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Line-up of the Visegrad Animation Forum 2017 Unveiled
The fifth edition of the VAF Trebon, a key industry meeting for animation professionals mainly from CEE region, takes place in Trebon, Czech Republic, May 2-4, 2017.
Even if the pitching competition is open to all European animated projects in development, this edition is specific for high number of submitted works from the Central and Eastern Europe (Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia). The guarantee of the quality is indicated by well-known animation professionals in both categories: Jan Saska (CZ), one of 10 finalists for an Academy Award nomination in the Best Animated Short Film category will pitch his new short Hurikán and Katarina Kerekesova (SK) will present her upcoming Christmas TV special which follows a very successful series Mimi & Lisa. The list of all selected projects can be found here. The VAF Trebon supports filmmakers while helping them to develop their projects with experienced international professionals. In order to prepare a public pitching session, several preparation workshops for the authors and producers are planned.
Last year saw a truly historic feat. Within the framework of the VAF Trebon 2016, a meeting of the heads of the national film funds from the Visegrad + countries was organized to discuss possible coordination and cooperation to support animation projects from the region. In spite of different legislation in various countries, it is highly encouraging to see that the funds are interested in facilitating animation production and being active in joining forces to support cooperation across our region. The organizers of the VAF have made a further step this year inviting national broadcasters to join the discussion with the funds.
One of the primary objectives of VAF is the regeneration of the Central and East European (CEE) animation industry. Therefore cross-border network of producers is a vital tool. With this in mind, VAF launches a VAF Minority Co-Production Poolwhere invited producers interested in cooperation and in striking minority coproduction deals in our region will present themselves, their companies and their slate of projects to fellow professionals. The VAF Trebon will also offer a number of inspiring workshops and lectures opened to the general public. The participants will discover space for co-production opportunities between Korea and the EU, learn how to cooperate with a sales-agent and a distributor or will find out how to finance a short film from local funds. Hands on case studies will feature Zsuzsanna Kreif, director of the successful TV series Candide or the animated studio Cinemon Entertainment. Last but not least, the official launch of the VAF New Talents 2017 will take place in Trebon. This is the traditional selection of best short films made by young and debuting artists from the Central and Eastern Europe produced in the previous year, which then travels worldwide festivals for the whole coming year.