WEIRD Market confirms the twelfth hybrid edition

9 September 2020

WEIRD Market, the international market for animation, video games and new media, will celebrate its 12th edition in a “hybrid” version, confirmed director José Luis Farias. Scheduled from September 28 to October 4 in Segovia, Spain, WEIRD Market 2020 will combine face-to-face projections with virtual activities for industry professionals; while the short film sessions will be limited in order to comply with public health regulations.

“From the work team we maintain our commitment to the sector, our public and the city, for this reason we consider the celebration of the market by adapting, with a sure proposal that preserves its essence intact,” said Farias.

The virtual market will have an extensive schedule consisting of lectures, presentations, showrooms and recruiting. For its part, the international short film festival will start on 28 September and will keep its physical location in La Cárcel Espacio de Creación; these projections will strictly follow the plan of measures and control of the Junta de Castilla y León to deal with the crisis generated by COVID-19.

The organization, which will release more details on programming in the coming weeks, is therefore preparing an edition that ensures the safety of attendees while opening up to a new audience via the Internet. WEIRD Market has established itself throughout its history as an international reference event, positioning Segovia as a center of focus for multiple professionals, companies, students and amateurs. In 2020, the event shows its ability to adapt without losing its essence, in a profound act of commitment to the animation sector and the cultural industry.

Both the screenings in Segovia and the online conferences and presentations will be open and open access.

LR: Edwina Liard, Jorge Sanz, Melissa Vega and Paula Taborda

WEIRD also revealed the four members of the jury of the short film festival:

Edwina Liard he is co-founder of the French production company Ikki Films (together with Nidia Santiago). In 2011, both partners founded this company which until now has been responsible for outstanding animated shorts such as Chulyen, in Crow's Tale by Agnès Patron and Cerise Lopez, Negative space by Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter (nominated for an Oscar in 2018) e Sheep, Wolf and a Cup of Tea… by Marion Lacourt (premiered in Locarno in 2019). Last year they co-produced their first live-action feature film, Sick, Sick, Sick by Alice Furtado, selected at Cannes' La Semaine des Réalisateurs.
Melissa Vega he is a partner of the French distribution and manufacturing company Dandelooo, as well as being its international sales manager for Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. In her ten-year career, she worked at Planet Nemo Animation and Televideo (Bogotá), managing audiovisual content for its online platform for children. She joined Dandelooo in 2013, where she represents programs awarded by the International Emmy Kids Awards and Annecy Film Festival, among others. He currently also manages the company's offices in Barcelona.
Paula Taborda is the Brazilian-born Content Director of Planeta Junior (Spain). In this position, he leads content creation through co-productions, original productions and acquisitions. Before working for Grupo Planeta, Taborda was in charge of the creative and commercial part of the Globo Group children's channels; his work has put Brazil on the map of children's entertainment with a co-production deal for projects such as Paper Port, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Trulli Tales, Denver, Power Players, Alice & Lewis, Dronix and many others.
Jorge Sanz, Cultural Technician of the Municipality of Aguilar de Campoo and, for over 30 years, director of the FICA (Aguilar de Campoo International Short Film Festival). This native of Valladolid also coordinates the International Festival of Performing Arts (Aescena) and the International Meeting of Street Artists (ARCA). Chosen last year as the best cultural manager in Castilla y León, Sanz was president and founding member of the coordinator of the Spanish short film. Likewise, in 2011 he was Artistic Director of ANIMAR, the first animated film festival in Reinosa (Cantabria).

WEIRD tries to continue to develop the interaction with its audience and in this sense one of its novelties will go: "The public speech." The public itself will choose two of the presentations of the edition, for which a call for conference proposals has been opened. Participants can propose topics or presentations they would like to see (until 10 September) through a form that will be accompanied by a short description, an image and the biography of the candidate concerned.

Once the deadline is closed, the organization will select five finalist proposals that will be communicated via the WEIRD Facebook page and submitted to the public to vote. The two proposals that will receive the greatest consensus will be announced as winners, including both in the official program of this edition.

This edition, which already has an official poster produced by the Spanish animation studio Mr. Klaus (www.mrklausstudio.com), thus continues the pace of work to be able to announce news and contents that meet the expectations and the story of the event itself.

Visit weirdmarket.es/en .