20 projects are chosen from 91 submissions from 26 countries; the annual initiative seeks to discover new talent and boost advanced animation production from a technical and narrative perspective.
Next Lab Generation has announced animation selections for the fourth edition of its workshop, which kicked off on January 8 with an initial online phase. 20 projects were selected out of 91 submissions from 26 countries.
The initiative, which seeks to discover new talent and boost advanced animation production from a technical and narrative perspective, receives support from the Community of Madrid through the Council for Culture, Tourism, and Sport.
Additionally, this edition has received support from the Institute for Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) as part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan promoted by the European Union, the participation of the Ministry of Culture, and collaboration from Enisa, Annecy Festival, and Weird Market.
The selected projects are from Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and Russia.
Workshop
Selected projects initially participate in an online program focusing on creative tools used within a virtual environment using real-time engines. Participants receive mentoring and instruction on applying R+D+i and the latest technology, culminating in creating an animated teaser for each project.
After the initial seven-week online phase, the top 10 projects go on to phase two, which takes place in Madrid from February 26 to March 2. This phase concludes with an event bringing together industry professionals and a public pitch by the finalists.
A jury of sector professionals chooses the top three projects for presentation during the Next Lab Generation at Annecy MIFA 2024. In addition, each winning project will receive €8,000 gross in development assistance, three months of mentoring, a travel grant, and accreditation for a project representative to attend the Annecy Festival 2024.
Selected Projects:
- ¿Hay algún muerto en la sala? by Miguel Medrano Malo, Lucía Sampedro and Carmen Álvarez (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participants: Miguel Medrano Malo and Lucía Sampedro.
- Calcetines by Nacho Campa Martínez and Guillermo G. Fidalgo (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participants: Nacho Campa Martínez and Guillermo G. Fidalgo.
- Catwalk by Lidia Luna, Omayra González Pérez, and Toni Mortero (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: Omayra González Pérez and Toni Mortero.
- Desechable by Carlos Gómez Salamanca, Diego Cañizal (Colombia, Spain). Feature film project. Workshop participants: Carlos Gómez Salamanca and León Felipe Carrizosa.
- Dibus by José Antonio Vaca Cerezo and Adrián Andújar Jiménez (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: José Antonio Vaca Cerezo and Adrián Andújar Jiménez.
- Dream Jobs Agency (DJA) by Jose Ignacio Molano Silván (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: Jose Ignacio Molano Silván (Mol).
- East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Almu Redondo (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participants: Almu Redondo.
- La ruina más alta by Douglas De La Hoz (Colombia). Series project. Workshop participants: Douglas De La Hoz and Daniel Hincapié.
- Las Almas de Escazú by Nicholas Hooper and Isidora Fajardo (Chile). Series project. Workshop participants: Isidora Fajardo and Felipe Guzman.
- Lázaro by Beatriz García de Leániz González (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participant: Beatriz García de Leániz González.
- Martina e Guará by Paula de Abreu (Brazil). Series project. Workshop participants: Paula de Abreu and Sergi Miranda.
- Maybe yes, maybe no by Yura (Georgiy) Boguslavsky and Asya Kiseleva (Russia, Armenia). Short film project. Workshop participant: Yura (Georgiy) Boguslavsky.
- Nanomia by Alejandro Díaz Vidal and Iván Martínez (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participants: Alejandro Díaz Vidal and Ruben Manchón Martínez.
- Parallel Lines at Infinity by Isabella Papa (Brazil, Portugal). Short film project. Workshop participants: Isabella Papa and Baboo Matsusaki.
- Puta Barcelona by Pablo García-Munté (Spain). Short film project. Workshop participant: Pablo García-Munté.
- Tales of Vichaya by Luis Felipe Verástegui Ríos (Peru, Brazil). Video game project. Workshop participant: Luis Felipe Verástegui Ríos.
- The Cutting of the Forest by Vernante Amarilla Pallotti and Daniele Zen (Italy). Short film project. Workshop participants: Vernante Amarilla Pallotti and Elisa Maggioni.
- The Whistler by Alejandro Muñoz Fernández and Fernando Llor (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: Alejandro Muñoz Fernández and Fernando Llor.
- Welcome to Fucking Rainbowland by Nuño Benito and Nacho Subirats (Spain). Series project. Workshop participants: Nacho Subirats Morate and Nuño Benito de Castro.
- Zoe & Chill by Jamil Lahham (Canada). Short film project. Workshop participants: Jamil Lahham.
Fourth edition workshop experts:
- Daniel Martín Peixe, cinematics animator at Moon Studios, previously spent 13 years as a Disney animator (Zootopia and Moana).
- Federico Moreno Breser, Reel FX real-time VFX supervisor, Quill software expert, animation director, and digital artist.
- Enric Sant, Next Lab 2022 winner, multidisciplinary artist with 10+ years’ experience in the video game industry, and director of Lumen, a VR animation series awarded at Annecy 2023.
- Joaquín Martínez, a first edition winner, has worked four years with VR animation, experimenting with new workflows and teaching experimental animation.
- Raúl Colomer, CTO at Hampa Studio, is focused on developing and implementing real-time workflows in 2D and 3D animation, using immersive technology for previewing with open-source software.
Source: Next Lab Generation
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
