about

about

Advertising is a growing industry and an opportunity for young creators. But it's also a world of allure and collective loneliness – and sometimes also masked boredom. Let's pause for a moment and ask your ideas what kind of environment they live in. Couldn't they use more time? Don't they need more patience? Wouldn't they like to hear feedback from more experienced colleagues? And don't they want to have a chat with your friends' ideas? The Young Academy is an ideas lounge where your creative process will feel at home.

To create is to search. But why search alone? At the Young Academy we're not looking for proven ideas or the best recipes. Rather, we strive to connect all those who have a sense of craft and aesthetic, promoting care, curiosity, and honesty in advertising. At the core of our events is an open dialogue between the established and emerging generations of creators. In collaboration with innovative brands, we organize the Director's Workshop giving young directors the opportunity to work for a real brand and contribute to solving a real problem by telling a meaningful story. Together with the Pragueshorts Film Festival, we run the Young Academy Forum, where local and international guests offer a taste of their approach to the field.

The Young Academy is a startup project of the Audiovisual Producers' Association (APA), whose mission is to cultivate the working environment in the film and advertising industry. The Young Academy builds on the work of the Young Directors competition, with the aim of connecting the widest possible circle of people interested in audiovisual advertising.

watch

jára moravec

directing methods and artistic practice
6. 4. 2022 bio oko prague

The emerging generation of directors shares its work on an interconnected market in which hard-working, talented filmmakers can, with a little luck, significantly reduce the time between their first endeavors and dream jobs for leading international brands. Directors today must be capable of quickly catching people’s attention, building a clearly identifiable style, and not letting up in terms of working pace. Prague-based director Jara Moravec has spent the past several years compiling a strong portfolio and working his way up to creating for the Stink Films, Kode Media, and Hamlet.tv production companies, among others. What forms the foundation for his directing work, and what habits and viewpoints are fundamental to his creative method? Moravec disgusted these subjects in a lecture featuring a case study of one of his past projects.

timothée hochet

calls: from short film to apple tv series
7. 4. 2022 bio oko prague

In 2016, French screenwriter and director Timothée Hochet released his short audio film Calls on YouTube. The story was then adapted for an anthology series on France’s CANAL+ television station, which then led to the creation of an American version for Apple TV in 2021. All three projects share an atmosphere of mystery, tension, and the use of time paradox. Also worth mentioning is Hochet’s decision to work with an unusual, experimental format – essentially a radio play on the television screen. In his talk, Timothée Hochet discussed the path from the original idea of telling a story through telephone conversations to his successful cooperation with Apple TV and its impact on his career as a European filmmaker.

petra vaněk svarinská, vica kerekes and ladislav krapek

the role of the agent and casting director in film and advertising
7. 4. 2022 bio oko prague

What role do the agent and casting director play in relation to the actors within the context of film and advertising? In what ways do agents and casting directors help actors build their careers? Why is professional casting indispensable for the work of directors, and how can this cooperation help those who are just starting their directing careers? All these questions will be discussed with Petra Vaněk Svarinská, founder and director of one of the most important casting agencies in the Czech Republic, agent Ladislav Krapek of LaK Productions, and Slovak actress Vica Kerekes.

total refusal:
robin klengel and leonhard müllner

the gaming environment as an artistic medium
6. 4. 2022 bio oko prague

Austrian art-cinema collective Total Refusal uses the virtual space of computer games to create original audiovisual essays. Operation Jane Walk, for instance, takes us on a guided tour of the streets of New York from the dystopian shooter-em-up Tom Clancy’s The Division, while How to Disappear tests the chances for desertion in the game Battlefield. Simple questions are explored to the extreme, absurd situations are staged in order to push the limits of the rules of the game, or bizarre photorealistic copies of real places form the starting point for an essay-like reflection on various themes that relate to much more than video games and their players.

Since 2018, Total Refusal’s short films have won a number of awards and have been screened at dozens of festivals around the world. Two of the collective’s three filmmakers (Robin Klengel and Leonhard Müllner) discussed their approach to the gaming environment as a cinematic medium, the specific nature of their narrative techniques, and the possibilities offered by working within a creative collective.

jan malíř

vfx from the director’s and producer’s perspective
6. 4. 2022 bio oko prague

The quality of a visual effect is fundamentally influenced by the steps that precede its production. Although it is rarely possible to control all these aspects, it is crucial to be aware of how they might specifically affect the quality of the final work. VFX supervisor and CEO of UPP Advertising Jan Malíř gave a lecture with examples from his wide-ranging experience.

Jan Malíř is a Senior VFX Supervisor and Chief Executive Officer at UPP Advertising, which he joined in the late 1990s. He initially gained experience working with 2D and 3D software before later becoming a Flame artist. The drive to make visual effects as good as possible pushed him further, and he realized that to achieve impeccable results, he needed to be involved not only in the final stage but from the very beginning, to be present during the shoot and to oversee the entire 3D process. He thus became a VFX supervisor with a focus on commercials. He later joined UPP as a partner and became CEO of the advertising department, which now has more than seventy employees. Malíř has worked on large international campaigns with world-class directors around the globe.

listen

Active Imagination with Jakub Zlámaný

How can the active imagination method according to C.G. Jung help in a creative crisis? Can daily dreaming be creatively utilized? What is happening in today's Europe with the state of the human soul? Are we missing a connection to the sacred? “As part of our meetings with guests and lecturers from the Young Academy, Petra Ondřejková talked to psychologist and psychotherapist Jakub Zlámaný about 'ordinary things in an extraordinary world'."

Mgr. Jakub Zlámaný, Ph.D. has completed a Daseinsanalytic psychotherapeutic training of the SUR type, training in active imagination by Carl Gustav Jung, a supervisory training by ČIS, and an individual training in Daseinsanalysis. He leads his own psychotherapeutic practice and also works at the Prague College of Psychosocial Studies.

2022 forum

talks, screenings, presentations

2022 forum

The first edition of the inspiring Young Academy Forum was prepared by the Young Academy together with Pragueshorts Film Festival. The Forum included a series of lectures and presentations dedicated to the whole spectrum of approaches to the development and production of short audiovisual works, whether in the field of film, television or commercial production.

The programme in four Prague cinemas (Bio Oko, Kino Světozor, Kino Pilotů, Kino 35) featured the following guests:

Jára Moravec
Jason Felstead
Total Refusal (Robin Klengel a Leonhard Müllner)
Jan Malíř
Petra Vaněk Svarinská
Vica Kerekes
Ladislav Krapek
Jan P. Muchow
Timothée Hochet

The long-term goal of the Forum is to provide the youngest generation of filmmakers with new impulses for creative approaches to audiovisual production and to present innovations in the film medium in a variety of conditions and uses. The project also provides a meeting and networking space for a community of filmmakers who share an interest in the short format and present a selection of distinctive short films to the public.

Young Academy Forum 2022 was made possible with the support of the Association of Producers in Audiovisual, the State Cinematography Fund and T-Mobile.

forum 2022

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director's workshop

We aim to discover emerging talents among the youngest generation of directors and help them to stay focused on what's most important: filming.

director's workshop

The Young Academy supports young talents in finding their own approach to storytelling. In the world of advertising, a successful creator must withstand a variety of influences while maintaining their unique vision. The Directors Workshop is a place for your ideas to hatch and grow. It is a space for curiosity, doubt, trials, and errors. Because in the creative process, there are no mistakes or absolute right answers.

The Directors Workshop is intended for directors under 35 who want to get hands-on experience working for an established brand and contribute to solving an existing problem by telling a meaningful story. Each year, the workshop is defined by one strong partner – a brand that brings context and themes to the workshop. This year’s format is branded content with a maximum length of 2 minutes.

The selection of workshop participants is based on registered reels in any genre of the following forms: video clip, advertisement, branded content, short film. Selected participants will go through the practical segments of the workshop: the brief day with the workshop partner, group work on the treatment, individual consultations with mentors, and the open pitch presentation of the final work. Up to three of the most interesting ideas will proceed to realization in the professional facilities of established production companies.

The Directors Workshop is a place of open discussion and communication, where a sincere interest in the opinions of others brings inspiration to quality creation. The goal of partnership in advertising is for the creator to understand the client and for the client to inspire the creator.

2022

Digital optimism
How does digitization change people?
Benefits and responsibility

2022 director's workshop

Progress and innovation have always provoked a broad public debate. For some, technological development is a symbol of society’s steady movement forward, while others urge caution. Although it may seem at first glance that these are two separate worlds, emotions and technology go hand in hand. Just as the introduction of electricity and the development of the railways fundamentally changed the world in the nineteenth century, at the beginning of the twenty-first century we are witnessing even deeper changes.

Thanks to the internet, almost the entire world is connected, and a growing portion of our lives is taking place in the virtual space. From year to year, the amount of shared content and joint tasks that require an internet connection is increasing, as are the requirements for connection quality and speed. High-speed network coverage is key to keeping up. But our society is diverse. Some are comfortable with the rapid development of communication technologies and feel like a fish in water on the internet network, while others look at progress with skepticism and worry about whether the machines are going to replace us and whether we can still express love face to face – as we did before.

Whatever our attitude, life without the internet and smart devices is hard to imagine. Digitization has countless dimensions. What are the benefits and challenges for society that come with digital identity, e-learning, online business and culture, augmented reality, the digitization of public services, the internet of things, or remote access to machines? And what does all this mean for an individual’s life story?

partner
T-Mobile

mentors
Přemek Ponáhlý (Wolfberg)
Jan Kalvoda (Wolfberg)
Daniel Růžička
Filip Malásek
Jan Malíř
Petra Vaněk Svarinská
Pavel Picek
Petr Oplatka
Jan P. Muchow

finalists
Adam Martinec
Ondřej Erban

shortlist
Terézia Halamová
Bart Klimsza
David Payne
Valeria Recmanová
David Semler
Insar Shaken
Petr Vlček
Adam Martinec
Ondřej Erban

branded content Dezinformace by Adam Martinec

director Adam Martinec

branded content Ztracený čas, Ondřej Erban

director Ondřej Erban

Young Academy in collaboration with T-Mobile announces winning short films on digital wellbeing | 20 September 2022

watch talk with the directors of the director's workshop 2022
Ondřej Erban, director
Adam Martinec, director
Petra Ondřejková, young academy
Zuzana Netolická, t-mobile
moderated by Ester Geislerová

2019

The entry of young people
from children’s homes into life and employment

2019 director's workshop

Many young adults are struggling through life without the safety net of a loving family. What are the hardships and challenges that these men and women face as they exit children's homes on the verge of adulthood? In 2019, we partnered with the Tereza Maxová Foundation to spark a debate about the discrimination, lack of trust, and loneliness that pervade the lives of these vulnerable members of our society. Fifteen shortlisted directors took part in the script development workshop, and the spot of Prague-based director Jay Walker was selected for realization. In the 60-second ad, we follow the day-to-day struggles of a young girl bullied and marginalized by her peers.

partner
Nadace Terezy Maxové

mentors
Klára Králíčková
Marek Partyš
Martin Přikryl
Tereza Svěráková
Filip Malásek

finalist
Jay Walker

shortlist
Bao-bab
Terézia Halamová
Prokop Jelínek
Jakub Jirásek
Filip Knoll
Adam Kořínek
Amálie Kovářová
Adam Martinec
Jan-Karel Pavlík
Adam Koloman Rybanský
Hannah Saleh
Petr Simon
Jana Smokoňová
Šimon Štefanides
Jay Walker

Thanks to all for the great work!

film Jay Walker

on set

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the finalists

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pitch day

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brief day

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2018

Advertising needs more Women!

2018 director's workshop

A glass ceiling obstructs their career path, and their pay is notably less than that of their male counterparts. Across professions, women face many obstacles, and the fight for an equal society has yet to be won. In 2018, Young Directors seized the zeitgeist and, in collaboration with the Art Directors Club, made it clear that advertising needs more women. Nine directors took part in the workshop, and three were selected to have their works realized: Matyáš Fára, Tereza Vejvodová, and Veronika Jelšíková. The latter won the Main Prize, and her ad was premiered at the annual ADC Creative Awards in Prague.

partner
APA

mentors
Petra Ondřejková
Tomáš Otradovec
Klára Palmer
David Suda
Jitka Bret Srbová
Julie Žáčková

finalists
Veronika Jelšíková
Matyáš Fára
Tereza Vejvodová

shortlist
Oliver Beaujard
Martina Buchelová
Lucie Gukkertová
Emília Ondriášová
Luboš Rezler
Tereza Vejvodová
Kilián Vrátník

Thanks to all for the great work!

film Veronika Jelšíková

film Matyáš Fára

film Tereza Vejvodová

shooting day Veronika Jelšíková

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shooting day Matyáš Fára

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shooting day Tereza Vejvodová

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mentors

workshop

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2017 workshop
ADC Elixir

2017 director's workshop

Participants in the first year of Young Directors were faced with a tricky challenge: to promote the advertising industry itself by advertising a hair growth tonic. The finalists delivered three distinctive takes on the difference between inner and outer beauty.

partner
ADC

finalists
Radim Vaňous
Pavel Soukup
Daniel Konopáč

film Radim Vaňous

film Pavel Soukup

film by Daniel Konopáč

česky