Next Lab Generation 2023 Jury Revealed
Skwigly
Next Lab Generation announced a few weeks ago the twenty projects selected for the third edition of its workshop, which began in early January with a first online phase. The event that will put the finishing touch to this edition will take place on March 3rd and 4th at Espacio Rastro Madrid. In addition to various conferences on the latest in innovation and new technologies in the world of animation and video games, the event will host the pitch of the 10 finalist projects of the workshop.
From among the twenty projects participating in the workshop, a selection that combines new talents with renowned industry professionals, only ten of them will become finalists and will have the opportunity to make their pitch during the event. An international jury, composed of four industry professionals, will be in charge of selecting the three winning projects. These will be presented at Annecy MIFA 2023 during the Next Lab Generation conference, and will receive a gross payment of 8,000 Euros in aid for development, three months of mentoring, and a travel bag and accreditation for one representative from the project to attend the Annecy Festival 2023.
From Germany, Dan Franke, VR artist and co-founder and director of Studio Syro, an animation studio made up of an international team of artists who use the virtual reality painting tool “Quill” to create experiences both inside and outside the VR environment, will be a member of the jury. He recently directed “Tales From Soda Island”, the world’s first series created entirely in virtual reality. He is also a strong advocate of the potential of these tools to revolutionize the animation industry and is dedicated to sharing his knowledge by teaching Quill workshops throughout Europe.
This jury is also composed by the Spanish Dune Blanco, co-founder of the creative studio Mr. Klaus Studio, where she develops new IPs both in-house and commissioned; and of the association MIA (Women in the Animation Industry). Dune is dedicated to visual and creative development for animation and video games, and has worked for production companies such as Cartoon Network, CANAL+, Ánima Kitchent and many others. She is also the creator and director of the animation series project “Bust a Danz”, selected by the CIMA Impulsa program, which is supported by NETFLIX.
From France we also find as part of the jury Marc Aguesse founder of Catsuka, a prestigious website dedicated to animated films since 2000, in addition to a television program broadcast for 8 years on the French TV channel Nolife and a section in Animeland and Animascope magazines. He has also collaborated with festivals and organizations such as the Pompidou Center in Paris, or the French Animation Film Association, among many others. In 2012, he became editor-in-chief of the program “Nuit 4.0” on France 4 channel, and since 2016 he has been a permanent member of the French Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Techniques and of the Animation Short Film Committee.
The jury is completed by Armenian professional Susanna Khachatryan, PhD in Economics from Yerevan State University since 2010. Thereafter, Susanna started exploring business opportunities in the field of design and animation. In 2018 she co-founded OnOff Studio and has been working as an executive producer since then. Since 2020, she has been producing the animated feature film ZAKO.
On March 3rd and 4th at Espacio Rastro Madrid will take place this meeting point for industry professionals, which will feature various conferences and space for networking. The conference “Making a movie with Quill: Zako” will be held by the Armenian animation studio OnOff, in which the studio will share its experience of making and producing an animated feature film entirely with Quill. The feature film is supported by the National Film Center of Armenia (NCCA) and tells a true story, the life of Sargis Mangasaryan, a Soviet Armenian painter, who applied his creative skills to draw portraits of prison guards in order to survive and keep his sanity during World War II. Susan Khachatryan and Tigran Arakelyan, producer and director of Zako will talk about the status of the project, what challenges they faced from both the creative and production sides and why they chose this technology.
On Saturday morning it will be the turn of the finalist project pitches where they will show the piece they have made and all the work and progress experienced in the workshop. More details of the program will be announced shortly and the deadline to obtain accreditation for this benchmark event in the field of animation production, which focuses on the use of disruptive technologies in the virtual environment will be opened.
Next Lab Generation 2023 is sponsored by the Community of Madrid through the Council for Culture, Tourism, and Sport as a main sponsor, with financial support from the Institute for Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), as part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan advanced by the European Union, additional sponsorship by the Ministry of Culture, DeAPlaneta Entertainment, and the Municipal Government of Madrid, and collaboration from Enisa, Annecy Festival, and Weird Market.