The results of the third Eurimages Project Evaluation Session of 2022 have just been announced. Further to recommendations made by independent experts meeting online, the Executive Committee of the Fund has decided to support 24 feature films, including 4 documentary and 3 animation features, for a total amount of 6.707.000 €.

Among the supported projects is the up-coming film by Arsen A. Ostojić, The Crystal Planet, that our company co-produced and which is being Czech-Croatian-Slovak co-production.

Complete list of the supported project you can find here.

Animovaný dokument režisérky Joanny Kozuch Bolo raz jedno more… sa po úspešnej medzinárodnej premiére v zahraničí vo francúzskom Clermont-Ferrand, kde získal Cenu študentskej poroty, kvalifikoval aj na cenu Americkej filmovej a televíznej akadémie – OSCAR v kategórií Najlepší krátky animovaný film.

Profesný web Cartoon Brew vytipoval 11 filmov, ktoré sa kvalifikovali na túto prestížnu cenu, medzi ktoré zaradil aj náš film Bolo raz jedno more… O 10 filmoch, ktoré sa skutočne kvalifikovali na toto ocenenie sa rozhodne v polovici decembra.

Celý zoznam vytipovaných filmov môžete nájsť tu.

Náš film sa predstavil na jeseň na niekoľkých festivaloch po celom svete, z ktorých si priniesol významné ocenenia. Získal ocenenie na festivale Animateka v slovinskej Ľubľani, Cenu divákov na poľskom festivale Etiuda i anima ako aj ocenenia pre najlepší krátky film na 8. Medzinárodnom festivale krátkych filmov SHORT FORM v Belehrade a na 38. MFF Ekofilm v Brne.

Bolo raz jedno more… je príbeh Aralského mora, štvrtého najväčšieho jazera na svete. Jeho tragédia sa začala s myšlienkou postaviť v jeho blízkosti bavlníkové plantáže. V očakávaní “bieleho zlata” sa vybudoval systém zavlažovacích kanálov. Rieky stratili silu, Aralské more začalo vysychať. Rybári stratili prácu, továrne naviazané na rybolov sa zvareli. Aj výskumná stanica na vývoj biologických zbraní, situovaná na jednom z ostrovov zmizla, pretože ostrovov už niet. Len púšť sa stále rozrastá a stáva sa väčšou a vačšou. A suché soľné kryštáliky sa ligotajú na pôvodnom dne mora.

Trailer k filmu nájdete tu.

On December, 1, the annual awards of the Association of Slovak Film Editors for films shot in 2019-2021 were presented at the Nova Cvernovka in Bratislava. Our film SH_T HAPPENS and editor Katka Pavelková were awarded in the category of short film.

The awards were decided by an international jury composed of: jury president Péter Politzer (editor, director and producer / Hungary), jury members Eva Filová (film critic and historian), Mariusz Kuś (editor and educator / Poland), Viktor Csudai (director and editor), Branislav Gotthardt (director and editor).

The list of all awarded film you can find here.

The film SH_T HAPPENS you can find  online at DAFilms.sk or Vimeo.

https://dafilms.sk/film/10938-sh-t-happens

Our 3D animated feature film, Journey to Yourland, that is telling the story of ten-year-old Riki, his cheeky new friend Emma and Tidling the monkey as they embark on an adventurous journey to Yourland, was awarded as the Best Feature Animation Film at Chicago Children’s Film Festival.

Our ambitious feature film has been presented except USA also at festivals in Croatia, Switzerland, Germany and France and has been worked on by more than fifteen artists and animators from all over Europe, from Ireland to the Czech Republic. Journey to Yourland thus stands out for its sophisticated art style with detailed backgrounds evoking the epic video game feel so appealing to young viewers already looking for something more than “kiddie” animation. The film’s visual concept draws on stop-motion visuals, which inspired the stylization of characters and environments and the creation of textures. However, the visual concept is transferred to a digital environment and the film is animated like a classic CGI 3D film. The uniqueness of the technology lies in the use of the Unity game engine in the finalisation of the film and rendering.

The film was co-produced by plutoon (Slovakia), BFILM.cz (Czech Republic), The Pack (Belgium) and RTVS, supported by the Audiovisual Fund, the State Cinematography Fund, the Belgian screen.brussels fund, the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic, the Flemish Film Fund VAF, the MEDIA programme and the Bratislava Region. The international sales agent is Beta Film.

List of all awarded films you can find here. 

Our animated documentary by Joanna Kozuch Once There Was a Sea…  will after a successful international premiere in Clermont-Ferrand in France, where it won the Student Jury Prize, was presented at many prestigious international film festivals around the world where it was also awarded by many awards. 

It received St. Vojtech Prize for the best Visegrad Film at Biennial of Animation Bratislava BAB 2022. It was also awarded as the best short film at 8th International Short Film Festival SHORT FORM in Belgrade and at 48th IFF EKOFILM in Brno. As the best anidoc was selected by jury at 17th ANIMEST – Animation Film Festival in Bucharest. Special Mentions received at Kaohsiung Film Festival 2022 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and at CinéOpen – Festival de Cinéma d’Animation de Pontarlier 2022 in France. The film also impressed at the “TOFUZI” festival in Tbilisi, where it won the award for the best animated film for adults. At the same time, the American Academy of Motion Picture and Television Arts and Sciences announced that the film met the qualification criteria and can also compete for the Oscar in the category of best animated film, where it will qualify thanks to the award from the Anifilm festival in Liberec.

Once There Was a Sea…  is a story about the Aral Sea. Most of the changes in climate and landscape in the area of the Aral Sea are the outcomes of one of the worst man-made eco-catastrophes in human history. The Aral Sea is dying. The idea of the film Once There Was a Sea… came to mind of director Joanna Kozuch during her train trips through the region of Middle Asia in 2008 and 2014. The film is inspired by the place on the borders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and the stories and destinies of the people that she has met when I was exploring the disaster of Aral Sea.

Trailer is available here.

Our animated documentary by Joanna Kozuch Once There Was a Sea…  will after a successful international premiere in Clermont-Ferrand in France, where it won the Student Jury Prize, will be presented at another prestigious French festival – the biggest animation film festival in Annecy.

Once There Was a Sea…  is a story about the Aral Sea. Most of the changes in climate and landscape in the area of the Aral Sea are the outcomes of one of the worst man-made eco-catastrophes in human history. The Aral Sea is dying. The idea of the film Once There Was a Sea… came to mind of director Joanna Kozuch during her train trips through the region of Middle Asia in 2008 and 2014. The film is inspired by the place on the borders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and the stories and destinies of the people that she has met when I was exploring the disaster of Aral Sea.

Trailer is available here.

The Slovak-Czech co-production The Nightsiren by Tereza Nvotová was awarded by the jury of the Contemporary Cinema section (Cineasti del presente) at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. The film won the Golden Leopard Award for Best Film.

Tereza Nvotová’s mystery drama The Nightsiren is the story of a young woman, Charlotte, who returns to her native mountain village in search of answers to unanswered questions about her troubled childhood. But when she tries to uncover the truth, the villagers accuse her of witchcraft and murder.

“I’m terribly pleased, I didn’t expect a story from a small village in the Slovak mountains to resonate so strongly with an international audience. Obviously, the problems our heroines have to solve are not so alien to him,” said director and screenwriter Tereza Nvotová after the ceremony.

The Nightsiren is the second feature film by the director, who premiered her debut Filthy at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2017. At the 2017 Czech Film Critics Awards, Filthy won the Best Film Award.

The prestigious Sarajevo Film Festival (August 12-19, 2022) will present three films from our production in its programme: Journey to Yourland, Martin and the Magical Forest and the short film Money and Happiness.