CEE Animation Forum Selects 42 Projects In Record Year For Submissions

Forty-two animated projects have been selected for the the ninth edition of CEE Animation Forum. The event aims to highlight animation talent from Central and Eastern Europe, serving as a networking opportunity for artists and studios via pitching competitions. Included in the selections are Student Academy Award-winning or -shortlisted filmmakers, as well as newcomers.

Like last year, the event, which normally takes place in the Czech Republic, will be held entirely online due to the pandemic. The traditional pitching competition will be held April 26-29, and additional industry programming will run May 4-9 in collaboration with the Czech Republic’s Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films.

While networking is certainly trickier to do online, the CEE organizers have continued prioritizing creating opportunities for everyone registered to meet with international co-producers, world sales agents, broadcasters, streaming platforms, distributors, representatives of public funds, and financiers.

A new category, Rising Stars, has been introduced this year to highlight student-made shorts, bringing the total number of competitive categories to five. The others are Feature Films, Series and TV Specials, Short Films, and XR Immersive Media. CEE’s goal in creating the new category is to help foster dialogue between schools in the region, and help increase the quality of student work by giving them real industry experience, feedback, and support.

The organizers this year received a record 116 submissions — nearly double from just four years ago. The submissions come from 27 countries across Europe, with the majority of the selections coming from Central and Eastern Europe; Hungary had the most selections this year with six. Across the 42 projects, 47% of directors are women, as are 46% of producers. Notably too, all five categories are headed by a woman.

All of the selections are receiving coaching sessions starting this month, and will receive three sessions total. This is to help prepare teams for both the pre-recorded video pitches and one-on-one meetings with juries and industry representatives.

Here is the full list of project selections:

Feature Films

Birds Don’t Look Back
Director: Nadia Nackle
Producer: Sebastien Onomo, Special Touch Studios
Country: France

Blaise
Director: Dimitri Planchon
Producer: Alexandre Gavras, KG Productions
Country: France

Dreamworld
Director: Veljko Popovic
Producer: Milivoj Popovic, Prime Render d.o.o.
Country: Croatia

Grizzlebetter
Producer: Tania Assova, Zographic Films Ltd.
Country: Bulgaria

Senior Crush
Director: Orsolya Richolm
Producer: Andrea Ausztrics, ULab Kft
Country: Hungary

The Night Falls over Madrid
Director: Daniel V. Villamediana, David Epiney
Producer: Eugenia Mumenthaler, Alina film
Country: Switzerland

Vast Blue Antarctica
Director: Christos Panagos
Producer: Charalambos Margaritis, Kimonos Animation Studio
Country: Cyprus

Series & TV Specials

(only series in the selection)

Anselmo Wannabe
Director: Massimo Ottoni
Producer: Federico Turani, Ibrido
Country: Italy

Bogboy
Director: Jack O’Shea
Producer: Paul Ruttledge, Bogboy Productions Limited
Country: Ireland

Deivit and Lisa
Director: Alessandro Di Renzo
Producer: Mario Tarrago
Country: Spain

Mitch-Match
Director: Geza M. Toth
Producer: Geza M. Toth, KEDD Animation Studio
Country: Hungary

Robot and the Martians
Director: Tomasz Niedzwiedz
Producer: Tomasz Paziewski, Badi Badi
Country: Poland

Rosie and Sapphire
Director: Anna Katalin Lovrity
Producer: Balint Gelley, CUB Animation Ltd.
Country: Hungary

Starting with Hope
Director: Sonia Velvien
Producer: Diana Hentulescu, Moukda Production
Country: Romania

The Adventures of Gloria Scott
Director: Matija Pisacic
Producer: Dijana Mladenovic, Kinematograf
Country: Croatia

The Olive Bunch
Director: Magnus Kravik
Producer: Maria Pavlou, Pixel giants
Country: Cyprus

What the Old Moon Tells
Director: Eliza Plocieniak-Alvarez
Producer: Carol Ratajczak, Blaue Pampelmuse
Country: Germany

Zhuzha Fixes the World
Director: Oleksandra Ruban
Producer: Kateryna Kopylova, Sashko Chubko, Trident Film
Country: Ukraine

Short Films

Albert
Director: Szandra Pataki
Producer: Krisztina Endrenyi, Mythberg Films Kft.
Country: Hungary

Autumn
Director: Wojciech Sobczyk
Producer: Aneta Zagorska, Robert Sowa, Krakow Film Klaster – Centrum Animacji w Krakowie
Country: Poland

Electra. A Poem
Director: Daria Kashcheeva
Producer: Zuzana Krivkova, MAUR film s.r.o.
Country: Czech Republic

Hello Summer
Director: Martin Smatana
Producer: Martin Smatana, Studio Bororo
Country: Slovakia

Ibis
Director: Maria Burgues, Enric Sant
Producer: Maria Burgues, BLISS PICTURES
Country: Spain

Milu’s dog
Director: Daniel Gray
Producer: Bella Szederkenyi, CUB Animation
Country: Hungary

Nut Cake
Director: Meinardas Valkevicius
Producer: Akvile Bliujute – Januse, JSC Meinart
Country: Lithuania

Patrick in Town
Director: Eszter Sandor, Valentina Huckova
Producer: Valentina Huckova, Young Glass Noodle
Country: Slovakia

Sivužas (working title)
Director: Ignas Meilunas
Producer: Juste Beniusyte, Vilniaus Primavera
Country: Lithuania

Sugar, Blood & Insulin. Diary of a Type 1 Diabetic
Director: Thijs Koole
Producer: Diana Hentulescu, Moukda Production
Country: France

Unspoken
Director: Misia Mormina
Producer: Engin Karabagli, Emegro B.V.
Country: Netherlands

XR Immersive Media

Finding Frida
Director: Hilde Kristin Kjøs
Producer: Bjørn-Morten Nerland, Stargate Media AS
Country: Norway

Fruits on the Tube
Director: Klaas-Harm de Boer
Producer: Vincent Lindenboom, Next Empire BV
Country: Netherlands

Swarm
Director: Maarten Isaak de Heer
Producer: Maartem Isaak de Heer, Menetekel Film
Country: Germany

Rising Stars

Beyond the Face
Director: Anja Resman
Producer: Bostjan Potokar, School of Arts – University of Nova Gorica
Country: Slovenia

Desire to Win
Director: Michaela Rezova
Producer: Zuzana Bukovinska, Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design in Prague
Country: Czech Republic

Forgive
Director: Alzbeta Macakova Misejkova
Producer: Jiri Pecinovsky, Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague – FAMU
Country: Czech Republic

Holes
Director: Sofiya Kruglikova
Producer: Academy of Fine Arts and Design – University of Ljubljana
Country: Slovenia

Kurent
Director: Miha Reja
Producer: Bostjan Potokar, School of Arts – University of Nova Gorica
Country: Slovenia

Light Year Apart
Director: Viktoria Taranova
Producer: Michaela Cermakova, Film and TV Faculty of the Academy of the Performing Arts – VŠMU
Country: Slovakia

Orange You Glad
Director: Daniel Sterlin-Altman
Producer: Daniel Sterlin-Altman, Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf
Country: Germany

Silo
Director: Ema Nemcovicova
Producer: Film and TV Faculty of the Academy of the Performing Arts – VŠMU
Country: Slovakia

The Last Drop
Director: Anna Tokes
Producer: Jozsef Fulop, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest – MOME
Country: Hungary

The Perfect Gift
Director: Kristina Penava
Producer: The Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek
Country: Croatia

(Image at top: “Hello Summer” from Slovakia.)