Short News
22.11.2010
Swiss Games wanted – The competition is open!
Let's play together! For once, we're not looking for the latest animated films – no, today we're opening a competition for the development of computer games.
For a long time, Fantoche has been interested in the crossover between animation and game design. Now, together with our partners, we have a fantastic opportunity to promote the development of games of high artistic quality.
In collaboration with the cultural foundation Pro Helvetia, Switzerland's Federal Office of Culture and the SUISA Foundation for Music, Fantoche is launching the first call for proposals for Swiss computer games. The “Call for Projects: Swiss Games” is now open, and you can submit your games using the application tool at www.fantoche.ch. The deadline for submissions is 15 March 2011 – a playable prototype of your game must be ready by that date.
The scheme seeks to promote unreleased projects of a high standard, with artistic merit and strong distribution potential. We are interested in creations of any kind from the field of computer games that are bold enough to take a chance on innovative game concepts, tell interactive stories, and use jaw-dropping graphics to push open doors to new visual worlds. And if creative people from a variety of different disciplines team up to break new ground together – all the better.
The “Call for Projects: Swiss Games” is aimed exclusively at games developers in or from Switzerland. A jury of international experts will award grants of up to CHF 50,000.– per project – for this first award of grants in 2011, a framework credit arrangement for a total of CHF 300,000.– will be available. The SUISA Foundation for Music is donating an additional CHF 15,000.– as a prize for the best original sound composition.
The Swiss games which are awarded grants will be presented to the public in a special exhibition at Fantoche 2011. Further details on the “Call for Projects: Swiss Games” information on the eligibility requirements, and the competition rules can be found at www.fantoche.ch.
We look forward to receiving your entries!
29.09.2010
Reminder: Call for Entries Swiss Film Prize “Quartz 2011”
We would like to remind you of the participation at the Swiss Film Prize “Quartz 2011”:Admissible are films that were shown in theatres during the current year or that were selected for an important festival in Switzerland or abroad. For animation films an exploitation in 2009 and 2010 is valid since the award for “Best Animation Film” is being awarded only every second year.
Your inscription has to be submitted to SWISS FILMS until September 30, 2010 by the holder of rights.
For more information please follow this link or contact SWISS FILMS:
www.swissfilms.ch
Good luck!
22.09.2010
A very big thank you!
The curtain has come down on Fantoche 2010 – we've had a wonderful festival, and we'd like to express our most sincere thanks to everyone who supported us, everyone who came to visit us and everyone who put their faith in us. A special thank you goes to the filmmakers, thanks to whom we were able to put together a full and fantastic programme.We wish you all an inspiring winter, from which we expect to draw a whole new crop of fantastic animated films for our competition next year. Because the next Fantoche is just around the corner: from 6 to 11 September 2011, hundreds of cartoons will once again be flickering across the screens here in Baden.
We look forward to seeing you again!
Marianne Engel – Forest
Fantoche isn't quite over yet: until 7 November 2010, you can still catch the solo exhibition by Aargau artist Marianne Engel at the Kunstraum in Baden. The master of the wondrous, the magical twilight world and the fusion of the natural and the unreal has transformed the Kunstraum Baden into a fabulous enchanted forest. A very special art experience for the young and old. Don't miss it!
Kunstraum Baden
Entrance: Güterstrasse 1 (Bahnhof West), 5400 Baden
www.kunstraum.baden.ch
Opening hours:
Wed - Fri 14.00–17.00 h
Sat & Sun 12.00–17.00
Call for Entries: MINIMOTION
The MINIMOTION competition for 10 second animated films is open for entries until 18th October 2010. MINIMOTION is looking for the best 10 second animations in the world. There is no set theme. Bold, audacious ideas, fantastic experiments, unique stories and great entertainment are wanted.
A three person jury will judge the work. The audience gives the audience award.
Submission Deadline: October 18th 2010.
Film screenig and prize giving: Saturday, November 20th 2010, Kino Uto in Zurich.
For registration an further information please click here.
12.09.2010
Fantoche 2010 breaks all the records!
We are still completely bowled over and overwhelmed! Fantoche once again had record attendances! More than 33,000 animated-film fans from Switzerland and further afield made the pilgrimage to Baden and plunged into the world of animation in our cinemas, exhibitions and specialized forums over the last six days. We are extremely pleased and thank you all very much for coming.Once again the pinnacle of Fantoche 2010 was of course the award ceremony. We can also definitively announce the names of all the best entries to those who were unable to be there:
The Winners of Fantoche 2010 are...
“International Competition”
Best Film: “In A Pig's Eye” by Atsushi Wada, JP 2010
High Risk: “Love & Theft” by Andreas Hykade, DE 2010
New Talent: “Kuchao” by Masaki Okuda, JP 2010
Best Sound: “Divers in the Rain” by Olga Pärn, Priit Pärn, EE 2010
Best Visual: “Get Real!” by Evert de Beijer, NL 2010
Best Story: “Divers in the Rain” by Olga Pärn, Priit Pärn, EE 2010
NAB Public Award: “Sinna Mann” by Anita Killi, NO 2009
“Swiss Competition”
Best Swiss: “Miramare” by Michaela Müller, HR/CH 2009
High Swiss Risk: “Cronache marxiane” by Laura Solari, CH 2009
Special Mention 1: “Schlaf” by Claudius Gentinetta and Frank Braun, CH 2010
Special Mention 2: “Der kleinere Raum” by Cristobal Leon, Nina Wehrle, CH 2009
Public Award: “Heimatland” by Andrea Schneider, Loretta Arnold, Marius Portmann, Fabio Friedli, CH 2010
Competition “Best Kids”
Best Kids: “Der präzise Peter” by Martin Schmidt, DE 2010
Children's Public Award: “Der präzise Peter” by Martin Schmidt, DE 2010
We congratulate our champions and raise our glasses to them!
11.09.2010
For Sunday at the Festival, Fantoche recommends:
Fantoche for kids and families
Grab your children, your nieces and nephews, grandchildren, godsons and goddaughters and bring them along to Fantoche! Because Sunday at Fantoche is also Sunday for children. In the making-of event “The cat that wanted to make a film” (5 years and up), the children's film club “Die Zauberlaterne” (The Magic Lantern) will be presenting an amusing, child-friendly live performance showing how a film is created step by step. From the artists to the musicians, they're all there.
Sun, 12.00 pm in the Kino Trafo 5
Immediately afterwards, we'll be screening the 15-minute short-film programme “Kids for Kids”. This consists of cartoons produced by children and teenagers during the Fantoche workshops. An inspiring and motivating introduction to the set of short films that follows, for children from eight years and up, on the topic “What's happening to the world?” A programme of eleven recent short films, compiled by the “Zauberlaterne” club, with a vote taken among the children in the audience.
Sun, 1.30 pm in the Kino Trafo 5
Fantoche in Fairyland
In the feature film “Kérity, La Maison des Contes”, Dominique Monféry tells the touching story of little Nathanaël, who is unable to read and, ironically, inherits an entire library full of fairy tales. A fantastic journey through the world of fairy stories for young and old. Highly recommended!
Sun, 3.30 pm in the Kino Trafo 5
Fantoche gives out prizes and congratulates the top performers!
Awards ceremony and presentation of the best of Fantoche 2010. The “Best of Fantoche 2010” is the highlight and the showpiece of this year's Festival.
Sun, 7.30 pm in the Kino Trafo 1
Sun, 8.45 pm in the Kino Trafo 5
Fantoche winds down...
Join us one last time to chill out and hit the dance floor in the Fantoche Lounge in the Festival Centre. We look forward to seeing you there!
10.09.2010
For Saturday at the Festival, Fantoche recommends:
Fantoche takes a look behind the scenes of “Elemi” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox”“Elemi” is the charming story of the love that blossoms between a telephone pole and the engineer who repairs her. Japanese animator Hideto Nakata spent eight years single-handedly making this 45-minute puppet animation. At Fantoche, he will be telling the crazy story of how his first animated feature film came into being, and using wonderful “making of” pictures he will give a unique insight into the process of creating this stop-motion production.
Sat, 1.30 pm in the Kino Trafo 5
In contrast to this, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is a major production with international stars and a massive contingent of specialist personnel. We are immensely proud of the fact that two young Swiss animation specialists had an important role in bringing this story to the screen. In a “making of” event, Félicie Haymoz, character designer, and Elie Chapuis, animator, reveal more about the film. An extra special bonus is a live appearance by Mr. Fox himself, his son Ash, and Kylie the rat – we've managed to fly the three puppets in to meet their Swiss audience in person.
Sat, 6.30 pm in the Kino Trafo 5
Fantoche in Fairyland
For fairytale lovers and fans of Hayao Miyazaki, Fantoche is bringing a special treat to the silver screen: “My neighbor Totoro” is an amazing masterpiece of animation, but despite this it has never been screened in Switzerland. An oversight that Fantoche is rectifying right now – don't miss it!
A presentation by the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF).
Sat, 8.45 pm in the Kino Royal
Fantoche meets the artists
Grab this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come and meet everyone from Switzerland's animated film scene who are present at Fantoche, ask them questions, have a chat and take a glimpse into the future with them. In a “Meet the artists” event, Switzerland's animated filmmakers will be getting together, and they're looking forward to meeting you.
Sat, 5.15 pm in the Fantoche Lounge, Festival Centre in the Merker-Areal
09.09.2010
For Friday at the Festival, Fantoche recommends:
Fantoche gets Game Fever – and it's full on!
Following Thursday's “GameCulture Conference”, the fun continues on Friday with virtually no interruption! The “Game Talks” look at the aesthetics of computer games – we discuss where games developers and animated filmmakers find their sources of inspiration, look at universally accepted metaphors, and examine how these games can be classified both culturally and in terms of the history of art:
Stephan Schwingeler – art historian and media commentator
Reece Millidge – game designer and animated filmmaker
Agnieszka Pawlowska – psychologist and animated filmmaker
“Tale of Tales”, Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn – designers and developers
Fri, 1:30 to 5:30 pm in the Stanzerei, Festival Centre in the Merker-Areal
Fantoche as visionary!
With “Logorama”, French animated filmmakers Hervé de Crécy and François Alaux have pulled off a little stroke of genius: an action film in which, for 18 dazzling minutes, two Michelin Men, Haribo, Ronald McDonald and 2,500 logos take on the starring roles and play the scenery and landscape as well. Recently awarded the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film of 2009, the film's makers are at Fantoche to talk about the four years they spent creating the production, their Oscar win, and their latest plans. An absolute must for fans and for anyone who has not yet seen the film!
Fantoche explores the world
Croatia has an extremely rich and outstanding tradition in the production of animated film. Inspite of this, however, it has never been possible to find a cohesive overview of this industry in Switzerland. Fantoche 2010 is changing this, and is staging a wide-ranging selection of animated films from Croatia, bringing us from the past to the present. Three chronologically ordered programmes of short films, and a programme showcasing the very latest productions from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, push this year's guest country, Croatia, into the spotlight, giving it some long overdue recognition. And if you'd like to meet the Croatian filmmakers and friends of Croatian film personally, get down to the Fantoche bar on Friday evening at 8:00 pm: the Croatian Culture Club of Baden invites you to join them for a drink.
New Generation, Fri, 3:30 pm in the Kino Orient
Flying High, Fri, 6:30 pm in the Kino Orient
Croatian aperitifs evening, Fri, 8:00 pm in the Fantoche bar
Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb, Sat, 3:30 pm in the Kino Trafo 5
The Early Years: A Golden Age, Sun, 1:30 pm, Flying High, Sun, 3:30 pm,
New Generation, Sun, 5:15 pm in the Kino Orient
09.09.2010
Computer games as art: pioneers wanted!
The Fantoche International Animation Film Festival, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, the Federal Office of Culture and the SUISA Foundation for Music launch the «Call for Projects: Swiss Games» on 9 September 2010. Their aim is to promote innovative computer games of a high artistic standard.Computer games as a new form of art and entertainment are now firmly established worldwide. Interdisciplinary collaboration between scriptwriters, animators, composers and designers is essential to the creation of new game worlds. The Fantoche International Animation Film Festival, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, the Federal Office of Culture and the SUISA Foundation for Music initiated their «Call for Projects: Swiss Games» with the aim of promoting the creation of Swiss computer games of a high artistic standard. Grants will be provided as an incentive to up-and-coming Swiss game developers to produce daring innovative game concepts, to narrate interactive stories and to open the door to new visual worlds.
A credit line of CHF 300,000 has been opened in 2011 for the first round of grants. There will be a maximum grant of CHF 50,000 per project. The adjudication will be performed by an international jury chaired by Guillaume de Fondaumière, who has produced games such as «Fahrenheit» and «Heavy Rain» at French video game developer Quantic Dream. The selected entries will be presented at the Fantoche International Animation Film Festival in Baden in September 2011. Additionally, the SUISA Foundation for Music will award a prize of CHF 15,000 for the best original sound composition.
The jury's criteria
The «Call for Projects: Swiss Games» is open only to developers in or from Switzerland. A playable prototype must be submitted no later than March 2011. Entries will be judged according to the following criteria: gameplay (the mechanics of the game), scenario (storytelling), visuals (aesthetics), music and sound design, technical innovation and interactivity. Overall impression and the interplay of the various components will also be taken into account.
Further information on how to apply will be provided on the Fantoche website as of 15 November 2010. Further details of Pro Helvetia's two-year programme «GameCulture – From Game to Art», which is launched at the same time as the «Call for Projects: Swiss Games», are provided at www.gameculture.ch.
08.09.2010
For Thursday at the Festival, Fantoche recommends:
Fantoche gets into GameCulture!At this year's Fantoche, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia is launching its two-year programme on the topic of “GameCulture”, and will be hosting a major “GameCulture conference” with exciting presentations featuring Swiss and international experts from the fields of game development, research and funding for culture and the arts! Once again, Fantoche captures the essence of our times, and will be opening the gates to related areas of animation.
Fantoche at the cutting edge!
At last, he's made it to German-speaking Switzerland: “L'Illusionniste”, the new feature film from famous French animated filmmaker Sylvain Chomet, is to have an exclusive advance screening for our part of Switzerland at Fantoche. Peppered with clumsy slapstick and subtle humour, the film enchants with its lush visuals. A real feast for the eyes.
“L'Illusionniste” – Sylvain Chomet, GB/FR 2010, F/G, 8 years and up,
Thurs 8:45 pm in Kino Trafo 5, Sat 10:45 pm, Sun 3:30 pm in Kino Trafo 1
The feature film “Piercing I”, from Chinese filmmaker Liu Jian, is a profound and impressive social critique. Liu Jian, who spent years working alone to create the film, has produced a remarkable contemporary document. An unembellished aesthetic style and black humour hides disgust and condemnation of a society in which discrimination, violence and corruption prevail.
“Piercing I” – Liu Jian, CN 2009, Chinese/E, 16 years and up,
Thurs 10:45 pm in Kino Trafo 5, Sat 6:30 pm in Kino Trafo 4
Fantoche meets Fumetto
Our friends from Fumetto are our guests once again this year: every day, the American performer, musician, innovator and artist Brian Dewan will be presenting a totally unique and delightfully offbeat live performance in the UnvermeidBAR. He shows “film strips” in 1950s style, together with live soundtrack and story-telling. A genuine American original – they don't make 'em like this anymore. Highly recommended!
Performance by Brian Dewan, daily at 5:15 pm
Fumetto Apéro Friday 4:15 pm
UnvermeidBAR, Rathausgasse, Baden
www.fumetto.ch
07.09.2010
For Wednesday at the Festival, Fantoche recommends:
Fantoche takes a look into the future!Our hot tip for the day is the “Coming Soon” events from Fantoche, enabling you to experience today what people will be talking about tomorrow in the world of animated film. This year, we've got four productions, each of which is somewhere in the work-in-progress stage, and all four will be screened en bloc at Fantoche Wednesday:
12:00 midday: “Les yeux noirs” – this Canadian short film for children makes a playful attempt at letting the viewer feel and understand the sensory perceptions of the blind. Drawn by hand, graphically impressive and designed to be shown in 3D.
1:30 pm: Dominique Monféry, the director of “Kérity, La Maison des Contes”, already has a new feature-length film in the making with “GUS (Occho Kochoï)”. This time in 3D, with a totally original design and a distinctive look.
3:30 pm: With “Ma vie de courgette”, gifted Swiss animated filmmaker Claude Barras has his first feature-length film in the pipeline. He has taken a break from filming and is coming to Fantoche with co-director Germano Zullo and his team, to show the first impressions, images and clips. An extremely promising project.
6:30 pm: “Little Big Planet 2” – This game is the runaway success: super-clever and imaginative, it represents a quantum leap in commercial game development. Part two of “Little Big Planet” is awaited with great anticipation. The game's developers are at Fantoche and will be talking about the background to their game and their sources of inspiration.
Wednesday, Kino Trafo 5, Brown Boveri Platz 1, Baden
Fantoche in the future with the science fiction film “Metropia”
At the last Fantoche festival, Tarik Saleh presented his feature-length film at the “Coming Soon” event. This year, we're bringing the film, which is now complete, to the silver screen. Visually unique in every sense, the bold mix of beautiful and sinister, artificial and familiar, lively and subdued paints a portrait of our society that will stir even the coldest of hearts.
“Metropia” by Tarik Saleh, SWE 2009, E, 16 years and up, Wed 10.45 pm, Fri 8.45 pm, Sun 5.15 pm at Kino Trafo 5
Fantoche at home
And anyone who arrives home feeling tired but happy after a long, intensive day of watching cartoons and still wants more should switch on SF1: from 5 past midnight, it's all starting up again on the ch:filmszene programme. An animated endless loop with outstanding Swiss cartoons. Sweet dreams!
06.09.2010
For Tuesday at the Festival, Fantoche recommends:
Fantoche plays!On the opening day of Fantoche, our games designers will already be hard at it from midday! In the Merkker, students from the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (Zurich College of the Arts) will be presenting their fairy tale games produced especially for Fantoche – interactive, delightfully playable, and with no pre-programmed happy ending. Pop in and have a go!
At the same time, you'll have the chance to watch as new interactive animations and small-scale computer games are put together. Zurich College of the Arts students majoring in Game Design and students from the Animation Department of the Hochschule Luzern (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts) will be unveiling “In between Animation & Game Design”, an interdisciplinary experimental field. A live “making of” look at this special art form.
Merkker, Festival Centre in the Merker-Areal, daily midday – 10 pm / Fri and Sat till midnight
Right next door in the Stanzerei, the exhibition “Visual Playgrounds – The Aesthetics of Independent Games” has been set up. Far away from the huge mainstream gaming culture, there exists a land of almost unlimited possibilities. Creative, independent, full of surprises, and in most cases distributed via the internet. For the first time in Switzerland, you can get a good look at this international games scene, in our special overview exhibition. Don't miss it!
Stanzerei, Festival Centre in the Merker-Areal, daily midday – 10 pm
Fantoche tells tales
This year, Fantoche is celebrating the fairy tale, and you're invited to the opening night in the kingdom of incredible stories. Come along to the Fantoche Lounge, prick up your ears and enjoy the dazzling story time with live illustrations by Kati Rickenbach and Milva Stutz. And there's a special surprise in store: on Tuesday evening, spontaneously and just for the sheer joy of it, well-known man-of-many-talents Beat Schlatter will be popping up in the role of the teller of tales, and together with his old friend Pratesse Billa will spin you yarns of the fantastic, the erotic and the magical. Lively gags and delightful spontaneity guaranteed!
Fantoche Lounge, Festival Centre in the Merker-Areal, Tues, Weds, Thurs, 10.45 – 11.15 pm
Fantoche chills out & hits the dance floor
The daily meeting place and venue to wind down after sampling the pleasures of the cinema – hit the Lounge with our top DJs.
Fantoche Lounge, Festival Centre in the Merker-Areal, every evening from 11.15 – 02.00
30.08.2010
Fantoche – groovy, trendy & visionary!
Fantoche is bringing international star producers of animated films and young trendsetters to Baden. Hervé de Crécy and François Alaux are the creative geniuses behind the groundbreaking short animated film, “Logorama”, which was an Oscar-winner in 2009. Don Hertzfeldt is just 33 years young and already a legend. Jonas Odell and his studio FilmTecknarna are among the most renowned creators of animated music clips and authors' films and are at Fantoche as our guest.
When music and film animation join forces the release of energy is electric! You will be mesmerized by colourful images, styles of film and the music Fantoche is showcasing on the silver screens.
Studio presentation: FilmTecknarna
FilmTecknarna based in Stockholm is one of the most reputable studios in the business of film animation. They combine commercial film commissions with personal film production. Stars such as Madonna, Goldfrapp, Franz Ferdinand and U2 knock on their door. FilmTecknarna is visually unconventional, smart and 100% style-assured. The studio's creative genius and multi award-winner, Jonas Odell, will be our guest. We cannot wait!
Animated Beats & Tunes
A tantalizing and inspiring compilation of current film clips. From Coldplay's “Strawberry Swing” to “Eat Raw Meat” by The Editors or “Dare” by Gorillaz – the impressive beat, hypnotic sounds and gentle vocals promise 70 minutes of animated fireworks of sights and sounds!
The beat goes on – so come along and have some fun!
Don Hertzfeldt Showcase
This man is a legend! Don Hertzfeldt's minimalist stick men, his black humour and witty stories are clever flirtations with life and everyday occurrences. His captivating and unique cartoons have dominated cinema screens and Internet forums for years. He was even nominated for an Oscar in 2001. Fantoche showcases 74 minutes of Don Hertzfeldt without interruptions! Top recommendation!
Making of “Logorama”
2'500 logos create the decorative content of this 18-minute action film: an ingenious idea! The film is brilliantly produced and won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2009. The creators, Hervé de Crécy and François Alaux, are at Fantoche and will tell this crazy story with illustrations from their work. They'll also drop some hints about their latest plans. Our top tip is to be there and listen carefully!
27.08.2010
Exclusive Swiss Premiere of “Despicable Me” at Fantoche!
The countdown has begun! At last we can reveal our last big secret! Fantoche has pulled an extra special surprise out of the hat: we present a special screening with the exclusive Swiss premiere of “Despicable Me” – the witty and visually spectacular 3D-animated adventure from the producer of “Ice Age” and “Ice Age 2”.
The international blockbuster will flash across the Trafo Cinema's screen thanks to brand-new 3D technology, now up and running. It's magic!
Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, US 2010, 95', E/d/fr, from ages 8
Tuesday, 7th September 2010, 8.45 pm, Trafo Cinema
Sunday, 12th September 2010, 5.15 pm, Trafo Cinema
It's fantastic entertainment that gets our top recommendation! Don't miss out on the chance to purchase advance tickets with Starticket. Special conditions apply to all tickets on sale for this film. Thank you for your understanding.
A film presentation by Fantoche and the Neue Aargauer Bank.
25.08.2010
Let's play again!
Fantoche has been indulging in a new passion since last year – “Independent Games” is probably the most creative interface for film animation and computer games. Visual impact combines with creative ingenuity and independence to make this artful scene a treasure trove brimming with surprises. Join in the gaming fun – and let the gaming bug bite!“Visual Playgrounds – The Aesthetics of Independent Games” Exhibition
Twelve outstanding Swiss and international Indie Games present a realm of sheer infinite possibilities. Outside the mainstream of gaming culture, amazing experimental gaming concepts with visual inventiveness and brilliantly devised techniques are displayed. The individual creators are on hand and in “Game Talks” they discuss their inspiration and the common ground shared with film animation.
More about the “Exhibtions”
More about the “Game Talks”
Short film programme “Teasers”
Computer games with a difference – simply a preview as a cinema showcase with a forty-minute film programme. A light-entertainment and playful introduction to the interactive worlds of “Independent Games”, a thrilling adventure and a daring experiment.
More
Coming Soon “Little Big Planet 2”
“Little Big Planet” is a quantum leap into commercial games development. With captivating aesthetics, game mechanics are clever and creative. In the run-up to the release of “Little Big Planet 2”, the game developers, Media Molecule, will explain how they hit upon their inspiration and continue developing their ingenious game.
More
“Gameculture Conference” Podium
As part of Fantoche, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia is holding the “GameCulture Conference” and well-known conference delegates will discuss the social, economicand aesthetic aspects of computer games as well as the potential of the Swiss computer games sector.
More
“Fairytale and Game Studio” Exhibition & Workshop
Fairytales with a difference – interactive, with gaming fun and no predictable happy ending. Students of the game design department at the Zurich University of the Arts have developed fairytale computer games for Fantoche! Simultaneously, Fantoche launches an interdisciplinary experimental zone: on location and throughout the festival, students of animation and game design develop interactive animations and mini-computer games. Don't miss out on the opportunity to look over the creators' shoulders as they come up with their ideas!
More
16.08.2010
Fantoche in fairytale land: From the offbeat and absurd to brilliant classics!
This year, Fantoche revels in the fairytale: Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White & Co will all be making welcome guest appearances. Fairytales are a perfect source of film animation inspiration – if anyone knows how to cast a magic spell, it's film animators! Creative minds certainly get carried away: Little Red Riding Hood might eat the Big Bad Wolf or Cinderella could bump into the Seven Dwarfs and lose her slipper...
Highlights from film animation's fairytale corner
“Once upon a time … : Fairytale adaptations” narrate the best-known and best-loved fairytales in ten short films. From modern music clips to old American and Russian classics. Offbeat, freaky and topsy-turvy: that's the name of the game in “Magical.” The film animators are spellbinding, the pictures and stories drift delightfully into the absurd and familiar ground really starts to tremble and quake! “Same but different: Little Red Riding Hood film variations” showcase ten different adaptations of the same story – Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. The results are ten completely different stories from familiar classics to a totally novel fairytale! Get ready for guaranteed surprises!
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (US 1937) is the first Walt Disney animated colour film that provides a full evening's entertainment. To this day, this is the original and best of all the Snow Whites with the cuddly dwarfs as droll as ever, while their melodies feature among the catchiest tunes of all time. The Master, Hayao Miyazaki, entices us in “Tonari no Totoro” (JP 1988) to enter into the wonderful world of two girls who relocate to the countryside where they discover numerous secrets in their new surroundings. A premiere in Swiss cinemas, this is one of the most beautiful films in Miyazaki's repertoire. Not to be missed! A presentation of the International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF), Neuchâtel.
These animated fairytale films wrote history! “Bajaja” (CS 1950) directed by the Grand Master of Czech animation, Jiri Trnka, “Le Roi et l'Oiseau” directed by Paul Grimault (FR 1980) and “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” directed by Lotte Reiniger (DE 1926) influenced animated film production worldwide. These films are superbly animated, breathtaking and rare finds that are full of poetry.
Details of the full programme and ticket reservations at www.fantoche.ch
Exhibitions
The fairytale and game studio showcases fairytales in a unique way – interactive, with a promise of gaming fun and no guaranteed happy ending. New computer games have been developed exclusively for Fantoche. Don't miss out on the gaming fun! A joint project with Zurich University of the Arts, study area Game Design.
Marianne Engel is a master of the fantastical, magical in-between worlds and fusion of nature and the unreal. “Forest” transforms the Kunstraum, Baden into a mysterious fairytale forest and a dark copse where her fascinating photos and installations are interwoven to create a bewitchingly enchanting network. A joint project with Kunstraum, Baden.
PS: Kids, kids, kids ...
The fairytale programmes are not all child-friendly or harmless viewing, so we highly recommend our children's programme for our youngest animated film fanatics. With your own kids, godchildren or grandchildren – a trip to Fantoche will be a guaranteed success and thrilling adventure even for youngsters from the age of 4.
For details of the full programme please visit Kids, Parents & Schools
09.08.2010
Advance tickets now on sale – online programme goes live!
It's film season again! Advance tickets are on sale and the Fantoche 2010 festival programme goes live as of today with full details of a spectrum of fantastic animated pictures which once again promise to transform Baden into a Mecca for all fans of animated film.
We can reveal some of the exceptional highlights and delightful treats we have in store for you right now. We are especially proud this year that a record number of five Swiss animated films qualified for the “International Competition”. This is an absolute first in the history of Fantoche and deserves a loud “bravissimo”:
“Miramare” – Michaela Müller, HR/CH 2009
“Der kleinere Raum” – Nina Wehrle, Cristobal Leon, CH/DE 2009
“Schlaf” – Claudius Gentinetta, Frank Braun, CH 2010
“Parasite” – Omid Khoshnazar, CH/IR 2009
“Peng!” – Alex Stoop, CH 2010
Highlights from the feature film programme
“L'Illusionniste” directed by Sylvain Chomet – GB/FR 2010
At last Sylvain Chomet's new feature film is out – and it's packed with gauche slapstick comedy and gentle humour with fabulous visual reproduction for the Swiss-German screen!
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” directed by Wes Anderson – US/GB 2009
Wes Andersen's beautiful and charming multi-award winning animated film debut is exclusively showcased on the big screen. The cast includes George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray, featuring as voices of lovingly created furry characters.
The independent feature films “Piercing I” directed by Liu Jian (China 2009) and “Elemi” directed by Hideto Nakata (Japan 2009) are two genuine finds: Liu Jian's remarkable social critique and contemporary document with clear aesthetics highlights the social conditions in China today. Hideto Nakato narrates the wonderfully quirky story of an unusual love affair between a young “telephone mast” and her mechanic. These totally contrasting films are screened exclusively at Fantoche. Not to be missed!
Simply click on the programme links and book your advance tickets now at Starticket! Programme and Tickets: www.fantoche.ch
03.08.2010
Fantoche in motion – trailer now online!
Good news: The new Fantoche trailer has arrived! Our
green mascot will soon be rolling across screens in cinemas, train stations and
living rooms, reminding everyone that it's Fantoche time again from 7 – 12 September.
But we'd like to give you a little taster in advance by releasing our brand new festival trailer into the digital domain. Watch it online at www.fantoche.ch.
Fantoche would also like to give a special mention to Elefant Studios AG in Zurich, who produced the trailer in collaboration with KAMP Music & Sound Design from Berlin. A big thank you for the excellent teamwork and the fantastic 3D computer animation! You can find out more about these young and innovative creative studios at www.elefantstudios.ch and www.davidkamp.de.
The Fantoche clock is ticking faster and faster, and we're rapidly approaching the first day of the festival. Advance tickets will go on sale next Monday (9 August) at Starticket. Around the same time, the full Fantoche programme will be revealed on our website. And for anyone who can't wait that long, we've put together a little appetizer to get you in the mood: The full programmes and entries for the International Competition and the Swiss Competition have now been published on our website.
So don't forget to book your tickets next week – we look forward to seeing you at the big event!
06.07.2010
Fantoche has chosen!
Et voilà! Our selection team has reached its decision. The team of 4 spent days sitting in front of the television in a darkened cubbyhole. They weren't following the black and white ball. Instead, they watched exactly 826 animated competition films, which were submitted from 59 countries around the world.
Absolutely fantastic! Who would have thought that Fantoche would receive almost as many entries as last year despite becoming an annual festival? Never in our wildest dreams did we think that the number would be so high.
37 films made it over the first hurdle and were nominated for the “International Competition”, including, believe it or not, five Swiss productions / co-productions. Swiss animated film production is thriving. The selection team for the “Swiss Competition” realised this and is sending 23 of the 92 domestic entries through to the next round.
2009/2010 was a good year and our international juries will have to cope with a difficult decision-making process at the coming edition of Fantoche, that's clear already. The audience on the other hand will be able to dive into the flood of animated pictures and let itself be inspired with no questions asked.
14.06.2010
Brand new Fantoche website!
Hip hip hurray, Fantoche has a brand new website and is now also among the best online!
The Fantoche tool shines brightly on the World Wide Web with a completely new design, and just like the festival, the website will constantly be changing. Our credo is to be diverse and artistically refreshing, informative and user friendly. The digital platform provides our visitors with a glance behind the scenes and gives detailed programme information using text and moving pictures. Zones for professionals and the media are alongside audience zones – the site can become a tool for work or an information portal depending on individual requirements.
Three months before the 2010 festival the first areas will be activated. It'll get really great from the beginning of August. That's when the whole programme, with pictures and trailers, will be activated enabling a proper insight into the huge possibilities of our new platform.
To cut a long story short: take a look at our tool, click through and let yourself be infected with Fantoche fever!
Thanks
And because we could never have developed such a masterpiece on our own, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Irene Jost from
Culture_Art_Communications, and her dedicated team, who put a lot of thought into developing the concept and graphics and who were always on hand to give us their expert support. An equally big thank you goes to the webtuningteam, who provided us with the smart, well honed technology, which makes our existence on the World Wide Web so much easier.
Hip hip hurray!!
04.05.2010
Don't forget! The Fantoche competition only lasts until the end of May 2010
You only have until 31 May 2010 to submit your entries for Fantoche's International Competition. Don't miss the deadline for submitting your animated film!Fantoche is on the look-out for the world's best animated short films from the last 12 months. Artistically daring ideas, visionary experiments, stories with a twist or films that provide top-quality entertainment are being sought, whether produced by newcomers, young talents or established film-makers.
All Swiss film productions are automatically entered into the Swiss Competition too. This year, in addition to the "Best Swiss" category, the international jury will be announcing a winner in the new "High Swiss Risk" category, which attaches greater significance to innovative film production.
Films that implement all types of animated film techniques can be entered for both competitions, including the combination of live action and animated film. Films must last no longer than forty minutes and must have been completed since 31 March 2009.
We are looking forward to receiving your films!
04.05.2010
Hooray, Fantoche is the winner!
Sometimes even Fantoche receives prizes: last year's Fantoche poster won two awards.It is now among the best 100 posters of 2009 from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This is the third time that Fantoche graphics have been in this league. On top of that Fantoche also won the silver Swiss Poster Award 2009, another award which it has won before. We are very proud and would like to thank our graphics studio BIV Bringolf Irion Vögeli for their wonderful concepts and for our long-term collaboration.
The next Fantoche
From 7 - 12 September 2010, Baden will once again become a Mecca for animated film fans! Hopefully you'll be there too!
09.03.2010
The first key themes have been set!
Fantoche in fairyland
The first key themes have been set! Fantoche 2010 will be fabulous and airy-fairy. The festival is celebrating the fairytale and Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the gang will be guests. Let yourselves be lulled and enchanted by the fantastic stories and try not to cringe too much when terror occasionally sweeps across the screen causing the cinema halls to tremble. Beware – this definitely won't be a gentle, lilting, story-telling session prepared for children. For that we suggest the children's programme, where our youngest fans will be well entertained and when they walk out of the cinemas afterwards, they will definitely feel bewitched and exhilarated.
Fantoche plays!
The "Animation & Game Design" series, which was launched at the last edition of Fantoche, will be continued with a wide-ranging programme. At Fantoche 2010 we will surprise you with a presentation of the international independent game scene, probably the most creative interface between animated film and computer games, which is unique in Switzerland
Once again, Fantoche opens doors to related industries in order to provide the animated film scene with international know-how about the wide range of uses of animation. Very importantly, we also seek to make the presentation of these new discoveries within the genre and within the world of animation accessible to our audience.
Stay with us – we'll keep you informed
17.02.2010
Calling all film-makers: The Fantoche competition is open!
Fantoche will be holding its International Competition
for the eighth time and is searching for the best animated short films
worldwide from the last 12 months.
Artistically daring ideas, visionary experiments, stories with a twist or the best top-quality entertainment are being sought, whether produced by newcomers, young talents or established film makers. This allows Fantoche to once again feel the pulse of the latest trends coming from the world of animated film. These will be judged by the international jury and the audience during the festival from 7–12 September 2010.
All Swiss film productions are automatically entered into the Swiss Competition too. This year, in addition to the "Best Swiss" category, the international jury will be announcing a winner in the new "High Swiss Risk" category, which attaches greater significance to innovative film production.
Films using all types of animated film technique can be entered for both competitions, including the combination of live action and animated film. Films must last no longer than forty minutes and must have been completed since 31 March 2009.
We are looking forward to your films!
01.12.2009
Into 2010 with FANTOCHE!
It's all set to start moving much more quickly from now on! While it seems like no time since the last FANTOCHE drew to a close, preparations are already getting under way for the new festival in 2010. So, here's a date for your diary: next year's FANTOCHE week will be from
7 – 12 September 2010
It was great to see so many of you make the pilgrimage to our last festival in Baden. It was a record-breaking year, attracting over 31,000 enthusiasts, lovers of all things new, movie buffs and animation devotees! We are promising you a rich programme again next year, with lots of new and exciting features, countless gems and great finds. Once again you will get to immerse yourself in a sparkling and bubbling pool of animation. We can't wait!
14.09.2009
And the winners are…
FANTOCHE 09 is now a thing of the past and it was a real success: We were visited by a record number of people – over 31,000 came to Baden over the last six days – and we're excited about the decisions made by the jury and the public vote. These are as follows:NAB Audience Award: «Muto» Blu, IT 2008
Best Film: «Lucia» Cristobal Leon, Joaquin Cociña, Niles Atallah, CL 2007
High Risk: «Please Say Something» David OReilly, DE 2009
& «Ezurbeltzak, una fosa común» Izibene Oñederra, ES 2007
New Talent: «Noteboek» Evelien Lohbeck, NL 2008
Best Story: «Chainsaw» Dennis Tupicoff, AU 2007
Best Visual: «Madame Tutli-Putli», Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski, CA 2007
Best Sound: «Drux Flux» Theodore Ushev, CA 2008
Special Mention: «Western Spaghetti» PES, US 2008
SWISS COMPETITION
Audience Award: «Signalis» Adrian Flückiger, CH 2008
Best Swiss: «Flowerpots» Rafael Sommerhalder, GB/CH 2008
& «Retouches» Georges Schwizgebel, CH/CA 2008
Special Mentions: «Flimmern» Alex Schoop, CH 2008
& «Amourette» Maja Gehrig, CH 2009
NEW FILMS FOR CHILDREN
Best Kids (jury made up of six children) & Children's Audience Award: «The Incredible Story of My Great Grandmother Olive» Alberto Rodriguez, GB 2009
Many congratulations and see you again in September 2010!