The Animation & Video Games Sector ‘Connects’ With 12th Edition Of Weird Market
Skwigly
The 12th edition of the Weird Market starts this Monday, September 28th with in-person screenings and a large online program that combines conferences, presentations, training sessions and ‘recruitment’, as well as a showroom. A combination of formats with the aim of reaching new audiences through the internet, while respecting all established sanitary measures; a statement that reinforces its position as an international benchmark in the animation and video games sector. “Weird Market opens this year online to the public around the world, but without losing sight of its territorial essence and the work towards emerging talent”, says its director, José Luis Farias.
A dozen confirmed conferences that aim to show the future of the sector from prisms as diverse as technological progress, the economy, synergies between various spheres of animation or success cases. Between Wednesday and Saturday (from 10:30 am) and free of charge through the Weird Market Facebook, you can follow lectures such as “How to make your IP ‘toyable’”; with the participation of Bandai Spain, RTVE and the brand management and marketing agency El Ocho where they will delve into the key points of an intellectual property to generate merchandising.
The agenda also addresses financial issues in ” How to use tax incentives for animation. Success cases” or the symbiosis between various creative areas with ” Board games: business and crossroads”. Likewise, there will be some “share with” where we will learn more about the production companies and distributors Planeta Junior and Dandelooo and the streaming platform Spamflix. Talks that, after their official pass, will be available on the YouTube channel and on the website of the event.
The celebration will also feature a total of 43 short films in competition from 24 different countries, various ‘recruitment‘ sessions with 11 confirmed companies and 59 project presentations of the 203 selected for its catalogue. A catalogue featuring 16 feature films, 39 short films, 28 animation series, 35 video games, 27 web series, 14 transmedia projects, 25 comics and 19 board games. These last two sections are a novelty this year, motivated by the objective of the event to cover the complete reality of the sector and consolidate its position as a catalyst for talent.
All selected projects will compete for the recognitions of the event that will be announced on October 4th at its closing. The list of winners will also have audience and jury recognitions for the short films in competition both in the national and international competition. The French producer Edwina Liard (IKKI Films), the French-Colombian Melissa Vega (Dandelooo), the Brazilian Paula Taborda dos Guaranys (Planeta Junior) and the Spanish Jorge Sanz (Aguilar de Campoo International Short Film Festival) will be the members of this aforementioned jury of the cinematographic section.
La Cárcel Centro de Creación will continue to host the screenings of the competitive sessions from Monday to Thursday and on Sunday the winners will be screened. On the other hand, a novelty, a drive-in theater that will be installed in the Plaza de Larra and where the works in competition will also be screened in double session (8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.), both on Friday and Saturday. All the places will have a limited capacity and strict control of sanitary measures will be carried out.
Regarding the short films that make up the official section, there are films recognized in major film events such as the Oscars or festivals such as Locarno, Annecy or Malaga. Animators already known by the Segovian event such as César Díaz Meléndez or Juan Carlos Mostaza return with their new works; the first with Bellzebub, his last work after participating last year and his subsequent nomination for the Goya Awards with Muedra. Mostaza, who competed in 2016 with Down to the Wire, will try this year to win some of the awards thanks to Reflection. In the international part, there will be works such as the Oscar nominee Daughter by the Czech Daria Kashcheeva or The Wings by the Estonian Riho Unt (a filmmaker with more than four decades of experience), among others.
Interaction with the public and the training of new talents will play a prominent role in online programming. Initiatives such as the training day for university students: “The possibilities and outputs of animation and video games”, join “the audience talk” with three conferences proposed and chosen by the followers of the market. Likewise, a GIF contest has been called until September 30th, where the talent of the creators is combined with emblematic places of the city of Segovia.
The celebration of the Castilian-Leon event also has a poster made by the Spanish animation studio Mr. Klaus, an image that summarizes “in just one character what Weird is, both for the attendees and for us”, in the words of Farias.