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Fantoche Opens 2016 Competition

Switzerland’s biggest animation film showcase, to be held September 6-11 in Baden, adds three new awards to Swiss competition.

BADEN, SWITZERLANDFantoche, Switzerland’s biggest animation film showcase will run from September 6 – 11 in Baden. This will be the 14th time that Baden has played host to the showcase.

Fantoche is looking for the latest trends in the world of animation for which they will be giving out a total of 14 awards. Each year the festival welcomes countless film entries. Last year 1370 short films from 73 countries, with 76 originating in Switzerland, were entered. Entries will be accepted through May 31, 2016. Film makers can submit their animated films, which can be no longer than 40 minutes, to the competition.

This year Fantoche will be giving out three new awards in the Swiss Competition. The winners of the New Swiss Talent award, sponsored by Jingle Jungle, and the Swiss Fantastic award, sponsored by the NIFFF Festival, are both selected by the international jury of experts. The Swiss Youth Award is sponsored by the Castellinaria Festival in Bellinzona and is presented by a specially selected multilingual jury of young people from Ticino and the canton of Aargau. To judge the submissions, Fantoche has brought in experts in storytelling, sound design, film production and film schools. The composition of the jury changes from year to year.

“The huge number of current animated shorts we receive each year is a veritable treasure trove for Fantoche in every way,” commented Festival director Annette Schindler. “As a result, the competition programs are literally one-of-a-kind and never fail to delight our audiences. Thanks to digital uploads, it's now a lot easier to submit films. Submissions by conventional mail create an obstacle for film makers in many countries.”

There has been a constant and noticeable rise in film submissions coming from countries like Cuba, Ghana, Palestine, Peru, Costa Rica, India, Israel, and Taiwan. 

The online application portal to submit a short animation film is now open. The closing date for registering is May 31, 2016.

The heart of the Festival program is the “International Competition," the “Swiss Competition” and the competition for Children's film. This is where trends and current developments in the animation film industry discovered. Festival Director Schindler and her team are looking for artistically daring ideas, unconventional approaches and new talent, while still looking for first-class independent films and the best in new animated films from around the world. With awards for Best Film, High Risk and New Talent, the Festival acknowledges the different qualities that characterize animated film production. Films by Swiss directors are automatically entered in the ‘Swiss Competition’ as well.

Each year, Fantoche screens the latest animated films for children and young people in two short programs for different age groups. In cooperation with the children’s film club Die Zauberlaterne, the latest films for children are selected from the entries submitted. These films are also judged by a jury, made up of children, and two prizes are awarded. One is awarded by the child jury and the other by children’s audience.

Source: Fantoche