THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM PRODUCERS’ ASSOCIATIONS (FIAPF) AND WIA SELECT FIVE DELEGATIONS FOR THE SECOND EDITION OF STORIES X WOMEN PROGRAM
Today, FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations) and WIA announced the five delegations selected for the second edition of Stories x Women, a program aimed at increasing diversity of voices in animation globally. Stories x Women’s goal is to support access to international opportunities for women animators who want to tell their authentic stories from emerging national film and audio-visual animation communities of Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
These talented creatives, chosen from a competitive pool of 130+ candidates, will benefit from a series of mentoring sessions led by internationally acclaimed animation experts, as well as 1:1 coaching sessions that will prepare them to pitch their projects in the upcoming 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market (MIFA), including as part of the MIFA Pitching Sessions.
We are pleased to inform you that Stories x Women will be present during the Cannes Film Festival 2023. Pictures from the projects that will be presented during our pitch session in Annecy, Tuesday May 13th 9am, and pictures from our delegates are available. We will be delighted to provide them upon your inquiry, please contact Annemie Degryse +32 475 83 99 71.
The selected delegations are (sorted out by country in alphabetical order):
- Superpunk – Brazil. A project led by Mirtes Santana (with Guilherme Petreca).
- Negocio de Brujas (Witch’s Business) – Chile. A project led by Paulina Sanhueza Meléndez (with Alejandra Jaramillo Fanta )
- Nerea – Dominican Republic. A project led by Fabiola Contreras Rosso (with Arima Léon)
- The Golden Pig – Malaysia. A project led by Hwei Ling Ow (with Kate Goodwin)
- Papo Hapo – Türkiye/Kenya. A project led by Irmak Atabek Ndungu (with Mbithi Masya)
Fully committed to supporting women and creators of marginalized gender identities, this second edition of Stories x Women was open to up to two-people teams, which had to have a woman in a leading role (e.g. producer, director or screenwriter).
„FIAPF is proud to bring the second edition of Stories x Women with WIA with the support of The Walt Disney Company and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Our industry, in particular its production segment, is committed to bringing new stories and new voices to our audiences across the world. Stories x Women supports the work of women animators from regions that are less visible in the international market and is an extra contribution to the collective efforts made by this industry in that field,” says Luis Alberto Scalella, President of FIAPF. “As the global voice for producers worldwide, FIAPF promotes all forms of film genres, including animation and its universal language.”
„For 10 years, WIA has been focused on reaching 50/50 gender parity in animation by 2025. The Stories x Women program aligns perfectly with our mission of supporting and empowering people of underrepresented gender identities in animation. It’s actively removing barriers faced by women and gender non-conforming creatives and making space for them to tell their authentic stories,” said Marge Dean, WIA president. “We can’t wait to see the growth and development of this international group of talented creators.“
“I’m thrilled to be part of this exciting initiative to support, mentor and champion women in animation from around the world. Annecy is the world’s premier animation festival and inviting these incredible storytellers to the festival, and giving them access to all its resources and connections, will go a long way to helping them bring their unique stories to the world.” said Disney Executive Vice President of TV Animation, Meredith Robert.
ABOUT FIAPF
FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) represents the producers worldwide, gathering 36 national producers organisations from 28 countries across the globe. FIAPF aims to defend the creative, legal and regulatory interests of the Film Production sector worldwide. FIAPF also carries out the Accreditation Programme for International Film Festivals, which brings together 44 International Film Festivals from 29 countries on the five continents to bridge producers and festivals‘ interests for the sake of films. Visit our website: www.fiapf.org
INDAC Interview: Barry J. C. Purves
„The director’s audacity is impressive in terms of theme, aesthetics and direction. Not to mention his technical mastery, which is nothing short of exceptional! This year, we are paying tribute to one of contemporary animation’s most esteemed figures.“
Marcel Jean, Artistic Director, Annecy 2023
INDAC Interview by Johannes Wolters on May 4th, 2023
Editing & Design : Thomas Schmidl – https://www.framefloor.de/
Supported by Andrew Schlussel, DNEG London
DNEG & INDAC are co-hosting an interview of Barry J. C. Purves, stop motion animator. He is interviewed by Johannes Wolters of https://indac.org/
About eighty major awards, including several Lifetime Achievement awards and honorary doctorates, much teaching around the world, several books, public speaking presenting, and since 2020 a classical music weekly radio show. Barry J. C. Purves is a legend of stop motion and he will receive the honorary Crystal at the upcoming Annecy Film Festival 2023 – so we thought it would be the perfect time to have a conversation.
Barry started his involvement with model animation at Cosgrove Hall in 1978, then went freelance in 1986, working with Aardman and others. With producer Glenn Holberton he worked through their company Bare Boards from 1990 to 1995. Since then he has been mainly freelance, animating, designing, directing, writing and teaching. He was involved for a period on Mars Attacks! and King Kong. His own films have won over sixty awards, including Oscar and BAFTA nominations.
Have a look at Barry’s Website: https://barrypurves.com
From the foreword to Barry´s fantastic Book „Stop motion : passion, process and performance“, Focal Press 2008 [https://www.amazon.de/Stop-Motion-Pas…]:
„A posable figure, fabricated to the most exacting standards, is set before the camera in a static attitude. Since the puppet will doubtless be required to move into postures which defy balance, it needs to be affixed to the stage securely and invisibly, through screws into its feet from below, or on wires, or on a mounting rod. The puppet is posed for the beginning of the scene, and a frame of film is exposed. Frame One: one 24th of a second’s worth. If the animator is performing a ten second scene, that’s 240 separate movements of the character. These aren’t just movements, but incremental components of a performance, a performance – pose, timing, expression, acting – which the animator must keep in his head until the shot’s completed. A shot may take four hours, eight hours, sixteen hours, and all the while the animator must stay ‘in the moment’ if the performance is to communicate the animator’s message and intentions. Screen Play, one of my favourite Purves films, has multiple characters, complex staging and lighting effects, moving stages, moving Japanese screens (illustrated with animated birds), billowing cloth, even gushing blood – all in one beautifully conceived and executed shot. A shot which runs, uninterrupted, for about nine minutes. And tells a story, beautifully. Obviously, this is the work of a man who loves his art. We are privileged indeed to have him discuss the love of that art with us“
Randall William Cook, October 2007
And here you have some links to his fantastic oeuvre:
Next – 1989 — 
• Lip Synch: Next -…
Screen Play – 1992 – • Barry Purves – S…
Achilles – 1996 — • Barry Purves – 19…
Tchaikovsky – 2011 — • Tchaikovsky, An E…
#BarryPurves #stopmotion #animation #next #screenplay
Drawing by Matthias Daenschel
Drawing by Matthias Daenschel
Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion | Featurette | Disney+
Jump into Nick Fury’s world. Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion is streaming June 21 on Disney+.
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai | Official Trailer | Max
Magic is all around us.
From executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tze Chun comes Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. The adventure begins May 23, only on Max.
Visit us at our official website at Amblin.com.
MEG 2: THE TRENCH – OFFICIAL TRAILER
They’re back for seconds. #Meg2 only in theaters August 4. Get ready for the ultimate adrenaline rush this summer in “Meg 2: The Trench,” a literally larger-than-life thrill ride that supersizes the 2018 blockbuster and takes the action to higher heights and even greater depths with multiple massive Megs and so much more! Dive into uncharted waters with Jason Statham and global action icon Wu Jing as they lead a daring research team on an exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean. Their voyage spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival. Pitted against colossal Megs and relentless environmental plunderers, our heroes must outrun, outsmart, and outswim their merciless predators in a pulse-pounding race against time. Immerse yourself in the most electrifying cinematic experience of the year with “Meg 2: The Trench” – where the depths of the ocean are matched only by the heights of sheer, unstoppable excitement! Warner Bros. Pictures and CMC Pictures present “Meg 2: The Trench,” with Statham and Jing headlining an ensemble cast that also includes Sophia Cai (“The Meg”), Page Kennedy (“The Meg”), Sergio Peris-Mencheta (“Rambo: Last Blood”), Skyler Samuels (“The Gifted”), and Cliff Curtis (“Avatar” franchise). “Meg 2: The Trench” is directed by Ben Wheatley (“In the Earth,” “Free Fire”), from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber (“The Meg,” “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”) and Dean Georgaris (“The Meg,” “Lara Croft: Toom Raider – The Cradle of Life”), and a screen story by Dean Georgaris and Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber, based on the novel The Trench by Steve Alten. The film is produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (“The Meg,” “Bumblebee”) and Belle Avery (“The Meg,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”), and executive produced by Jason Statham, Cate Adams, Ruigang Li, Catherine Xujun Ying, Wu Jing, E. Bennett Walsh, Erik Howsam, Gerald R. Molen and Randy Greenberg. Joining director Wheatley behind the camera are director of photography Haris Zambarloukous (“Belfast,” “Murder on the Orient Express”), production designer Chris Lowe (“The Gray Man,” “No Time to Die”) and editor Jonathan Amos (“Baby Driver,” “Paddington 2”). The visual effects supervisor is Pete Bebb (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Inception”), and costume designer is Lindsay Pugh (“The Matrix Resurrections,” “Krypton”). The music is by Harry Gregson-Williams (“The Meg,” “The Martian”). Warner Bros. Pictures and CMC Pictures present, in association with DF Pictures, a di Bonaventura/Apelles Entertainment, Inc. production, a Ben Wheatley film, “Meg 2: The Trench.” It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and is set to open in theaters in North America on August 4, 2023 and internationally beginning 02 August 2023.
Oppenheimer | New Trailer
Oppenheimer – Only In Theaters 7 21 23
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX®-shot epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.
The film stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt as his wife, biologist and botanist Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer. Oscar® winner Matt Damon portrays General Leslie Groves Jr., director of the Manhattan Project, and Robert Downey, Jr. plays Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
Academy Award® nominee Florence Pugh plays psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie plays theoretical physicist Edward Teller, Michael Angarano plays Robert Serber and Josh Hartnett plays pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence. Oppenheimer also stars Oscar® winner Rami Malek and reunites Nolan with eight-time Oscar® nominated actor, writer and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh. The cast includes Dane DeHaan (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), Dylan Arnold (Halloween franchise), David Krumholtz (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Matthew Modine (The Dark Knight Rises). The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan.
Oppenheimer is filmed in a combination of IMAX® 65mm and 65mm large-format film photography including, for the first time ever, sections in IMAX® black and white analogue photography. Nolan’s films, including Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception and The Dark Knight trilogy, have earned more than $5 billion at the global box office and have been awarded 11 Oscars and 36 nominations, including two Best Picture nominations.
Besetzung: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh Regie & Drehbuch: Christopher Nolan Produktion: Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan Das von Christopher Nolan (Inception, Tenet) geschriebene und inszenierte IMAX®-Thrillerepos OPPENHEIMER konfrontiert das Publikum mit dem pulsierenden Paradoxon jenes rätselhaften Mannes, der die Zerstörung der Welt riskieren muss, um sie zu retten. In den Hauptrollen spielen Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders, Inception) als J. Robert Oppenheimer und Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place) als seine Frau, die Biologin und Botanikerin Katherine „Kitty“ Oppenheimer. Oscar®-Preisträger Matt Damon (Die Bourne Verschwörung) porträtiert General Leslie Groves Jr., Leiter des Manhattan-Projekts, und Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers: Endgame) spielt Lewis Strauss, Mitbegründer der US-Atomenergiekommission. Die Oscar®-nominierte Florence Pugh (Don’t Worry Darling) ist als Psychiaterin Jean Tatlock zu sehen, Benny Safdie (Licorice Pizza) als theoretischer Physiker Edward Teller, Michael Angarano (This Is Us: Das ist Leben) als Robert Serber und Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbour) als revolutionärer US-Atomphysiker Ernest Lawrence. OPPENHEIMER zeigt außerdem Oscar®-Preisträger Rami Malek (Keine Zeit zu sterben) und vereint Nolan erneut mit dem achtfach Oscar®-nominierten Schauspieler, Autor und Filmemacher Kenneth Branagh (Belfast). Ebenfalls zur Besetzung gehören Dane DeHaan (Valerian – Die Stadt der tausend Planeten), Dylan Arnold (Halloween-Reihe), David Krumholtz (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) und Matthew Modine (The Dark Knight Rises). Der Film basiert auf dem Pulitzer-Preis-prämierten Buch „J. Robert Oppenheimer: Die Biographie“ von Kai Bird und dem verstorbenen Martin J. Sherwin. Produziert wurde der Film von Emma Thomas (Dunkirk, Inception), Charles Roven (American Hustle) von Atlas Entertainment und Christopher Nolan. Gedreht wurde OPPENHEIMER auf einer Kombination aus IMAX®-65mm- und 65mm-Großbildfilm und zum ersten Mal in der Filmgeschichte mit einigen Sequenzen auf IMAX®-Schwarz-Weiß-Analogfilm. Nolans Filme, darunter Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception und die Dark-Knight-Trilogie, haben weltweit mehr als 5 Mrd. Dollar eingespielt und insgesamt 11 Oscars® und 36 Nominierungen erhalten, darunter zwei für den Besten Film.
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE – HD TV Spot
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is an upcoming American computer-animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel Entertainment. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is a sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and is set in a shared multiverse of alternate universes called the „Spider-Verse“. The film serves as the directorial debut of Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson and was written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and David Callaham. Shameik Moore voices Miles, starring alongside Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Jason Schwartzman, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Greta Lee, Rachel Dratch, Jorma Taccone, Shea Whigham and Oscar Isaac. In the film, Miles goes on an adventure across the multiverse with a new team of Spider-People, known as the Spider-Force. Sony began developing a sequel to Into the Spider-Verse before that film’s release in 2018, with the writing and directing team attached. It was set to focus on the relationship between Moore’s Miles and Steinfeld’s Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman. The film was officially announced in November 2019 and animation work began in June 2020, with a different visual style for each of the six universes visited by the characters. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is scheduled for release in the United States on June 2, 2023, delayed from an initial April 2022 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A third film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is scheduled for release on March 29, 2024, while a female-focused spin-off film is in development.
The Little Mermaid | The Cast Goes Under The Sea
“The Little Mermaid,” visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall’s live-action reimagining of the studio’s Oscar®-winning animated musical classic, opens exclusively in theaters nationwide May 26, 2023. “The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy. The film stars singer and actress Halle Bailey (“grown-ish”) as Ariel; Tony Award® winner Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton,” “Snowpiercer”) as the voice of Sebastian; Jacob Tremblay (“Luca,” “Room”) as the voice of Flounder; Awkwafina (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) as the voice of Scuttle; Jonah Hauer-King (“A Dog’s Way Home”) as Prince Eric; Art Malik (“Homeland”) as Sir Grimsby; Noma Dumezweni (“Mary Poppins Returns”) as Queen Selina; with Oscar® winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Being the Ricardos”) as King Triton; and two-time Academy Award® nominee Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” “Bridesmaids”) as Ursula. “The Little Mermaid” is directed by Oscar® nominee Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Mary Poppins Returns”), and written by two-time Oscar nominee David Magee (“Life of Pi,” “Finding Neverland”), with a live-action story adaptation by David Magee, Rob Marshall, and two-time Emmy winner John DeLuca (“Tony Bennett: An American Classic”), based on the short story by Hans Christian Andersen, and the Disney animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker. The film is produced by two-time Emmy® winner Marc Platt (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” “Grease Live!”), three-time Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “In the Heights”), Rob Marshall, and John DeLuca, with Jeffrey Silver (“The Lion King”) serving as executive producer. The score is by multiple Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin”), who won two Oscars® for the music in the animated version of “The Little Mermaid,” with music supervised and produced by Mike Higham (“Mary Poppins Returns,” “Into the Woods”). Music is by Alan Menken, lyrics are by Howard Ashman and new lyrics are by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
FMX 2023: PANEL: Rearchitect your Pipeline to Leverage Houdini Solaris and USD | FMX HIVE 2023
Let’s discuss the challenges and benefits to rearchitecting your studio’s pipeline to leverage Houdini Solaris and Universal Scene Description (USD) workflows. Hear from RISE FX’s Fuat Yüksel and Oliver Markowski, Head of 3D on their experience. Moderated by Christopher Hebert, Senior Director of Marketing at SideFX.
FMX 2023: Designing for Impact | Panoply | FMX HIVE 2023
Simon Holmedal, a director at London-based design studio Panoply, as he takes you on a deep dive into his creative process. Using Houdini as his canvas, Simon will reveal the tools, techniques, and strategies he uses to create some of the most mesmerizing motion graphics and abstract effects in the industry. With a focus on the power of visual hierarchy, Simon will demonstrate how he creates clarity and impact in his designs, drawing on examples from his extensive portfolio of projects.
From ideation to execution, this talk will provide an exclusive look at how Simon and his team at Panoply bring their ideas to life, and how Houdini is used as a force multiplier, allowing for greater productivity and creative expression. Simon Holmedal is a Partner and Director at Panoply. Over the last few years he has worked on countless ambitious projects crossing and merging the borders of design and visual effects. He’s also a global leader in VFX led motion design, speaking at international conferences such as OFFF, UsByNight, Playgrounds and FMX about his exceptional love of anything procedural.
FMX 2023: Project Mountain Range – a Machine Learning Toolkit | Moritz Schwind & Paul Ambrosiussen
Have you ever thought about combining Houdini’s procedural power with state of the art AI Algorithms without having to care about boilerplate scripts or neverending downloads? Look no further as Paul Ambrosiussen and Moritz Schwind cover their strategies and practice of doing exactly this with a modular Machine Learning Toolkit they developed for Houdini, allowing you to natively use Houdini’s Data to drive, customize and process various AI Models.
Be it pixels, hardware, code or cameras – if it’s interesting, Moritz Schwind is gonna take it apart. And sometimes even reassemble it. In his spare time, he likes to dabble with code and create generative artwork. He claims his early exposure to QBasic is no help at all when working in Houdini, Blender, Processing or Arduino. But it might have been what started his fascination for the boundaries of code and art. When not wreaking havoc to any intriguing devices around him, he works as a freelance Technical and Art Director. His more recent areas of interest cover the use of scientific algorithms in generative design and the application of AI in creative fields. Together with Manuel Casasola Merkle he runs Entagma, a learning platform focused on generative design using mainly SideFX Houdini.
Paul Ambrosiussen is currently a Technical Artist at AMTA Consultancy. He was the Lead of SideFX Labs prior to that. Paul finished his BASc in International Game Architecture and Design at NHTV University of Applied Sciences in Breda. Paul enjoys writing tools to support effective art-pipelines, and maintaining tool / workflow quality for the artists he is assisting. His goal is to help others create amazing things in a better, faster and more flexible way. He creates tutorials, gives live lectures, attends events, and presents custom workshops to customers.
FMX 2023: The Remesh Confluence | Jakub Spacek & James Lee | FMX HIVE 2023
The synthesis of Houdini and Unreal creates a robust workflow that enhances the design process by combining the strengths of abstract procedural design and FX with real-time rendering. With the two tools, artists can quickly iterate and adjust their designs, ensuring a dynamic and efficient design process. Combining Houdini and Unreal ultimately enables designers to create visually stunning and immersive experiences while streamlining the workflow and enhancing overall productivity.
Jakub Spacek and James Lee are a design duo based in London, specializing in blending creativity with CG and real-time content using Unreal and Houdini. With a unique fusion of artistic and technical skills, they continually push the boundaries of technology and design. The duo has expanded their artistic perception through collaborations with different studios, developing a deep passion for simulating abstract visions of real-world phenomena. Their work focuses on even the smallest subtleties of shape and motion, exploring how they can create immersive, pleasing, and meditative content that captivates the viewer. Through their designs, this duo continually challenges conventional methods and providing a unique perspective on the world around us.
65 (2023) Behind-the-Scenes Earth 65 Million Years Ago
65 „Earth 65 Million Years Ago“ Featurette Directed by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods and starring Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman, Nika King…
An astronaut crash lands on a mysterious planet only to discover he’s not alone.
ANN #5 Episode | LEGO 2K Drive
Welcome to the official LEGO channel where everything is awesome! This is the home for all your latest LEGO movies, animations and series from your favorite LEGO themes such as LEGO NINJAGO, LEGO Star Wars, The LEGO Batman Movie, LEGO Minecraft, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, LEGO DC Super Heroes, LEGO City, LEGO Friends and many more to come in exclusive episodes and stop motion videos. You can also find hundreds of LEGO songs and LEGO movie trailers. And that’s not all! – you can be one of the first to discover our cool new sets with exclusive behind the scenes LEGO Designer videos.
