May 31, 2019

Zaven Najjar "Allah is not Obligatory" wins Feature Film Award at CEE Animation Forum

The 7th edition of the CEE Animation Film Forum, a European pitching competition, which took place May 6–8 in Trebon, Czech Republic, chose winners across three main categories (feature film, short film, and series/tv specials) for projects in development.

The 32 projects selected for competition came from across the European continent and were presented in front of almost two hundred film professionals, including producers, tv programmers, festival directors, distributors, investors, and representatives of national film funds.

The majority of selected projects came from Central and Eastern Europe: the Czech Republic (6 projects), Hungary (3 projects), Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Romania (two projects each), Slovenia, Latvia, and Ukraine (one project apiece), though France was well represented too with five projects.

The forum serves as a bridge between these regions so that mutually advantageous partnerships can develop for co-productions, pre-sales, and promotion across international markets. Participants also had the opportunity to discuss their projects with invited experts and received feedback on how to improve their presentation, script, and production strategies.

The winner of the feature film award was Allah Is Not Obliged (pictured at top) by Zaven Najjar. The film is about a 10-year-old Guinean orphan who becomes a child soldier as he tries to join his aunt in Liberia. Here's what the jury said about the project:

Alan Holly's Piece received a special mention in the feature category. Jurors were enthusiastic about the project in their statement regarding the acknowledgment:

A complete list of winners is below. Take a look at the full list of participating projects here.

Best Feature Film Award

Special Mention – Feature Film

Best Short Film Award

Best Series/TV Special Award

Special Mention – Series/TV Specials

Nespresso Audience Award – Feature Film

Animation Sans Frontieres Scholarship Award- Short Film

Anomalia Scholarship Award – Feature Film

CEE Animation Workshop Scholarship Award – Short Film Producer

Eave Marketing Workshop Scholarship – Short Film Producer

Pop Up Film Residency Scholarship Award