C ATÁLO G O
2021
About Shortway Shortway is a strategy that wants to nurture emerging artists in Latin America through the promotion and production of their animated short film projects. What is looking for are stories with an artistic profile and vision that normally do not have the support of television networks or film producers. This strategy follows what we have called the “European way” to enter and develop properties in the audiovisual industry, which uses short films and film festivals as a mean to enter the industry, foster professional links, and start collaborating in order to develop more ambitious projects.
Everything is articulated through a call for animated short film projects in an early stage of development. This call is open to creators and artists from Latin America. The best projects get to participate in a bootcamp in order to further develop their projects and the very best, get to be showcased in Animation Du Monde of the Annecy Festival in front of potential partners. In addition, it includes a residency in France with Ciclic to produce the very best project.
The Shadow of The Moon
Where is my espresso?
Binnizá, the jaguar song
Crimson Awakening
Joe 2.0
La Marea
Pasos para Volar (Stepsto Fly)
Trick or Beat
The Fish
Traces
CIMICOSIS
Selected Projects
The call for the second edition of Shortway was published on December 7, 2020 and it closed on January 25, 2021. 275 projects from 15 different countries participated in the contest. The 11 projects that participated in the Bootcamp, the second phase of the strategy, are:
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The Shadow of The Moon Director & producer: Keyner Mora Espinoza
In a magical and mysterious town, where young women disappear every time the great Jaguar swallows the full moon. A daring girl tries to stop him after her sister disappears.
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Where is my espresso? Directors: Sebastián Garcia, Felipe Rodriguez Producer: Luisa Velasquez
Oniria leads a hectic but monotonous life, between her jobs and classes her mental and physical health is affected hallucinating odd hybrids between objects and animals, perhaps leave her goals and bordering on madness is the best thing that can happen to her.
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Tsa ju jmí, the song of the jaguar Director: Antonia Sofía Silva Alvarado
Irma, a young woman from Oaxaca, trough the words of her home language, chinanteco, remembers the memories of a past life, a life when she wasn’t a human, she was free as a Jaguar.
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Joe 2.0 Director & producer: Edgar Amor
Joe 2.0 is a middleaged robot in the midst of an existential crisis. Moody, friendless and with a job he hates, he finds a vague memory of a time in his life when he was happy.
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Trick or Beat Director & producer: Fernando Rendón
Forced by his narcissistic Father, a shyly naïve teen Ghost travels to the human world to perform his first scare, falling in love with a human Girl dressed as a ghost for Halloween night.
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Crimson Awakening Director: Laura Daniela López & Malena Medel
After her first menstruation, VELMA (13) faces confusion due to the changes in her body and her world when she starts to notice the sexism that surrounds her in all areas, rarefying everything she thought to be innocent. Although she does not quite understand what is happening, she senses the danger of these situations. When the bleeding ends, she thinks that everything will return to normal, but on her way out she discovers that there is no turning back.
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La Marea Director & producer: Ane Quintana
A boy loses his toy on the beach, and when he returns to look for it during the night, he finds a mythical creature, La Marea, who comes out of the ocean every night to collect the objects that people forget in the sand
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Pasos para Volar (Steps to Fly) Director: Nicolás Conte. Producer: Rosario Carlino
Locked up in a room that has an awning window, a Bird teaches a Little Bird how to fly, even if he has no wings. The appearance of a mysterious briefcase will ruin his plans, and reveal to Little Bird an unexpected possibility to escape.
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Traces Director: Laura Desmery Producer: Rocío Brizuela
Ema, a clumsy 22 year old girl, is preparing for a date while being interrupted by Gon, a playful little crab that follows her everywhere. Gon tries to get the attention of Ema but she is embarrassed of it and tries to hide it from other people.
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CIMICOSIS Director: Christian Arredondo Narváez
Gersom is a shy guy who struggles between love and terror caused by a girl who appears every night in his room causing harm to his body but letting him know for the first time, the pleasures of intimate contact with another being.
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The Fish Director: Camila Álvarez Producer: Pilar Smoje
A lonely girl who lives next to her apprehensive mother, befriends a magical fish that grows by feeding on her sadness. When the fish grows massively, she will have to get rid of it and get rid of her attachments.
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Mentors and Jury Géraldine Baché Head of projects at MIFA Annecy Festival A very experienced professional with nearly twenty years of activities in culture and events. She has been involved with the International Animated Film Festival Annecy and its market where she worked as an Assistant to the Artistic Director Serge Bromberg and as a Head of Projects (MIFA). She has met and cooperated with big names in the animation field such as Ray Harryhausen, Peter Lord, Tim Burton, Henry Sellick or Richard Williams. At present she focuses on young talents, providing direction in early stages of their projects and fostering the production process.
Éric Réginaud Head & Supervisor at Ciclic animation Eric Reginaud is the head of Ciclic Animation since 2015. He was involved in the creation of the animation residence of Ciclic in 2000. Prior to that, He worked as an animation studio manager, a producer and distributor, and as a drawing teacher. He graduated from Orleans Fine Arts School in 1986 (Master in Cinema)
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Mentors and Jury
Caroline Attia Director at Caroline Attia Working more than 15 years in the field of illustration and animation, her work is all about storytelling: Whatever the medium used, story is at the core of it. And what make a good story is good characters with strength and flows. Credits include among other : Folimage, Gestalten, New York Times, Elle, Scholastic, Cartoon Networks, MTV Asia, Sacrebleu production, Technicolor, BETC, Marcel Agency, DLP, Milan, Fleurus, Rageot, Belin, Gautier Languereau...
Ivan Zuber Producer at Laïdak films Ivan Zuber studied film production with a major in animation film at Gobelins School of Visual Communication in Paris. Upon completing his degree, he spends some time in Paris and Vancouver, Canada, while working in the industry for different films and production companies. In 2012 he relocated to Berlin to work in 22D Music Group and between 2012 and 2015 he attends several European MEDIA workshops. He co-founds in June 2015 Laïdak Films, a Paris-Berlinbased production company. They are now dedicated to producing quality films, regardless of their format, length, or type. Still based in Berlin but traveling the world, Ivan gives prominence to international and intercultural projects.
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Speakers Cécile Blondel Cécile has always had two passions: education and the arts. Graduated from Sciences Po Paris’ doctoral School in 20th Century History. Cécile became a lecturer in Political and Cultural History at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. Moving to London, she lectured at Her Majesty’s Service at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and graduated at Birbeck College in Change Management. Coming back to France, she worked in Sciences Po Paris for the Directorate of International Affairs. In February 2012, Cécile became Director of International Relations at Gobelins, l’école de l’image as well as Executive Director of Gobelins Summer School. Although she has spent the majority of her career in education, Cécile has taken professional training as a make-up artist and continued her passion for the visual arts by founding a French theatre company in Scotland, Molière for Lunch. Aside from this, Cécile has always had a most ‘troubling’ obsession with crime literature and the works of Alfred Hitchcock.
Erick Oh Director: “Opera”
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Erick Oh is a Korean filmmaker / animator based in California, USA. His independent films have been introduced and awarded at numerous international film festivals including Student Academy Awards, Annie Awards, Annecy Animation Festival, Hiroshima Animation Festival, Zagreb Film Festival, SIGGRAPH, Anima Mundi and more. After receiving his BFA from Fine Art Department at Seoul National University and his MFA from UCLA’s film program, Erick worked at Pixar Animation Studios from 2010 to 2016 as an animator to participate in Oscar winning films like Inside Out and Finding Dory. Erick recently joined Tonko House, founded by Dice Tsutsumi and Robert Kondo to direct PIG: The Dam Keeper Poems which was nominated at Annie Awards 2018 and won the Cristal Award at Annecy Animation Festival 2018.
Speakers
Max Lang Co-Director: “Snail and the Whale” Max Lang is a film director, illustrator, storyboard artist, and character designer. He has been twice nominated to the Academy Awards in the category of Best Short Animated Film. In 2011 he received an Oscar nomination for “The Gruffalo,” and in 2014 he received an Oscar nomination for “Room on the Broom,” which won several awards including the Cristal for Best TV Production at the Annecy International Animation Film FestivalIn 2020. He is in the codirector for “The Snail and the Whale” which is in the shortlist for the Academy Awards. He is also the director of the Nickelodeon computer-animated TV movie Albert. Lang illustrates books written by his wife, Suzanne Lang.
Nuria Menchaca Nuria Menchaca is a Mexican artist from ENAP / UNAM and the Université Laval in Québec. She twice won the FONCA Young Creators Program scholarship and has received several distinctions for his work in animation, such as the award for Best Animated Short Film at the FIC Morelia (2015), the Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival (2016) and In 2020 she was the winner of the Ariel for Best Animated Short Film (the Mexican Academy of Cinematography award). Her artistic research / production work is largely composed of works of 2D animation, experimental analog animation, and object art, which is why her work has become known internationally both in art exhibitions and festivals. cinema. She is currently the director of the Animation and Digital Art program at ITESM, Mexico City Campus, as well as being co-founder and creative director of the animation studio No Budget Animation.
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Daniel Snaddon Co-Director: “Snail and the Whale” Daniel Snaddon is an American born, half Australian-Chinese, half Scottish-South African. Daniel joined Triggerfish Animation Studios in Cape Town as a lead on their film “Khumba” in 2013. The film won the attention of Magic Light Pictures, which led to the chance for Daniel to codirect their BBC Christmas special Stick-Man in 2015. Daniel also recently wrote and story-boarded on Mike Scott’s animated series Moosebox for Nickelodeon, and is currently developing the animated feature film Kariba with Daniel Clarke at Triggerfish Animation Studios. Daniel has been collaborating with fellow director Max Lang on two specials for the BBC: “Zog” and “The Snail & The Whale” which is in the shortlist for the Academy Awards.
Carlos Isaac Animator and Digital Artist. Entrepreneur by vocation. Teacher and academic. He is a graduate of the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico City and is currently a doctoral student and research professor at the Faculty of Arts and Design of the National University of Mexico. He has founded various companies in both cinematography and creative industries. As a professor he has taught at various Mexican universities. In his academic research, he has been able to present his work in Paris, Tunisia and Mexico.
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Speakers
Ramin Zahed Editor Animation Magazine Ramin Zahed is a journalist who has covered the film and television industries for over twenty years. His writing has appeared in Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles Times, and Movieline. He is also the author of The Art of Puss in Boots, The Art of Rise of the Guardians, and The Art of DreamWorks. He is currently the editor of Animation Magazine.Lang illustrates books written by his wife, Suzanne Lang.
Dean Hamer Director: “Kapaemahu” Dean Hamer is a New York Times Book of the Year author, Emmy and GLAAD Media award-winning filmmaker, and National Institutes of Health scientist emeritus with a long history in communicating complex and controversial ideas to diverse publics. He formed Kanaka Pakipika with partner Joe Wilson and documentary film protagonist Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu to collaborate on an insightful series of films that have opened the eyes of the worlds to the lessons to be learned from Polynesia’s unique approach to diversity and inclusion. He is currently working on a book and museum exhibition based on Kapaemahu. Hamer is the author of several best-selling nonfiction books including “The Science of Desire” and “The God Gene,” has been a consultant for the BBC and Discovery channels, and his research has been featured in Time, Newsweek, and Science magazines and on Frontline and Oprah.
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Gisli Darri Director: “Yes People” Gisli Darri is an animation director who was born in Iceland in 1978 and graduated with a BA from the Irish School of Animation (Dublin) in 2007. Gísli has been a professional animator since 2007 working in England, Ireland, Germany and Iceland on feature-films, short-films, tv-series, commercials and music videos. Some of his filmography includes: KÛKÛ (1999) A FROG’s BLUES (2001) WHATEVER (2006) The GREAT UNREST (2009). His latest short film “Yes people” is in the short list for the Academy Awards nominations for animated short film.
Sophie Taver Co-Director: “Traces” After she achieved her Film Bachelor’s degree, Sophie Tavert decided to become a film writer and director. During her University Cinema Studies, she produced eight experimental films. Her films “Un amour” (2009) and “MAD” (2016) were very successful in film festivals around the world. In 2019, she wrote 2 feature films, and is currently working in parallel on various projects of animation, fiction films and TV series. Her latest animated short filim “Traces” is in the shortlist of the best animated short films to be nominated for the Academy Awards.
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Additional mentors Michael Wakelam Head International Relations at Anthem Studios Michael is a writer and producer based in London. He wrote and directed the short film Life of Bri’ n Chris before going on to develop series and features for kids and family at Anthem Studios. Michael was invited to pitch his hybrid series, The Wild Truth, at Cartoon Forum, which is currently in development, and he is working with producers Irene Weibel and Fonda Snyder on a new preschool series. Michael also hosts The Creators Society Animation Podcast, speaking with voices from across the animation community
César Cepeda Director & Founder at Kraneo Estudios César has worked in film, animation and theater production, as director, producer, screenwriter, art director, stop motion animation director, set designer and illuminator. He is currently part of the KraNeo Estudio team. He directed the project Historia de un títere awarded video installation in Quito, and the shortfilms Under the Tree, Puebla 1862 Covered with Glory, Elena and the Shadows (winner of several awards, including an Ariel, the Mexican Academy of Cinematography award), and Raíces. He is currently director of the projects Bruno, Collector and Julia y el Portal del Abismo (Stop motion feature film).
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Thalia Machuca Creative Director Graduated from the University of Audiovisual Media (CAAV) Thalia is a partner and producer of Platypus Animation, a boutique 2D animation studio, where she has produced different types of content such as series, advertising spots, video clips, short films, etc., with clients such as Disney +, Turner, Discovery Kids and Bimbo, among others. She has produced IP projects and her first participation in cinema was as animation producer for Samuel Kishi’s feature film “Los Lobos” which was awarded as best film at Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival 2020.
Gabriel Pichardo Creative Director Gabriel Pich was born in Mexico City in 1989. He is a Graphic Designer graduated from La Salle University, and has worked as Art Director for brands such as Nike, Google, Absolut, and Playstation.
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Tue. March 16
Mon. March 15
SCHEDULE Tips to succeed a pitch Workshop 9:00 MX | 12:00 ARG | 16:00 EU
Speakers: Geraldine Bache
Mentors Sessions 10:00 MX | 13:00 ARG | 17:00 EU
Mentors: Geraldine Bache, Ivan Zuber, Caroline Att ia, Eric Reginaud
Meet the Shortway bootcampers 18:00 MX | 21:00 ARG
Mentors Sessions
Gobelins storytelling
9:00 MX | 12:00 ARG | 16:00 EU
11:00 MX | 14:00 ARG | 18:00 EU
Mentors: Geraldine Bache, Ivan Zuber, Caroline Att ia, Eric Reginaud, Gabriel P ich
Speakers: Cécile Blondel
Dalia sigue aquí masterclass
Production Masterclass
17:00 MX | 20:00 ARG
13:00 MX | 16:00 ARG | 20:00 EU
Speakers: Nuria Menchaca, Carlos Isaac
Speaker: Iván Zuber
P itching online 19:00 MX | 22:00 ARG
Wed. March 17
Ponente Christ ian Bermejo Mentors Sessions 9:00 MX | 12:00 ARG | 16:00 EU
Mentors: Geraldine Bache, Ivan Zuber, Caroline Att ia, Eric Reginaud, Michael Wakelam Fogata bootcampera shortway 20:00 MX | 23:00 ARG
El camino independiente Masterclass 18:00 MX | 21:00 ARG
Speakers: Cesar Cepeda
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Thu. March 18
/PIXELATLTV
Mentors Sessions
Academy Awards shortlist panel
9:00 MX | 12:00 ARG | 16:00 EU
11:00 MX | 14:00 ARG | 18:00 EU
Mentors: Geraldine Bache, Panelists: Ivan Zuber, Caroline Att ia, Erick Oh - Opera Eric Reginaud, Gabriel P ich, Sophie Tavert Macian - Traces Michael Wakelam Dean Hamer - Kapaemahu Gisli Darri - Yes People Ramin Zahed - Animation Magazine (moderator)
Jury pitches
Fri. March 19
SCHEDULE
9:00 MX | 12:00 ARG | 16:00 EU
Jury: Geraldine Bache, Ivan Zuber, Caroline Att ia, Eric Reginaud La Liga jury: Ventana Sur Animat ion, Premios Quirino, P ixelatl Winners Ceremony 13:00 MX | 16:00 ARG | 20:00 EU
Facebook stream: www.facebook.com /P ixelatl