In August, animation directors and producers in Romania and the Republic of Moldova were yet again challenged to share their ideas for potential future projects – and develop them through the sixth edition of the Pitch, Please! workshop, held during the Animest International Animation Film Festival.
The workshop, which focuses on short films in the pre-production stage, is aimed at encouraging and promoting animation creators by giving them the opportunity to refine their projects guided by professionals in the field – and then pitch them confidently in front of an informed jury and audience.
“Five ambitious up and coming female animators are vying for this year’s Pitch, Please! awards, their projects zesty, refreshing and profoundly introspective. All their films seem to focus on delineating and preserving personal space, an intimate universe threatened by outside forces they need to face,” explains Andrei Voineag, Animest Industry coordinator.
Meet the Pitch, Please! 2024 finalists:
I Was Born Under This Tree by Mihaela Mîndru, participant in this year’s SYAA residency for female-identifying animators in Central and Eastern Europe, documents the intimate, subjective connections between geographical and architectural space and the community within, showing how stories influence and inform the way we perceive our surroundings.
Death Passing by Agata Tabacu displays a similar introspective process, a fictional exploration of how death rites both scare us and help us accept the finality of life.
Refugiul / The Refuge by Ioana Nicoară uses watercolor to investigate the limits between one’s subjective universe and the world outside, asking – itself and/or the audience – if the two can ever be in balance.
Garden and a Void by Ana Iuteș presents another metaphor of the garden as a personal, intimate space that we need to nurture. But the heroine’s peace (and plants’ wellbeing) is threatened by an unknown, male-coded, external force.
Pe balconul unei case / On the Balcony by Anna Florea is a manifesto on behalf of urban dwellers, for whom the balcony is their final refuge that is actively connected to nature.
There are four prizes available this year:
One pass for the Rise & Shine Animation Pitching Lab (two modules, in Croatia and Slovenia, respectively);
Two participations in the Black Sea Animation Workshop 2024 (Georgia) with free accommodation and transport;
Full audio post-production services offered by Raza Studio to one project.
And, finally, here are the three animation experts on the Pitch, Please! jury:
Clara Marquardt (France, producer with Les Valseurs);
Ornela Čop (Croatia, Animafest Zagreb Festival coordinator); and
Sebastian Zsemlye (Romania, sound designer, foley artist and Raza Studio co-owner).