SEMÁFORO PRESS RELEASE 11/21/2013

Inspirado en los artistas bajo las luces de un semáforo

COLOMBIANO GANA DOBLE GALARDÓN  EN PREMIO NORTEAMERICANO A LAS 

ARTES DIGITALES

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• Entre más de 3mil inscritos a nivel mundial, en 11 categorías, la obra SEMÁFORO del colombiano Simón Wilches-Castro fue galardonada en la categoría animación y  recibió el Gran Premio en la categoría de video.

• SEMÁFORO ha sido seleccionado y nominado en más de veinte de festivales internacionales de cine y animación.

• Los premios Adobe Design Achievement Awards, son un reconocimiento al talento de estudiantes y profesionales del diseño a nivel internacional en 11 categorías 

http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/tag/adobe-design-achievement-awards

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Nueva York – Bogotá D.C., 21 de noviembre de 2013.

La noche del pasado 19 de  noviembre, la ciudad de Nueva York fue testigo de la entrega de los premios a las artes digitales Adobe 2013 (Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2013). Simón Wilches-Castro, animador y artista gráfico colombiano, fue dos veces galardonado por su obra SEMÁFORO con el Premio a la Mejor Animación y el Gran Premio de la categoría de video.

La obra de Wilches-Castro está inspirada en los artistas de los semáforos en Colombia, está animada e ilustrada cuadro a cuadro y su banda sonora es una composición original de Anna Drubich  (http://vimeo.com/65236871).

SEMÁFORO ha sido seleccionada en más de veinte festivales a nivel internacional como el Ottawa International Animation Festival 2013 - Canadá, Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2013 -Francia, AnimaMundi 2013 - Brasil, y finalista regional de los Student Academy Awards 2013 –U.S.A (los premios Óscar estudiantiles); entre otros.

Lo que inspiró a SEMÁFORO http:/vimeo.com/65236871

“Debido a la continua guerra en Colombia, mucha gente ha sido forzada a abandonar sus territorios rurales y hallar refugio en las capitales. Para algunos el único medio para obtener dinero es montar shows bajo los semáforos de la ciudad. Algunos se visten de payasos o hacen acrobacias, otros escupen fuego o hacen malabares; y otros muestran lo único que les queda: sus deformidades y amputaciones a cambio de simpatía y alguna moneda. Esta es la vida de la gente que vive bajo el semáforo y de la gente que los mira.”

Sobre Simón Wilches-Castro www.simonwilches.com

Simón Wilches-Castro, nació en Popayán, estudió Artes en Bogotá, Animación en la escuela de San Antonio de los Baños en Cuba y ahora vive en Los Angeles donde es candidato a un MFA en animación y artes digitales de USC. Simón es coautor de la serie Parodiario.TV y El Pequeño Tirano. En 2011 fue reconocido con una Beca Fulbright Mincultura para Artistas.

Más información

www.simonwilches.com

contacto: simonwilchesc@gmail.com

Twitter: @simonwilchesc

Página de la película: http://www.facebook.com/Simonwilchesanimation


Selecciones y Nominaciones a SEMÁFORO

Grand Prize Winner Adobe Achievement Awards 2013

Best Animation Adobe Achievement Awards 2013

Official Selection Ottawa International Animation Festival 2013

Official Selection Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2013

Regional Finalist Student Academy Awards 2013

Official Selection Animation Block Party 2013

Official Selection AnimaMundi Panorama 2013

Official Selection Anibar International Animation Festival 2013

Official Selection File +Anima 2013

Official Selection Cutout Fest 2013

Official Selection Tacoma Film Festival 2013

Official Selection Kuandu International Film Festival 2013

Official Selection Cyprus Animafest: Views of the World.

Official Selection RabbitFest 2013

Official Selection Chilemonos 2013

Official Selection Walthamstow International Film Festival Full Programme 2013

Official Selection Adobe First Frame 2013

Flux Screening series at the Hammer 2013

Official selection 12th International Student Film and Video Festival of Beijing Film Academy (ISFVF)

22nd Annual Berkeley Video and Film Festival 2013.

Official Selection Primanima 2013

Official Selection Blackrock animation film festival 2013

TOKYO 2013: The Nature Study Institute and Park

Previously on my life: I got an Internship for the summer at TBS. They flew me to Japan to animate two projects, this is where I am right now...

Of all the things that have amazed me about Tokyo, public parks and green areas have been by far the most unexpected. With such a urban density and a well deserved reputation for narrow living spaces, it was a big surprise to see how generous these spaces are.

A fraction of the people at Shibuya

Real state companies offer apts of less than 10 mts.

Today, as I was trying to avoid the crowded tourist spots and shopping districts, I ended at The Institute for nature study. A hidden oasis in the middle of the special ward of Minato where you can inmerse yourself in this bittersweet memory of what Tokyo used to be. 

The Special Ward of Minato hosts this marvelous place. 

The institute has a limited daily access to avoid the stomping crowds that are so common in many other areas of the city. Thanks to this measure, what prevails is silence that allows you to enjoy the setting with no rush.

For 300 yen (About the price of a medium coffee) you can get access to this.
(The quality of some photos may be bad since they were all taken with an Iphone)

 

Thanks for reading.

SEMÁFORO (Stoplight)

Here it is. My first film made in the U.S at USC. Enjoy! 

"Under the three lights of a Colombian stoplight a beautiful circus act becomes a terrifying freak show"
"Bajo las tres luces de un semáforo colombiano, un acto circense se convierte en un terrible show de fenómenos"

Idea & Animation by: Simón Wilches-Castro // Music composed by: Anna Drubich

Regional Finalist Student Academy Awards 2013
Official Selection Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2013
Official Selection Adobe First Frame 2013
Official Selection Chilemonos 2013
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Due to the ongoing war in the Colombian jungles, many people is forced to flee their rural territories and find refugee in capital cities. Their only mean of acquiring money is to put on shows under the city stoplights. Some dress like clowns or do acrobatics, others spit fire or juggle; and some show the only thing they have left: deformities and amputations in exchange for some sympathy and change.

This is the life of the people that live under a stoplight and the people who watch them.
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Debido a la continua guerra en las selvas colombianas, mucha gente ha sido forzada a abandonar sus territorios rurales y hallar refugio en las capitales. Su único medio para obtener dinero es montar shows bajo los semáforos de la ciudad. Algunos se visten de payasos o hacen acrobacias, otros escupen fuego o hacen malabares; y otros muestran lo único que les queda: sus deformidades y amputaciones a cambio de simpatía y alguna monedas.

Esta es la vida de la gente que vive bajo el semáforo y la gente que los mira.

Painted frame by frame in Photoshop.

STOPLIGHT: FINALIST FOR A STUDENT OSCAR

A few days ago I got news that SEMÁFORO is a regional finalist for the Student Academy Awards in the animation category. This is an amazing honor for me and the film and I'm so happy this idea is resonating with people around the world. Teenage fantasies one step closer.

Along with me are the works of USC Hench DADA Alumni Maria Sequeira and Ryan Kravetz. Whose thesis films were finalists for Experimental and Animation category

  

STOPLIGHT GOT INTO ANNECY & CHILEMONOS!

Great news for my short film SEMÁFORO (stoplight) which got selected for the student films category in ANNECY ANIMATION FESTIVAL 2013

SEMAFORO (Stoplight) Teaser from Simonwilchesc on Vimeo.

"After slogging through 2,461 submitted films, artistic director Marcel Jean and his team have selected 176 films to compete for the coveted Cristal prize at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival & Market (taking place in France June 10-15).The festival organizers have divulged that the selected films hail from 43 countries—including less often represented regions like Colombia, Mexico, Moldavia, Lithuania and Slovenia—. For a full run down of the selected films, visit www.annecy.org/annecy-2013/festival/official-selection."

UPDATE: Today, 3/27/2013 I got news from the Chilean festival CHILEMONOS, that Stoplight got into the official selection in the experimental category 

Including ADOBE FIRST FRAME 2013, This is the third festival that has accepted the film. I feel so honored for the appreciation that the film is getting. It was a tough one to lay out and produce, so I'm glad people are going to get to see it.  

ATOMIC FARMER: Rider of the Night Pigs

The same explosion that created the Atomic Farmer gave life to the legendary Night Pigs. Powered by a nuclear core, the dark swines fly through the night at incredible speed.

A NERVOUS MINIPIG

Today I drew a nervous MiniPig (they seem to be in vogue)

SEMAFORO (Stoplight) Teaser Trailer.

SEMAFORO (Stoplight) Teaser from Simonwilchesc on Vimeo.

Some festivals are still up to give me an answer, until then all I can show from the film is this. Soon, the entire short! I promise.

SEMÁFORO (Stoplight) Poster

This is it! I'm finally done with my first film at USC .It's called Stoplight and I'm hoping to release it online soon after some festivals give me the green light! (ahem) 

We will see. 

Meanwhile... Enjoy and Download a HI RES COPY for printing.

Thanks.

STANLEY KUBRICK @ LACMA

Go see it if you can!

LOSE A FRIEND IN THE OCEAN, SCREAM HIS MANLY NAME.

Happy 2013. I saw Life of Pi yesterday and I liked it very much. It wasn't the story for making me believe in god, but it did reassure my belief in Ang lee as a creator of beautiful images. I can see in this movie a lot of the resources he used in Hulk without the giant green baby that made that movie into a joke. 2013 I will try to be more pro with the handling of this blog.  

Enjoy.

Simon