Pitch, Please! Register for the Animest Training for Animators

Animation directors and producers from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, listen up! Until September 10, you can apply with your animation projects to the Pitch, Please! training program. An Animest tradition, this competition, now at its 5th edition, offers creators the chance to present their ideas in front of a professional jury, after receiving guidance as they go through the key steps in preparing for a successful pitch.

Getting an animation from the idea phase to having it projected in all its glory on the silver screen is a real challenge for creators. In the development stage, attracting partners is crucial – and we want to help. For our 18th edition, the Animest International Animation Film Festival continues our mission to support and encourage local animation film production, providing authors in the field with the necessary tools to develop viable projects.

By September 10, apply for the workshop and pitch by sending an email with the subject Pitch, Please! to pitch@animest.ro. Your file will be considered complete and eligible only if you attach the following documents, in English:

- Project synopsis

- Artwork and character design proposals; if you have it, a storyboard

- Applicant’s CV

- Director's showreel or portfolio

Before charming the jury with their memorable pitch, representatives of the selected projects will take part in a training program starting on October 5. Dan Panaitescu and Cristian Pascariu, our trainers, will offer the participants mentoring and advice as they prepare their presentation detailing their project’s script and creative and technical direction. Participation in the Pitch, Please! workshop and pitch are free and bring all selected participants free access to Animest.18 events (October 6-15, 2023). An important condition for participation is the creators’ availability between October 5-15, the timeframe of the Pitch, Please! program.

All projects selected in the final stage will receive feedback and recommendations from the three jury members, whom the filmmakers will meet at the pitch on October 12. The director and producer of the final winner will receive a double accreditation for the Rise & Shine Animation Pitching Lab 2024 – an international animation development workshop, in two modules.

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Pitch, Please! is a project organized by the Animest Association with the support of Rise & Shine. It is scheduled during the Animest Festival, which is co-financed by the MEDIA Program of the European Union and AFCN–the Administration of the National Cultural Fund.

The Animest.18 project is co-financed by the Bucharest Municipality through ARCUB, through the Bucharest at Home 2023 program. The current article does not necessarily represent the official position of the Bucharest Municipality or of ARCUB.

Partner: The Romanian Film Centre.

Monitoring partner: mediaTRUST.