists' research, their originality, and their capacity to experiment with narrative through the creation of an entertaining and pop universe.

• Special Mention: Be Still My Heart (d. Melinda Kádár, p. Bella Szederkényi, CUB Animation, Hungary)

Jury statement: For the vulnerability of the process, the clarity of vision and risk taking, as an encouragement to push the surreal element further and deeper.

CATEGORY RISING STARTS

• Winner: Stuck in the Wasp Nest (d. Agnes Milla Bereczki, p. Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia)

Jury statement: The jury was impressed by the professional presentation and the author’s ability to process a personal trauma with honesty and humor. They were captivated by its original visuals and clear storytelling.

• Special Mention: It´s (Not) Yours (d. Santiago Ordoñez, p. Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia)

Jury statement: This film tells a deep story with a minimalistic style. The jury was impressed by the maturity and the strong atmosphere behind, as well as by the expressive sound design that complemented the graphic visuals.

CEE Animation Workshop

• Riamise (d. Francesco Forti, p. Federico Turani, Ibrido Studio, Italy)

Ciclic Residency

• Nightbloom (d. Kata Gugić, p. Vanja Andrijević, Bonobo Studio, Croatia)

TV Paint

• Eruption (d. Zoe Nagy, p. MOME Anim – Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Hungary)

Cartoon Movie – direct access

• Hawl (d. Joanna Jasińska-Koronkiewicz, p. Anna Mroczek, Wojtek Leszczyński, Przemysław Pilarczyk, Likaon / WJT, Poland)
• MouMoush – the King of Plastic (d. Milorad Krstic, p. Radmila Roczkov, Hermina Roczkov, Hungary)

Young Horizons Industry – direct access

• Rainy Days (d. and p. Ani Antonova Hristova, Austria, Bulgaria)

Animarkt Stop Motion Forum – direct access

• Dolls (d. Joachim Hérissé, p. Stéphanie Launay, Komadoli Studio, France)

While the 25th anniversary edition of connecting cottbus (8-10 Nov 2023), the East-West co-production market at FilmFestival Cottbus, is still underway, the award winners out of the 13 cocoPITCH and 6 cocoWIP projects were already announced during tonight’s ceremony:
 
The cocoPITCH Audience Award went to the best pitch presentation of a project in development, voted for by all industry participants. The audience chose EXCAVATORS, presented by director Argyro Nicolaou and producer Constantinos Nikiforou (Caretta Films, Cyprus), who receive a cash prize of €1,500.
 
This year’s cocoPITCH jury was comprised of Laurin Dietrich (WOLF Consultants), Paul Thiltges (Paul Thiltges Distributions) and Olena Yershova (Tato Film), who deliberated on three awards:
 
The Avanpost Pitch Packaging Award was handed out to EXCAVATORS, presented by director Argyro Nicolaou and producer Constantinos Nikiforou (Caretta Films) from Cyprus. Romanian post-production outfit Avanpost will provide the project with in-kind services up to €15,000, which may include strategy consulting, the project look-book as well as production/post-production for a proof of concept. The jury decided “to give the award to a team who touched us with a personal, strong pitch that at the same time made clear how relevant and universal their film will be. A story of intergenerational trauma and how to find your own position to tell it.”
 
The Croatian Audiovisual Centre presented the HAVC Project Development Award, a €5,000 cash award towards the further development of one project. It went to MY WORLD UPSIDE DOWN by director/producer Daniel Rihák and producer Martina Saková (WHAT IF Films, Slovakia & Projector23, Germany). The jury chose “a project that touched us with its courageous handling of a delicate topic, in a humorous and engaging pitch and teaser. We are convinced that this well-defined story with its heart in the right place will emotionally connect with audiences.”
 
The Producers Network Award, consisting of free accreditation to the Producers Network at the Marché du Film in Cannes 2024, went to Victoria Mitreva (Portokal/Garti Films, Bulgaria), the producer of cocoPITCH project RESONANCE, directed by Yordan Petkov. The jury stated: “A Western with an East European sensibility, this project convinced us with a subtle and visually beautiful exploration of life in the tension between community and staying true to your own convictions.”
 
The MIDPOINT Consulting Award went to three cocoPITCH projects, each receiving an in-depth script consultancy. The winners, announced by MIDPOINT‘s programme coordinator Soňa Morgenthalová, are AT YOUR SERVICE (presented by director German Golub & producer Evelin Penttilä/Stellar Film, Estonia), PYRRHIC (presented by director Cosmin Nicolae & producer Dana Boghean-Melconian/Icon Production, Romania) and TACTILE UNIVERSE (presented by director Szilárd Bernáth & producer András Muhi/Focus Fox, Hungary).
 
The 2023 cocoWIP jury was comprised of Kathrin Kohlstedde (FilmFest Hamburg), Lorena Morín (MECAS Market/Splitscreen), Lukáš Moudrý (Studio Beep) as well as Waheed Zamani and Robert Wunsch of D-Facto Motion. They deliberated on two awards:
 
Sponsored by German post-production studio D-Facto Motion, the D-Facto Motion WIP Award of €35,000 in-kind services plus €5,000 for additional expenses went to the work in progress BORDERWALL, presented by director Ignas Jonynas and producer Ruta Adelė Jekentaitė (Baltic Productions, Lithuania).
 
BORDERWALL also received the Studio Beep Sound Post-Production Award, consisting of €6.000 in-kind services sponsored by the high-end studios based in the centre of Prague. The jury “are happy to award one movie with powerful cinematography, a mysterious character and a cage of birds. A gripping story that intrigued us in such way that we want to see it finished immediately.”
 
Congratulations to all the winners!

The European Arthouse Cinema Day (EACD) is the worldwide day of action for arthouse cinemas around the globe. Over 600 venues in almost 40 countries (spanning from Europe to South Korea and Mexico) will celebrate cinemas and European filmmaking creating the largest international platform of its kind to showcase their unique contributions to cultural diversity.
 
For the 8^th time, participating cinemas across the world are inviting their audiences to experience the vibrant cultural force of cinema. This one-day global event, spearheaded by the International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (CICAE), features a host of special events and screenings. They include premieres, previews, Q&As with filmmakers, actors and special guests as well as tailored programmes and special screenings for children and young audiences. Last year, around 60,000 viewers attended over 250 films during EACD events alone.

İlker Çatak, Isabel Coixet, and Matteo Garrone are the ambassadors of this year's European Arthouse Cinema Day.
 
EACD ambassador İlker Çatak: “Great films teach us to look beyond ourselves. They open windows onto a new world of different stories and perspectives. Cinemas are the classrooms in which we get to glimpse a myriad of different emotions and experiences. Join us for European Arthouse Cinema Day to celebrate diverse film and cinema culture and the theatres that give them a home”.
 
Among the centralised EACD events organised by the CICAE and its national member associations is the Swedish premiere of Ilker Çatak's THE THEACHERS’ LOUNGE. It will be released at the Stockholm Film Festival and in over 20 Swedish cinemas on European Arthouse Cinema Day. Italian film director Matteo Garrone presents his new film ME CAPTAIN at the Arras Film Festival and a live Q&A will be broadcast in numerous other French and Italian cinemas. In France, the premiere of the film LITTLE GIRL BLUE will take place in several cinemas with a live Q&A with director Mona Achache and actress Marion Cotillard. Moreover, the Spanish film director Isabel Coixet will attend the screening of her new film UN AMOR for a film talk, which will also be broadcast to other Spanish cinemas.
 
"In cinema, seduction and seduceability are closely related. Accordingly it is crucial to have a cinema that opens up new perspectives, allows us to discover foreign cultures, and questions, time and again, our established standards," says CICAE president Dr. Christian Bräuer. "This is exactly what arthouse cinemas around the world stand for: curated programmes beyond the mainstream that bring cinematic diversity to the Big Screen. They are united by the certainty that cinema is more than ‘just’ a good film and by an unshakeable belief in the transformative power of the seventh art. This spirit is what we want to celebrate on Sunday and we are delighted that 600 cinemas from almost 40 countries and four continents will once again be taking part in the European Arthouse Cinema Day".
 
The European Arthouse Cinema Day is organised by the CICAE and its member associations and is internationally funded by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Union, Eurimages, the German Federal Film Board and Europa Cinemas. It partners with the Month of European Film (1 November – 9 December 2023) and the LUX Audience Award.
 
For more information visit www.artcinemaday.org, www.cicae.org or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.