The Czech Horizon Grant
Pitching 2025
The Czech Horizon Grant Supported by the PPF Foundation
On 7 May 2025, the third pitching session for the Czech Horizon Grant Supported by the PPF Foundation will take place at this year’s Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films. The purpose of this special grant is to support the production of professional Czech animated shorts. A total of CZK 1,000,000 will be distributed among the winning projects.
The pitching session, which will take place at 1.30pm, will be followed by the announcement of the winners at 7.00pm.
Projects:
Paints – director: Martin Živocký, producers: Martin Jůza, Anika Homolová
My Grandpa's Childhood – director: Tomáš Červený, producer: Tomáš Červený
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe! – director: Andrea Szelesová, producer: Kristina Husová
The Molepire – director: Marek Čermák, producer: Hana Blaha Šilarová, Karolína Dvorská Fránková
Crossings – director: František Mlčák, producer: Petr Babinec
Last Shift – director: Martin Búřil, producer: Anneta Furdecká
Party – director: Anna Mastníková, producer: Anna Mastníková
The jury that will decide which projects will receive funding is composed of the following members:
Jiří Barta
Jiří Barta studied at the Studio of Graphic Design for Film and TV of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM) and later worked as an animator at the Jiří Trnka Studio at Krátký Film Praha. In 1993–2008, he was the head of the Studio of Graphic Design for Film and TV at UMPRUM. His filmography includes, among others, Diskjockey, The Vanished World of Gloves, A Ballad about Green Wood, The Pied Piper, The Club of the Laid Off and In the Attic or Who Has a Birthday Today?
Kamila Dohnalová
Kamila Dohnalová is an independent film producer at Last Films and MAUR film. She graduated from Charles University and FAMU and participated in the EAVE Marketing workshop as well as the Animation Sans Frontières and Berlinale Talents programmes. She is a member of the European Film Academy. She loves mountains, snow, beer and animation.
Martin Duda
Martin Duda graduated in design from the School of Arts and Crafts in Brno and in animation from FAMU. His films have won awards at festivals in Cannes, Taiwan and the US. He is the head of the Rosa & Dara project, whose pilot film has been screened at cinemas, streamed on Netflix and sold to 20 TV territories across the world. The team is now working in international co-production on a feature-length adventure from the world of Rosa and Dara.
Alexandra Májová
Czech director, screenwriter, animator and illustrator Alexandra Májová studied animation at FAMU. Her films Swimming Pool, Mythopolis and Washing Machine have won numerous awards. She co-directed the TV series Hungry Bear Tales. She also illustrates children’s books and creates animations under the Májovi Studio brand.
Jana Tomas Sedláčková
Jana Tomas Sedláčková is a graduate of the Prague University of Economics and Business and of FAMU. She has worked as a producer and in marketing and communication. For the last 17 years, she’s been linked to PPF, where she’s currently responsible for non-profit activities, mainly as a board member of the PPF Foundation. She focuses on connecting worlds and personalities and creating synergy between projects.
Projekty
Paints
director: Martin Živocký
producers: Martin Jůza, Anika Homolová
Albert perceives the world through colours, which symbolise human natures to him and help him navigate society. His friends are blue, his dream girl Tereza shines yellow and his rival Patrik is red. Albert struggles with determining his own colour, as he feels a mix of conflicting personality traits within himself. During adolescence, this conflict deepens. Eventually, it is his clash with the explosive red that truly opens his eyes. Martin Živocký’s short animated film is a story about how we form ideas about the world and ourselves and how these ideas sometimes crumble.
My Grandpa’s Childhood
director: Tomáš Červený
producer: Tomáš Červený
Six-year-old Ďurko has 7 seconds to decide. The pin on the grenade held by his two friends has been pulled. The same friends due to whom he has been grounded for his latest act of heroism. Will Ďurko rebel against his mother and leave the comfort of being grounded to save them all or will he be a good boy? What is the price of heroism?
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe!
director: Andrea Szelesová
producer: Kristina Husová
In the clouds high above lies a mythical playground where the children of Greek gods and monsters come to play. Amongst them is little Yios with a shining sun on his head. Yios is determined to find friends, but cannot control his explosive energy and shine. The annoyed children devise a prank, leading to Yios’s fall to Earth. But in that strange place he meets someone unexpected – a curious blind boy. Thanks to him Yios discovers how to calm down and finally unlocks the true beauty of his shine.
The Molepire
director: Marek Čermák
producers: Hana Blaha Šilarová, Karolína Dvorská Fránková
Tonda, a curious mole spends his days inventing a device that will allow him to see the world from above. When digging his way back home after spending yet another day testing his invention, he finds a wooden box with Emilka, a toothy winged being, in it. The two share a common desire: to discover the world and find a friend. Two creatures, the mole and the vampire, outsiders from different worlds not only help each other fulfil their dreams, they even become blood-bonded for life.
Crossings
režisér: František Mlčák
producent: Petr Babinec
The film follows the life of ants in their microcosm filled with both everyday labour and dramatic moments. The ants build, gather food and care for their offspring while their colony faces external threats. When a human hand intrudes into their world, their struggle for survival culminates in a devastating attack with insect spray. However, after the destruction, hope springs up – an antling hatches from a chrysalis, a symbol of resilience. The film thus represents a visual metaphor for the fragility of life and the power of nature, which always finds a way to renew itself.
Last Shift
director: Martin Búřil
producer: Anneta Furdecká
Planet Earth is collapsing, it’s all over… But nobody seems to mind, everyone is having a good time and soon the party will continue on the moon. It’s also the last day on Earth for the Janitor, who, unlike most, isn’t celebrating; he still has plenty to do. One last mission – to unplug the Brain, the organic computer that came up with and organized the Great Move to the Moon. It’s a meeting that the Janitor is not looking forward to at all. He really doesn’t like the Brain’s endless rants about the wretchedness of mankind. But this time, the Brain has something vital to discuss with him. Will the Janitor be sent on one last mission? And is humanity worth saving?
Večírek / Party
režisérka: Anna Mastníková
producentka: Anna Mastníková
What would you do if you were invited to a party where you could truly be yourself, without any pretence and mask to hide behind but also without any judgement from other people? A short animated film about finding the courage to reveal one’s inner universe, mingle and entangle, break out of one’s shell and free oneself from inhibitions.
