Call for Submissions: ANIMARKT Pitching, Branch of Polish Event ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum, Extends 2018 Pitching Submission Deadline

Photo courtesy of Iwona Buchcic.

As of August 1st, 2018, ANIMARKT Pitching – a branch of ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum, an annual puppet animation-centered conference based in Łódź, Poland, where producers, distributors, representatives of TV broadcasters, animators and other professionals in the stop motion industry share with those who attend the conference their experience and practical knowledge about working in animation industry, including pitching sessions, discussions, presentations, workshops, and individual face-to-face meetings, the first event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe – has extended its pitching submission deadline for stop motion short film projects to August 5, 2018.

“We are excited by the substantial number of all submissions that have already been submitted. Nevertheless, in order to maximise the opportunity for creators to present themselves and their projects in front of professionals from many countries, we are pleased to extend the deadline for projects of stop motion shorts,” says Agnieszka Kowalewska, programmer of ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum.

The regulations for pitching are as follows: The film being pitched must be at the development stage. It must not have a final runtime over over 26 minutes, and at least 80 percent of the film should be made with the technique of stop motion puppet animation. Projects may include animated shorts or television special episodes made with the use of puppet technique.

Furthermore, an additional asset of the project must include the artistic input of creators (Animation Director, Storyboard Author, Author of Artistic Designs, Composer, or an animator responsible for the realization of a significant part of the animation) from at least one of the following countries: Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Germany, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia. However, the event’s organizers welcome creators from all over the world.

The full list of pitching regulations are accessible on www.en.animarkt.pl/pitching. Applications are to be submitted by an online application form at: https://goo.gl/forms/jrbY9FSjEI0fmagJ3 until August 5th, 2018.

ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum 2017. Photo courtesy of Iwona Buchcic.

From all the applications being sent, the Selection Committee will choose 15 projects which will be presented on October 11th, 2018 as part of Pitching during the ANIMARKT event. The selection committee includes: Agnieszka Niewadził (CeTA, Poland), Nikodem Szlęzak (CeTA, Poland), István Mráz (Mozinet Ltd., Hungary), Michal Podhradský (ASAF, Czech Republic), Andrej Gregorčok (Fest Anča International Animation Festival, Slovakia), Agnieszka Kowalewska-Skowron (MOMAKIN, Poland), and Paulina Zacharek (MOMAKIN, Poland). The pitching jury will be announced later this month.

The person responsible for presentation of the selected project will be provided with a hotel accommodation (7 nights) and a reimbursement of 80% of travel costs (up to EUR 150). Moreover, they will participate in two training sessions. The script session with Wim Vanecker – a producer, screenwriter, director, script consultant, and the project manager of European Short Pitch – will be organized in a form of individual meetings focused on a given participant’s projects. Training sessions with Nancy Denney-Phelps – an animation historian and journalist who cooperates with the prestigious AWN.com publishing group – will have a similar form. Nancy will conduct a training sessions that will aim at improving the participants’ skills connected with presenting projects.

Among the projects presented during the ANIMARKT event, the Pitching’s jury will select two main winners. Information concerning the awarded projects will be announced on October 13th, 2018 during the Closing Gala of the Łódź Animation Festival LAL.KA.

The prizes in the contest are the Audiovisual Technology Center contribution in kind in the amount of: 60.000 PLN (ca €14.000), 40.000 PLN (ca €9.300) and additional awards, such as accreditation to Mifa 2019 and sound post production including studio and sound engineer for 5 days (offered by Playade Sound Studio).

The organizer of ANIMARKT is MOMAKIN (www.momakin.pl) – a multi-tasking unit working for popularizing and propagating animation and supporting creators in Poland
and in international arenas. The partners of ANIMARKT include: Audiovisual Technology Center (CeTA) from Wroclaw which is also the founder of the awards for pitching winners, ASAF (Czech Republic), Mozinet (Hungary), Fest Anča International Animation Festival (Slovakia). ANIMARKT is partially funded by the International Visegrad Fund
and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum 2017. Photo courtesy of Iwona Buchcic.

ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum – which includes ANIMARKT Pitching – will take place in Łódź, Poland from 8th to 13th October, 2018.

To learn more about ANIMARKT Stop Motion Forum you can visit their website by going here. For additional information concerning ANIMARKT Pitching, please email Iwona Buchcic, ANIMARKT PR and Marketing Manager, at i.buchcic@momakin.pl, or at +48 502 598 925.

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