WEIRD MARKET REVEALS THE WINNERS OF 15TH EDITION
The 15th edition of Weird Market already knows its winners, a list of winners made up of animation projects in all formats and short films in competition within the framework of the WFest. The event held in Valencia consolidates one more year its support to the sector and receives the backing of the industry with more than 440 accredited participants. A benchmark event with a multidisciplinary character that welcomes feature films, short films, series, webseries, transmedia projects, video games, comics and board games.
Between September 26th and October 1st, this market has had a program that includes screenings, conferences and presentations of some of the 170 projects selected for its catalog. Within this select group, the Movistar Plus+ Short Project Award went to El Cuerpo de Cristo by Bea Lema; an adaptation to the cinematographic language of the comic of the same name by the author herself. The work, which deals with issues such as mental health and religion, thus receives an accolade that takes the form of the acquisition of its broadcasting rights by Movistar Plus+ and an amount of 9,000 euros for a period of 2 years (unlimited number of screenings), the first year being exclusive for the channel. In addition, the work will be officially premiered in the 2024 or 2025 edition of this Weird Market.
Serving as a showcase for emerging talent is one of the main lines of the event and proof of this is the recognition of the best project of a young creator’s series that has gone to Sacha by Keila Cepeda. In this way, the work gets a free accreditation for the next edition of Annecy-MIFA (MIFA professional accreditation).
RTVE AWARDS FOR VIDEO GAME PROJECTS
Within the awards there is a special section for video games awarded by RTVE. In this 2023 the winners have been: American Arcadia by OUT BLUE GAMES (Spain), RTVE Interactive Award to the Best Video Game Project; Atlas Negro: Infernum by NIGHT COUNCIL STUDIO (Spain), RTVE Interactive Award to the Video Game Project; and Camper Van: Make it Home by MALAPATA STUDIO (Spain), RTVE Interactive Award to the Weird Plus Video Game. The three distinctions are awarded by RTVE’s Interactive Media Department and can now be submitted to RTVE’s Interactive Department.
WFEST: SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
The market also includes the WFest short film festival. A contest where the jury formed by Aneta Ozorek (artistic director of Kaboom Animation Festival), Stefan Michel (producer of Studio Seufz), Louis-Guillaume Loy (head of the distribution department of Sacrebleu Productions) and Rocío Álvarez (illustrator and animation director) awarded Miracasas by Raphaëlle Stolz and Augusto Zanovello as best international short film. The Swiss work in co-production with France adds a new recognition in its passage through festivals as outstanding as Annecy or Sitges.
The four members also chose the Hungarian A World in Chaos by David Crisp, as best European work; and the Valencian All is lost by Carla Pereira and Juanfran Jacinto in the national section.
In addition, two special mentions have been awarded, one in international for Slow Light by Katarzyna Kijek and Przemyslaw Adamski (Poland-Portugal) and another in national for the also Valencian Interns by Marina Donderis, Núria Poveda and Marina Cortón.
The audience, for its part, has given an ex aequo award; Conej Steps Out by Pablo Río and Sandwich Cat by David Fidalgo have shared the audience’s favor in the national category. The international competition, on the other hand, has seen how the spectators chose the Portuguese short film (co-produced with France and the United Kingdom) Ice Merchants by João Gonzalez. This film is one of the most awarded during this season, even achieving a nomination for the Hollywood Oscar Awards.
The 15th edition of Weird Market is co-organized by the Valencian Institute of Culture, attached to the First Vice-Presidency and Department of Culture and Sports of the Generalitat Valenciana. It also has the main sponsorship of the City Council of Valencia and the Provincial Council of Valencia; the participation of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the IVAM (Valencian Institute of Modern Art), Acción Cultural Española through the Program for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE) and the ICAA; the sponsorship of À Punt, HP, and Tenerife Film Commission; and the support from Barreira Arte + Diseño, AVEPA, Animat, Tangram Solutions, the Ibero-American Animation League, Movistar Plus+, and RTVE, among others.
