Georgian animator offered chance to create film in France

A Georgian filmmaker has been selected to turn her first animation film plans into reality after being selected by French film experts at an international film festival.

Animator Ana Chubinidze presented a demo of her work The Pocket Man at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, where renowned French animation studio Folimage invited the young animator to continue her work on the film’s script and storyboard in France. The project will be a joint attempt of the Georgian and French animators.

Demo of The Pocket Man. 

The production works of The Pocket Man will be carried out for one year, where the first six months will be spent in Georgia and the remaining six in France.

Chubinidze got the chance to present her project in France after winning the Georgian National Film Centre (GNFC) workshop earlier this year.

The Pocket Man is a tale about a little man named Edgar who lives in an old suitcase. One day an old blind man crashes into his house and the pair soon become friends. Edgar soon finds a new home inside the man's pocket and he becomes his guide.

The demo of The Pocket Man was successfully presented at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France. Photo by www.annecy.org.

Georgian animation has been around for 95 years but the collapse of the Soviet Union put an end to the industry. Despite the challenges animators have continued to explore their potential and create animation projects on the side.

Several years ago the GNFC, together with the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection, began to support animation projects and animation festivals in the country.