The Czech Film Center is part of the Czech Film Fund
11 June 2018
Vast Czech representation at 42nd Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Vast Czech representation at 42nd Annecy International Animated Film Festival
The 42nd edition of Annecy International Animated Film Festival that will take place on the shores of Lac d’Annecy from June 11th till June 16th is especially exciting for the Czech animation. This year, the Czech Republic will be represented vastly by first-class animators participating at MIFA (Marché International du Film d‘Animation), the largest animated film market worldwide. In total, the unprecedented number of 17 Czech creators and producers from 11 animation studios alongside TV, institutions (including Association of Czech Animated Film (ASAF) or Czech Film Fund/Czech Film Center), film schools and other film professionals will be representing our region in Annecy.
This year, three animated films from the Czech Republic are announced as part of the official programme. Jan Švankmajer’s Insect that premiered in January at Rotterdam IFF will be a part of the out of competition section Screening Events. In director’s new surrealist work, the actors start to step into the roles of their characters, all of whom are insects, and slowly lose their own identity. The film maintains its conceptual tone from the beginning till the end and is brightened up by an array of costumes. The film was supported by the Czech Film Fund with the amount of €411,765.
A short film After will be screened in the section Graduation Films in Competition. The movie was directed by Matouš Valchář, a Faculty of Art and Design student from the University of West Bohemia, and deals with the ever-appearing questions of life after death. As many opinions as there are people, but there is one thing in common among all of them – they all think they are right.
Finally, a Slovak-Czech co-production, short film SH_T HAPPENS (dir. David Stumpf, Michaela Mihalyiova) will be presented to film professionals and potential partners alongside 36 other projects at the world-class pitching section MIFA Pitches. “Poor Noah has the future of the whole world on his shoulders. Dealing with a ship filled with selfish animals can lead to absurd solutions. Will he be able to keep his cool?” The film is being produced by BFILM (SK) and FAMU and was supported by the Czech Film Fund with €22,353.
The 42nd edition of Annecy IAFF marks the second participation of the Czech Republic at the film festival and market. Czech Film Center exhibited at the market already in 2014, when a project Even Mice Belong in Heaven was presented within MIFA Pitches. Both directors, Denisa Grimmová and Jan Bubeníček together with the producer of the film Vladimír Lhoták (FreshFilms) are among the filmmakers coming to Annecy this year.
Czech animation will be represented together with other Central and Eastern European countries within the CEE Hub at the Creative Europe MEDIA umbrella stand. The participation is possible in co-operation with Association of Czech Animation Film (ASAF), Czech Film Fund, animation studios, and partners from Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and other countries.
