1. Rabbit and Deer
Dir. Péter Vácz, Hungary, 16’15”, 2013, 2d/3D animation, drama.
Rabbit and Deer are living happily and careless until their friendship is put to the test by Deer’s new obsession with finding the formula for entering the 3rd dimension. After an unexpected accident Deer finds himself in a new world, unknown to him. Separated by dimensions the two friends have to find the way back to each other. Celebrated at children’s film festivals worldwide, Rabbit and Deer won 70 awards. Will be screened for free in the Children’s Program.
Director Bio:
Péter Vácz was born in 1988 in Budapest, Hungary. He graduated from Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Animation BA (2010) and MA (2012) with his film called ‘Streamschool’ and ‘Rabbit and Deer’ which has won over 50 awards at international festivals including two Oscar-qualifying awards at Atlanta and Nashville Film Festivals. During his studies at MOME he attended The European Animation Production Workshop and took the Professional 3D Character Animation Course in Viborg, Denmark. Since 2013 Péter is represented by the London based Picasso Pictures animation studio as a commercial director.
Festivals and Awards:
Rabbit and Deer has won over 70 awards since 2013 including:
• Academy Award® Qualifying Best Animated Film at ATLANTA Film Festival (2014)
• Academy Award® Qualifying Best Animated Film at NASHVILLE Film Festival (2014)
• Grand Prix at ANIMPACT (2013)
• Junior Jury Award in ANNECY (2013)
• Best Script at ANIMA MUNDI (2013)
• Special Mention in CANNES LIONS at the Young Directors Award (2013)
For more info: http://www.rabbitanddeer.com/
2. Next Life
Dir. Casimir Nozkowski, US, 11min, 2013, drama.
There are many reasons to not want to die. Pain. Uncertainty. Finality. The reason that bothers Charlotte – a widow, mother and grandmother – is that she won’t ever get to see the people she loves again. Religions portend different variations on afterlives and vaguely promise that you’ll be reunited with your friends and family. And maybe that’s true, that we’ll all wind up in the same place. But what nags at Charlotte is how she’s going to find the people closest to her. With so many souls coming and going, how do you identify the ones important to you? Now that Charlotte’s facing the end of her own life, she’s been thinking about this a lot – and she’s come up with a plan.
When Charlotte’s 30 year old grandson comes to visit, he’s visibly shaken by seeing her so small and weak and fatalistic about her chances. He puts on a brave face for her but truly he doesn’t know how to act around her. He doesn’t know what to do. But Charlotte does. They’re going to go downstairs, have some Chinese food and when the nurse leaves them alone, she’s going to share her plan with him: A way for them to find each other in the next life. Or the one after that.
The Crew:
Directed and Produced by: Casimir Nozkowski
Cinematography: Pete Fonda
Director Bio:
I am a writer, director and editor. I’ve made over 60 shorts -narrative and non-fiction that primarily take place in and examine New York City. My subject matter always has a personal angle that springs from my experiences. “Next Life” was inspired by my relationship with my grandmother, how hard it was to see her get old and how she often candidly spoke to me about what it was like to feel like she was dying. A practicing Jew, she was one of the only people close to me who was actually religious and often tried to introduce religion into my life. I can’t say it always resonated but I loved that she tried. In her last few months though, her take on the afterlife became this constantly changing thing. Some days she felt optimistic about what was out there and some days she was more negative or angry that she didn’t know what was coming. I tried to engage her on the subject and was very taken with how she would actually build on what she’d been taught by Judaism, crafting almost her own narrative for what would happen after she died. My movie takes this initiative and runs with it. It’s about a grandson going to visit his ailing grandmother, putting on a brave face for her and then discovering she’s not only totally at peace with her fate but she’s come up with a plan for them to meet in the next life. It’s about being close to death and embracing your own concept for an afterlife instead of relying on the narratives religions supply. Or as my grandma used it say: it may be wishful thinking but who says it can’t be true.
3. Nieta
Dir. Nicolás P. Villarreal, Argentina, 2014, 5minx2, animation
An incoming storm helps transform a young girls’ perspective of the world… An incredible film that needs to be repeated twice.
Official selection at Cannes Film Festival, and the winner of the prestigious TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) Kids Festival Best Short Film Award. “It’s like no other film I’ve seen before and the message was unique and brilliant,” the TIFF press release said, quoting one of the 9 to 13-year-old kids who chose Nieta for the Young People’s Jury Award for Best Short Film.
Bio:
Nicolás P.Villarreal was born and raised in La Plata, Argentina. He studied at the Escuela of Animacion y Cinematografía de Avellaneda where he earned a degree in 2d Animation. While studying animation he was taken under the wing of Miguel Alzugaray, a well-known fine artist from Argentina. He continued studying animation and fine art painting until he entered the Master’s Program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Nicolás graduated with honors in the Spring of 2002, and since then he has been working as a 2D animator, character designer, sculptor and Visual Development artist for Films and Video Games including The Walt Disney,Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment, Digital Domain, Amazon & Warner Bros, The Jim Henson Studios and Sega among others.
Nicolás is the Director of the award winning short film “Pasteurized” and currently he is developing his first feature Film, “The Aces”, based on his children’s book. Nicolás is the Director of the Visual Development at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where he teaches as well.
4. Wombo
Dir. Daniel Acht, Germany, 2013, 8min, live-action+CG
An alien lands on earth and is chased by a dog, ends up in a vegetable basket, and nearly gets cooked for dinner! Why? Because he just happens to look like a potato!
Bio:
After initial activities as a lighting technician , manager and assistant director Daniel Acht worked as a screenwriter, director and producer. In 2011 he founded, together with producers Sebastian Wehner and Christopher Zitterbart, Wolkenlenker, which designs and produces audiovisual media for children aged 2 to 99. This team of the writers, filmmakers, illustrators and programmers has produced award-winning short films, internationally successful apps, and large-format children’s books. Wombo was produced for ZDF. For more info: http://www.wolkenlenker.com/english#vision-eng
Festivals:
“Prädikat: besonders wertvoll” – Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung
“Film of the month” March 2014 Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung
Audience award children program – Schweinfurter Filmtage 2014
“Gryphon Award” Best short ELEMENTS +3, Giffoni Film Festival 2014
“Kids Choice Special Jury Award” Milwaukee Film Festival 2014