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APRIL 2017

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Mate Steinforth / Sehsucht Berlin

In give or take 4 weeks, Berlin will once more transform into the seismographic epicenter of global character design on an off-the-Richter scale.
Our ticket countdown has begun, so for all of you who are still undecided this is our chance to inspire you with a few subtle hints and relentless name-dropping...


Character Walk

17+ CHARACTER WALK EXHIBITIONS

The collective character stampede unfolds on the 10th of May during a marathon through seventeen exhibitions, featuring a surprisingly broad bandwidth of genres and media: From the jumbled up sculptures, brightly colored paintings and 3D animations of shooting star Jack Sachs (UK) at his first ever exhibition, to the finest in contemporary animism by Sean Charmatz (USA), awaiting you with viral explorations into 'The Secret World of Stuff.' Peter Millard and Sophie Koko Gate (UK) take over an abandoned administrative building on an old cemetery—brought back to life with whimsical paintings, joyful ceramics and scary sound installations. The likes of Chris Haughton (IRL) lets you awe at his multicolor prints and touch his precious fair-trade rugs from Nepal; and the proud alumni of last year’s Academy Masterclass welcome you with paintings, drawings, interactive installations, and a multitude of new character worlds. Just to name a few...


Kirsten Lepore
Kirsten Lepore @ Pictoplasma Conference

CONFIRMED LINE-UP OF 20 CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

At the heart of the festival is the conference: this is where you get to rub shoulders with the crème de la crème of international character creators, such as:

Pooya Abbasian

Pooya Abbasian
(IRN/FR), Paris-based artist and director from Iran, creating films, fine art, and children books - with monstrous beings as the recurring motif running throughout his oeuvre.

  Ton Mak

Ton Mak
(CHN), Shanghai-based illustrator, renown for her muffin-topped Flabjacks series of cheerful, chubby creatures beyond all body-standards inhabiting an imaginary wonderland.

Rob Flowers

Rob Flowers
(UK), dedicated vintage toy collector and illustrator from London, whose bold, distinctive style is defined by a bubblegum palette, eccentric characters, and grotesque humor.

  Hasbro

Hasbro
(USA/UK), the global play and entertainment company in charge of iconic play experiences such as My Little Pony or Transformers, represented by Georgina Melone, VP of Hasbro Invention Lab, and head designer James Yuen.

Samuel Boucher

Samuel Boucher
(CA), Montreal based master of soft-edged, high-saturation worlds awash with mysterious characters, and head of design at KO_OP, a games studio developing the highly anticipated ‘GNOG’ explorer.

  Nathalie Choux

Nathalie Choux
(FR), illustrator renowned for her uplifting children’s books with over 50 bestselling publications under her belt, whose delicate sculptures and drawings have an unexpected dark underbelly.



Vincenzo Lodigiani
Vincenzo Lodigiani @ Pictoplasma AnimationScreenings

OFFICIAL ANIMATION SELECTION

The eye-candy continues with a daily over-dose of retina stimulus, as the festival brings the latest character-driven animation to the big screen with freshly curated programs brim full with hallucinogenic visuals and storytelling expertise. Take a trip with 'A Character’s Journey' featuring animated wanderings by Sarina Nihei, Eoin Duffy and SXSW winner Nicolas Ménard. Feel the love with 'Character-Care for Troubled Creatures' including the cathartic labour of Will Anderson, Kirsten Lepore and Jennifer Zheng. Who ever asks the first question at the legendary 'Psychedelic Midnight Mix’ looses, this time with mind benders by Luiz Stockler, Mattis Dovier and Julian Glander. And get ready to be 'In Awe of Creation’, dropping you into the luscious worlds of Alex Grigg, Joseph Bennett & Charles Huettner, and David OReilly.


Oculus Story Studio
Saschka Unseld / Oculus Story Studio @ CharacterVR Saloon

AND THERE’S STILL MORE TO REVEAL

Next up we’ll share details on this year’s Character Lab jam sessions, allowing you to get physical with various media during daily workshops - or, if you prefer - enjoy a private out-of-body-experience at the new Character VR saloon. Plus we’ve got news on the accompanying Talent Forum, where attendees present and discuss their personal character based project to a selection of industry professionals, exclusive makers and talent scouts. From animation to illustration, advertising to publishing, this is your chance to introduce your characters to a fine group of pros. And of course the parties. Lot’s of parties!


To briefly sum things up: 5 sunny days in Berlin with 800 like-minded character connoisseurs, more than 20 artist taking the stage, 17 exhibitions and group shows throughout the city, over 70 new animated jewels hitting the big screen, plus 3 nights of performances, parties and serious character clubbing on top…

… all yours for 1 ticket!


Just saying,

peter & lars

 



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