Spanish Titles at Annecy 2022
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“Unicorn Wars” (Alberto Vázquez)
Alberto Vázquez, the director of “Birdboy: The Forgotten Children,” a Gkids pickup for North America, delivers an apocalyptic anti-war parable narrating the ancestral war between teddy bears bigots and environmentalist unicorns with irreverent visual exuberance and moments of real horror.
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WIP’S
“They Shot the Piano Player” (Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal)
Trueba and Mariscal’s much-awaited new collaboration after their 2012 Oscar-nominated “Chico & Rita” is a co-production with France, Portugal, the Netherlands and Peru. Sold by Film Constellation, project threads “music, politics and documentary as well as fiction, thriller and memory,” Trueba has said. An investigation following the disappearance of awe-inspiring Brazilian pianist Francisco Tenório Jr. on the eve of Argentina’s bloody 1976 coup d’état.
Credit: Films Constellation
CONTRECHAMP
“My Grandfather’s Demons” (Nuno Beato)
Portuguese animator-producer-director Beato, behind multi-prized short “My Life in Your Hands,” directs his first feature, mixing stop-motion and digital techniques. It follows Rosa who returns to the rural home where she was raised by her grandfather after his sudden death. A co-production with Portugal and France.
Courtesy of Annecy Festival
NEXT LAB FINANCE & TECH /NAVARRA
“DinoGames” (Carlos Fernández de Vigo, Lorena Ares)
Pamplona-based Dr. Platypus & Ms. Wombat, co-founded by De Vigo and Ares (“Memoirs of a Man in Pajamas”) is behind this 3D feature on siblings Cody and Vera and friends who, while enjoying their favorite VR video game, are magically transported to the DinoGames universe.
“Robot Dreams” (Pablo Berger)
The much-awaited animated feature by Pablo Berger, director of the multi-prized “Snow White,” is produced by one of the most international of Catalan outfits, Arcadia, a producer on Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “The Beasts,” in co-production with France’s Noodles. It is sold by Elle Driver. The feature follows the adventures and misfortunes of Dog and Robot in NYC during the 1980s.
“Super Bernard” (Toni García)
The multi-prized classic about a popular paunchy polar bear, which has scored more than 1.3 billion views on YouTube, will see his adventures transformed into a feature produced by Apolo Films, the Navarra-based company founded by animation creator-entrepreneur Claudio Biern. Directed by Toni García (“Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds”) and written by cartoonist Alicia Núñez.
“I Wish” (César Cabañas)
A coming-of-age comedy adventure focused on young Mary who thinks she’s smarter than any of her friends. But, when a chunk from a space-station crash lands in Littleton, her small home-town, she will be trapped along with other kids in a time-bubble and she will have to change her mind about many aspects of life. A real background combined with CG characters. Produced by Pamplona’s DeMiranda Animation Studio.
Courtesy of Annecy Festival
Next Lab Generation 2022 Winners
These projects will be pitched at Wednesday’s Annecy MIFA session, Next Lab Finance & Tech /Navarra
“Oblivion” (Claudia Ruiz)
Spain-based Ruiz delivers a unyielding story about a kidnapping and episode of abuse. Set in the 1950s.
“Lumen” (Enric Sant)
Coming from the graffiti world, Sant builds a story about a small luminescent creature who decides to explore beyond its tiny world.
“Trip to the Forgotten Forest” (María Muiño González)
In 1950s rural Galicia, a girl rediscovers her relationship with her brother who has Down’s syndrome. A Special Mention at Next Lab.
“Onion & Pea” (José Manuel Villena, David Tomaselli)
A 2nd special mention at Next Lab. Series turns on 10-year-old Leo, a normal child who lives with an onion and a pea disguised as superheroes.
ANIMATION FROM SPAIN PARTNERS PITCHES
Features
“Little Big Boy” (Pedro Solís, Jesús García Galocha)
The new animated feature from 4 Cats Pictures (“Momias”) is inspired by the Pedro Solís story “Cuerdas,” which made the Guinness Book of World Records as the most awarded animated short. Penned by Jordi Gasull and Javier Barreira and to be directed by Solís and Juan Jesús García Galocha, it tells a story of friendship and disability.
Courtesy of Annecy Festival
“Girl and Wolf” (Roc Espinet)
Already sold by Latido Films and directed by a Variety-selected Spanish Animation Talent to Track, Roc Espinet, this feature debut is produced by Sygnatia Films and Hampa Studio. It tells the story of Paula, an innocent girl who grows up in an orphanage in a Medieval village besieged by wolves.
“I Wish” (see above)
“DinoGames” (see above)
“Me, a Monster?” (Belinda Bonan)
Produced by Most Wanted Studio, Bonan’s second animation short follows a charming creature, Nono, who spends his days taking care of his small and beloved planet Pano, where he’s the sole inhabitant.
“Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake” (Irene Iborra)
First feature of stop-motion animator Iborra, it enters on 12-year-old Olivia, a girl forced to reorganize her life when her family – her mother, little brother and herself – is evicted and forced to live in a cramped apartment in a suburban neighborhood. Produced by Citoplasmas Stopmotion, Cornelius Films, Bígaro Films and Can Can Club.
TV-Shows
“Moles”
An adult-targeted show set in a big dystopian metropolis. A fantastical survival thriller about characters living in an underground world fighting to stay alive while on the surface, social order has fallen apart. The 2D/3D 24-minute 12-episode series is co-produced by Armenteira and Big Bang Box (“Momonsters”) and Chile’s Despiertoc Films.
“The Wawies”
A 7-minute 26-part series aimed at preschoolers. The main characters are chubby, magical and funny creatures who are freely exploring their world and ours in their bid to foster a better understanding and collaboration between both worlds. Produced by Imagic Telecom, a Barcelona-based company involved in Aurel’s “Josep.”
“Sex Symbols”
Directed and produced by Paloma Mora at Valencia’s leading company, TV On, this 13- episode show focuses on a bunch of kids going through puberty and starting to ask their first questions about sexuality and the changes they’re experiencing. Created by Cesare Asaro.
“My Brother is a T-Rex”
Produced by Madrid’s Mr. Klaus Studio (“Bento”), a 52- episode show following 6-year-old Coco who loves spending her time making up stories in the company of her little brother, a T-Rex.
EUROPEAN WOMEN’S ASSOCIATIONS PITCH – PROJECTS FROM SPAIN, AFRICA AND FRANCE
“Zoey Oceans”
A project awarded by Netflix and Mianima, Spain’s women animation lobby, produced by Carlota Pou at Studio Kimchi and penned by Anna Espinach. An adventure comedy focused on a 9-year-old girl who has built an amphibious vehicle to look for her father lost at sea by tracking 2,000 rubber ducks. A 13-minute, 26-episode series.
“Rock Bottom” (María Trenor)
Produced by the versatile Alba Sotorra (“The Return: Life after ISIS”) and Netherlands’ Phanta Animation, this awaited feature-debut of multi-awarded animator Trenor delivers – via 2D and rotoscoping – a love story of two artists caught in the creative whirlwind of the early ‘70s. It is inspired by the lives of ex-Soft Machine vocalist and drummer Robert Wyatt and lyricist-illustrator Alfreda Benge.
Courtesy of Annecy Festival
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