Within the framework of the 21st edition of Mecal, NonStop Barcelona Animation includes several activities during the week that this festival dedicates to animation and that takes place at the Barcelona Design Museum and Arts Santa Mònica, from the 20th to the 25th of March.
More than ten years have gone by since NonStop Barcelona Animation burst on the cultural scene of Barcelona, first as an exhibition, then as a festival, and now it starts a new stage as an International Movement of Animation Films, in which in continues to work closely with Mecal. The purpose is to join forces and to enhance animation cinema in Barcelona. A collaboration, unique on a national level, that without a doubt, enriches the program we present.
MASTERCLASS SCULPTURE AND CHARACTER MODELING FOR WETA with Rafa Zabala
Day: 30th march
Place: Ars Santa Mònica
Time: 11.00 h
Traditional artist with more than 15 years of experience sculpting bronze, marble, and resin. He’s always loved the ana- tomy of humans, animals, and fantastical creatures. He currently designs and models characters and digital creatures for movies, video games, and collectors. In this masterclass with Rafa Zabala, he’ll show us his work processes in digital sculpture and talk about his more than 23 years of experience as a traditional and digital artist.
MASTERCLASS CHARACTER DESIGN FOR DISNEY AND DREAMWORKS with Leo Sánchez
Day: 29th març
Place: Ars Santa Mònica
Time: 18.00
Leo Sánchez-Barbosa started computer modeling as a hobby. His interest took him to London where he worked at Uli Meyer Studios. Later he joined the Valient and Happy N’ever After team as a Senior Modeler. At Disney Feature Anima- tion he contributed to the development of memorable characters for Tangled and Bolt, among other productions. As CG Character Designer in the visual development department at Dreamworks Animation, he was able to create character designs for several projects in development. Leo took a leap and created his own company.
In this session, Leo Sánchez will talk about his experience as a character designer in Hollywood.
SPECIAL SHORT FILM SCREENING: Portrait de Voyages and talk with BASTIEN DUBOIS
Day: 27th march
Place: Área Xperience (Avda. Diagonal 512)
Time: 19.00
Born in 1983 in Lille (France), Bastien Dubois is a fan of travelling. His first movie, Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage, was based on a one-year trip to the Great Red Island and was shown in more than 200 international film festivals, including Sundance. It was also nominated for an Oscar in 2011. In 2012 Bastien directed Portraits de Voyages, a series of 20, 3-minute animated travel movies that showcase several countries throughout the world. Also in 2012, he released Cargo Cult, an animation short that takes places in Papua New Guinea during World War II. In this session we’ll screen the shorts of Portraits de Voyages and we’ll have a conversation with Bastien Dubois about how he makes his films and his trips.
BLACK IS BELTZA: FEATURE FILM SCREENING AND TALK
Day: 30 mach
Place: MACBA, Auditori
Time: 18.00 h
October 1965. Pamplona’s troupe of giants, famous for their participation in the San Fermín festivities, gets invited to participate in the 5th Avenue parade in New York. But not all of them will be allowed to go out: due to racial discrimination, American authorities don’t allow the black giants to participate. Based on this true fact, Black is Beltza tells the story of Manex, the boy in charge of carrying one of the giants.
On a long and unexpected journey, Manex will bear witness to key historical events: the racial riots in the wake of the assassination of Malcolm X, the eccentricities of The Factory characters, the alliance between the Cuban secret service and the Black Panthers, and the proto-hippie psychedelia of the first music festivals.
PROYECCIÓN DEL LARGOMETRAJE INFANTIL: GORDON Y PADDI
Day: 31 march
Place: MACBA, Auditori
Time: 12.00 h
Head ranger Gordon is about to retire and he has to find a new assistant. Paddy, an intelligent little mouse with a great sense of smell, seems to be the right candidate. Together they must crack Gordon’s last case: the mystery of the squirrel’s lost things. Could it be the guinea who took them? Gordon and Paddy will soon figure it out. A movie about intergenerational friendship, exchange of knowledge, and the importance of not jumping to conclusions.
FEATURE FILM SCREENING: VIRUS TROPICAL
Day: 28th march
Place: MACBA, Auditori
Time: 16.30 h
Paola is a young woman who was born to a traditional Colombian family, or at least that’s what they try to be. Her father is a priest, her mother is a fortune teller, and her sisters aren’t what her parents expected them to be. She is a young Latin American woman who fights for her independence in a difficult context which is full of stereotypes and outward appearances that don’t fit any mold.
ELEVATOR PITCH AND NETWORKING
Day: 29th march
Place: Ars Santa Mònica
Time: 11.00 h
The festival invites all new animation, series, and video game makers to participate in Elevator Pitch, a meeting where projects can be presented to a group of well-known international producers. MIFA (Marche International de Films d’Animation d’Annecy) will select two projects from those presented by the participants, who will receive accreditation to attend the market in 2019.
GRIS VIDEO GAME CONFERENCE With Conrad Rosset and Adrián Miguel
Day: 28th march
Place: Ars Santa Mònica
Time: 18.00 h
GRIS, the successful video game of the end of 2018 and the beginning of this year.
This work of video game art, created from start to finish in Barcelona and at the artistic hand of Conrad Russet, has given people a lot to talk about both in the country and outside of it. It’s a bold and exquisite game on the indie games scene. We’ll have a talk with the creator of the game and the lead animator Adrián Miguel, who were in charge of images and movement in this work.
MASTERCLASS: PRODUCING ANIMATION With Laia Alomar
Day: 29th march
Place: Ars Santa Mònica
Time: 16.30 h
Laia Alomar has more than 8 years of experience turning in outstanding work for films and commercials such as Avatar, A Monster Calls, and the Harry Potter saga. She managed the budgets, production schedules, and the team of more than 300 artists in postproduction houses Framestore and MPC.
Laia joined Nexus Productions in 2013 to work on CG animation commercials and TV series.
With experience as an animator and a degree in Business Administration from the Royal Holloway, University of London, she developed her career there for more than ten years. She currently lives in Barcelona.
Session dedicated to giving a deep view of the job of the production manager in big productions. Different experiences and projects of various natures that will allow us to understand the current state of affairs of the industry.
CONFERENCE: PRIMA LINEA RETROSPECTIVE
Day: 31th march
Place: Ars Santa Mònica
Time: 18.00 h
French animation production company. Currently one of the most relevant studios in traditional 2D animation and the only one so far that has produced a movie for Studio Ghibli (The Red Turtle). Prima Linea’s filmography includes great authors and filmmakers such as Lorenzo Mattotti and Michael Dudok de Wit.
A conference by the producer Christophe Jankovic who also made and works on the production of select films in their studios in Angouleme and Paris.