Aug 12, 2022

Pictoplasma, a character design conference, to be held this fall

The 18th edition of the Pictoplasma conference in Berlin will return to its annual in-person activity.

From September 14-18, 2022, Pictoplasma will focus on "Whose Community -" exploring new ways for artists to collaborate and share their work. The character and design conference will offer the usual artist presentations, screenings, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, as well as a new 2022 marketplace on the last day of the conference.

Confirmed conference speakers include illustrator and animation director Alex Kiesling (USA), "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" director Dean Fleischer Camp (USA), artist and animator Seal Pacman (Israel), Belgian animator and felt puppeteer Emma de Sweff (co-director with Mark James Roels, creative partner of Netflix's "The House," of Segment I: "And Heard Within a Lie Is Spun," is her latest directorial effort.

Under the banner of "Characters in Motion," conference programmers organized 70 short films thematically in four screenings: "Solo," "Duets," "Psychedelic Midnight Mix," and "Chaos." More than 50 filmmakers are confirmed to attend the Q&A session following the screenings, including Julian Grander (USA), Eleanor Kopka (Germany), Peter Javidpour (USA), Sophie Coco Gate (UK), and Christopher Rutledge (USA).

The festival will be held at the same location as the festival.

Standout shorts include:

from "Program 1: Solo"

from "Program 3: Psychedelic Midnight Mix"

"Hotel Carla" (Sophie Coco Gate): Psychedelic Midnight Mix"

"Zoon" by Jonatan Schwenk (DE) from "Program 4: Chaos"

This screening will be followed by a panel discussion, artist talk, exhibition, and the conference's Character Lab culminating in an opportunity to share the Pecha Kucha style offered through the conference's Character Lab.

The final day of the weekend will feature a Character Market, where attendees can reserve a free stall to display and sell their prints, zines, comics, sculptures, editions, and other items.

The entire program of the 18th Pictoplasma will be held at Silent Green, a former crematorium; three off-site exhibits will be held at Rainbow Unicorn, Neurotitan, and in the ruins of St. Nicholas and St. Mary's Cemetery Cemetery, sharing a theme with the main venue.

Pictured above: work by Alex Kiesling, Emma de Sweeff & Mark James Roels, "Fight!" and "Marcel the Shell with Shoes on" by Dean Fleischer Camp