The fourth edition of the CEE Animation Workshop has kicked off its penultimate module. The first and only on-site module of this year’s edition took place very recently in Łódź, Poland. Between 22 and 28 August, the Vienna House Andel’s hotel hosted 11 projects in development, 26 participants, ten guest expert lecturers and 25 Polish animation-industry representatives.

Workshop organisers and group leaders Jean-François Le Corre and Ole Wendorff were joined by head of studies and producer Juraj Krasnohorsky and programme consultant and producer Jožko Rutar in order to provide the participants with production package and pitch feedback. Meanwhile, guest experts Caroline Williams and Diane Roberts held individual feedback sessions on company development strategy.

In addition to the intensive work undertaken, the participants had the chance to listen to various lectures by international industry experts. Le Corre talked about the distribution of adult-orientated animation; Aurélie Angebault gave a lecture titled “Compostman: Never Give up, Never Surrender”; Ulrich Michael presented the legal aspects of film distribution, as well as co-producing with an SVoD platform and negotiating film agreements; Martin Ličko focussed on the production pipeline for animated films and series; and Jan Naszewski (of New Europe Film Sales) discussed how to work with a sales agent.

The last few days of the week in Łodź were dedicated to networking and skill sharing with local animation-industry professionals and decision-makers, with the aim being to facilitate new connections and possible future collaborations. Special attention was paid to the Polish animation industry, and a panel with guests from the country (including Monika Głowacka from the Łódź Film Commission/EC1, Katarzyna Godzic from the Polish Film Institute and members of the SPPA - Polish Animation Producers Association) explored the possibilities of producing in and with Poland. In addition, a case study on the Polish animated feature The Peasants [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Dorota Kobiela was held by Sean Bobbitt, producer at Breakthru Films and president of the board at the SPPA.

“We are happy to have had the opportunity to host more than 20 Polish producers, film-fund representatives and other film professionals, and have them explore our participants’ projects, being able to meet in person and hopefully start some new international collaborations,” says Saša Bach, managing director of the CEE Animation Workshop.

The event in Poland was organised in collaboration with the SPPA – Polish Animation Producers Association, and with local partners from the Vienna House Andel’s hotel, the Łódź Film School, Indeks Film Studio, WJTeam, Likaon and the Łódź Film Commission. The CEE Animation Workshop is supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe – MEDIA programme and the Polish Film Institute.