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Subscribe to the RSS feed7-year-old Mia wins over audiences in Austin
Wouter Bongaerts’ short film Mia has won the Audience Award for Animated Short at the Austin Film Festival in Texas. It’s the first international award for the recently released animation short, kick-starting little Mia’s international career.
Following his graduation project Mouse for Sale, which travelled to festivals worldwide, Wouter Bongaerts now created a story about seven-year-old Mia who tries to liberate her overworked mother from the clutches of an overpopulated metropolis.
Marina, I’m the same… and 82 Days in April to Valladolid
There's a strong Flemish presence at this year's Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain (19-26 October), where Stijn Coninx’ feature film Marina and Caroline Strubbe’s I’m the same I’m an other screen in the Official Competition and Bart Van den Bempt’s debut feature 82 Days in April is in the fest’s Meeting Point programme. Bülent Öztürk’s short film Houses With Small Windows and Pieter Coudyzer’sThe Wake complete the Flemish line-up.
As part of the Official Competition, both Marina and I’m the same I’m an other are vying for the Golden and Silver Spike with cash awards worth €60,000 and €20,000, respectively, to support a Spanish release of the film.
Pinocchio and The Congress shortlisted for European Film Awards
Enzo d’Alò’s Pinocchio and Ari Folman’s The Congress are both nominated for the European Film Awards in the category Animated Feature Film. Brussels-based animation studio Walking The Dog coproduced Pinocchio for Flanders and played an important role in animating The Congress.
The European Film Academy (EFA) announced its shortlist of animation features. Besides French contender Jasmine, the list consists of Enzo d’Alò’s Pinocchio and Ari Folman’s The Congress. Animation and production company Walking The Dog played an important role in the creation process of both features.
Flemish animation company Grid Animation elected European Animation Producer of the Year
Ghent-based animation studio and producer Grid Animation has been elected European Animation Producer of the Year at Cartoon Forum, the Pan-European co-production and financing platform for animation programmes. French speaking Belgian broadcaster RTFB was also nominated in the category European Broadcaster of the Year, the award eventually went to Super RTL/ RTL Disney.
Both Jan Goossen and Mark Mertens of Grid were present to receive the award. The duo was pleasantly surprised by the choice of the jury within the category European Animation Producer of Year in which they had to compete with some well renowned companies within the industry.
Prey, The Importance of Sweet & Salt and DAY_6011 to LA Shorts Fest
Jonas Baeckeland’s short film Prey has been selected for this year’s Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. Also known as LA Shorts Fest, it is one of the largest American Oscar-qualifying short film festivals. The Importance of Sweet & Salt by Benoit De Clerck and Raf Wathion's animation short DAY_6011 are also added to the LA fest’s slate. The festival screens more than 250 short films from 5-12 September.
In Prey, director Jonas Baeckeland follows Algerian-born Ali Toumi, who has just escaped from a Belgian prison. Buying himself a new identity he hopes to make a fresh start and provide his family with a normal integrated life. But an unforeseen encounter with an old acquaintance makes Ali relapse into old habits.
Betty’s Blues scores Cartoon d’Or nomination
Betty’s Blues, a co-production with Flanders by Rémi Vandenitte, has been selected as one of the six finalists for the Cartoon d’Or, the pan-European award for best animated short film of the year. Last year, this prestigious award went to Oh Willy... by Marc James Roels and Emma De Swaef. This year’s winner will be announced during Cartoon Forum, the co-production forum for animated TV series.
Each year, the Cartoon d'Or rewards the best European animation short film among the prize-winning films from the major European festivals. Consequently, those films competing are generally considered to be ‘the best of best’ in Europe. The 2013 Award Ceremony is set to take place on 19 September in Toulouse.
850 Meters going strong on the festival scene
Joeri Christiaen’s animated short film 850 Meters has recently captured the hearts of audiences at the Mundos Digitales International Animation Festival in Coruña, Spain (4 – 9 July) and was awarded the fest’s Audience Award, making it the film’s first international award. The film is set to tour various other festivals including Brazil and Rio de Janeiro.
The 11th edition of Mundos Digitales took place in Coruña this year while the festival’s main subject focused on 3D Animation, Visual Effects, Videogames and Architectural Visualization. Besides the official competition, the festival hosts a professional forum organising several conferences. Professionals from major international companies related to these fields of animation present the most interesting projects of the year at the forum.
Flemish shorts bonanza at Palm Springs ShortFest
Several short films from Flanders are selected for this year’s Palm Springs International Short Film Festival (18-24 June). The selectees will be screened in various different sections of the festival. Perfect Drug by Toon Aerts was chosen for the WTF? segment, while Lukas Dhont’s Headlong was picked for the Si C’est Bon programme. Hisko Hulsing’s Junkyard, a co-production with Flanders, made the call as part of the Crimes And Misdemeanours section. Finally, Double Room, Chopper and Marcel, King of Tervuren also add a touch of Flanders to the Palm Springs line-up.
The Palm Springs International ShortFest is one of the largest showcases of short films in North America, this year marking its 19th edition. The seven-day competitive festival screens approximately 300 films from 40 countries in a series of 90-minute programmes and has about twenty competitive categories awarding prize money.
Oh Willy... fares well at Los Angeles Film Festival
The animated short film Oh Willy... by Marc James Roels and Emma De Swaef further piles up awards, now having received the Honolulu Film Office Award for Best Animated/Experimental Short Film at the 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival (13 – 23 June). As such, the Belgian-French-Dutch co-production cashed in a $1,500 prize, adding this to its already successful award history.
The 17-minute long stop motion Oh Willy... was acclaimed by the jury as ‘a truly exceptional piece of work’. In the film, fifty-something Willy returns to the nudist community where he spent his youth to visit his dying mother.
Grand Prix goes to Junkyard
Hisko Hulsing’s animated short Junkyard won the Animation Jury’s Grand Prix – Magnolia Award at the Shanghai TV Festival (10 – 14 June 2013). The award ceremony was broadcasted live on Chinese television and viewed by 350 million people.
The Shanghai TV Fest, one of the biggest Asian TV festivals and partner of the Shanghai Film Festival, programmed Junkyard in its Outstanding Shorts section. Junkyard had its international premiere last June at the Annecy International Animation Festival. Recently the film was also selected as the Dutch submission for the Academy Awards Best Animated Shorts category.
