The Agora Pitching Forum is organized within the framework
ANIMASYROS supports animation professionals with a strategic partnership with the Annecy Festival!
The ANIMASYROS Agora, which continues for the 11th consecutive year as a separate section of the Festival, has established itself as an epicenter of creative networking for animation professionals, fostering collaborations and synergies between directors, producers, distributors and professionals of the animation sector, cinema and new technologies from all over the world.
The Agora, always in step with the festival’s central theme of the ‘Animated Cosmos”, consists of masterclasses, presentations and round table discussions by professionals and representatives of organizations and institutional entities focusing on current issues and trends in the field of animation. It also features the Pitching Forum - a 4-day Pitch Coaching Workshop followed by a Pitch presentation in front of an international audience of animation professionals.
The Agora Pitching Forum of ANIMASYROS will become once again part of the International MIFA Campus, an international programme aimed at supporting young creators and artists from Mediterranean countries, namely Greece, Albania, Croatia, Lebanon and Tunisia by providing them with skills and experience. This operation is supported by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the French Institute as part of the international export strategy for cultural and creative industries
A total of six (6) professionals from these countries will participate in the programme led by acclaimed audiovisual professionals selected by the Annecy International Animation Film Market (MIFA) team, namely Delphine Nicolini, creative producer & mentor, Joëlle Oosterlinck writer and director, and Agnès Patron director.
These selected projects will participate exclusively at a Pitch Partenaire at Annecy in June of 2026.
Delphine Nicolini Joëlle Oosterlinck Agnès Patron
Marineta MAK Kritikou
Additionally, as part of ANIMASYROS’ initiatives to strengthen the Greek animation scene, the highly successful Greek Animation Talks powered by EKKOMED will be held again this year. Greek creators will talk about their work, the challenges of the creative process, and share good practices. The host of the Greek Animation Talks will be the screenwriter, director and academic Eva Stefani.
The Animation Speed Dating sessions, introduced last year, will continue as well. Greek creators selected by ANIMASYROS will participate in short 15-minute meetings with internationally acclaimed producers and artists from Europe and around the world, pitch their ideas and share their artistic and professional aspirations, aiming to find co-productions or even professional opportunities in the international animation scene.
Finally, a new initiative exclusively for Greek producers is being introduced this year, the Animation Producer Workshop, supported by the French Institute and hosted by experienced animation film producer Ivan Zuber.
International Mifa Campus
Pitching Forum Projects
A lonely city boy and a wild forest girl form an unlikely bond across the boundaries of species, language, and fear —in a forest where animals speak, secrets hide, and not all humans are welcome.
Lucija
Director, Writer, Illustrator
A Croatian animator and illustrator, author of animated films, with a master’s degree in art history, animation and new media (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb)
Brother Deer
Series- 13 x 11’
BužančićHR
International Mifa Campus Pitching Forum Projects
Coffee’s Fresh
Short Film - 12’
This short animated documentary untangles the transformative thread of memories narrated by an elderly couple, Voula and Antonis. The story pinpoints moments from almost 20 years of their early lives and coming of age, weaving the paths of their personal realities with the turbulent events of a distant era.
Aspasia KazeliGR
Animator, Director
Aspasia Kazeli holds a Design degree from the University of the Aegean and an MA in Animation from the Estonian Academy of Arts. There, she created the animated film “my mother, the sea” which has received awards at national and international festivals. She has contributed to the animation production “PERCEBES” by BAP studio and created animations for Benaki Museum. Currently, Aspasia works as a freelance animator and lecturer in animation.
International Mifa Campus
International Mifa Campus
Pitching Forum Projects
Pitching Forum Projects
Lafcadio Hearn Disappeared From The World
Series- 8 x 24’
An animated anthology series exploring the mysterious and captivating stories woven through the life and legacy of Lafcadio Hearn (aka. Koizumi Yakumo), the Greek-Irish writer renowned for embracing Japanese culture and introducing it, along with its many stories, to the Western world in the late 1880s.
Panos VoulgarisHR Writer
Born in Athens (Greece), Panos moved to Thessaloniki to study International and European Relations at the University of Macedonia, but ended up in Venice studying Architecture. Having worked early on as a Managing Editor and a film critic for some of Greece’s pioneering online movie portals and blogs, he developed an almost encyclopedic knowledge of film. He has since established MALVI as an award-winning multidisciplinary design and communication agency and he has served as the chair of the Retail & Consumer Advisory Group for AIXR - The Academy of International Extended Reality. In 2023 he co-directed the micro short animation film O-mat, with Maria Malindretou.
International Mifa Campus Pitching Forum Projects
The Old Rock Series- 12 x 7’
The Old Rock is an enchanting storytelling series where two siblings, Hassan and Layla, are transported into magical realms through a glowing, sentient rock. Each episode features a fantastical adventure, a mysterious challenge, and a timeless life lesson.
Director, Illustrator
Mohamed Iheb Elayachi is a Tunisian concept artist and visual storyteller. With a background in Digital Concept Art, his work focuses on world building, character design, and culturally inspired narratives. He creates imaginative universes that blend tradition and modernity, aiming to share stories that resonate across cultures. Mohamed continues to develop original projects while exploring opportunities in animation, illustration, and visual development.
Mohamed Iheb ElayachiΤΝ
International Mifa Campus
International Mifa Campus
Pitching Forum Projects
Synapse
Long ago, Hayah (Nature) created Griza (Instinct) and Dimah (Mind) to guide life in balance. But Dimah favored a fragile species, humans, and gifted them thought. As humans rose, Griza weakened, and Hayah began to fade. Despite Hayah’s warnings, Dimah protected humanity, defying nature’s balance. In grief, Hayah wiped the world clean. Dimah burned out, Griza vanished, and only a prophecy remains.
Illustrator
Karen Khodur, also known as Korny Art, is a Lebanese illustrator and lead 2d animator working at Sunnymoon Project and focused on telling imaginative, character-driven stories. Her work blends expressive characters, warm storytelling, and playful yet thoughtful design, often inspired by everyday life, philosophical ideas and human complexities.
Short Film - 4’
Karen KhodurLB Animator,
International Mifa Campus
A story of design and its contradictions. Told through the form of chairs, this narrative explores the identity crisis embedded in aesthetics. As everyday objects, chairs quietly carry history, reflect our present, and reveal truths about our evolution often in the moments we overlook.
Joan Kamberaj is an Albanian animator and visual storyteller with a passion for stop-motion. He attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2014. Since 2018, Joan has worked as a freelance artist, creating campaigns for brands and artists including Hermès, Spotify, Sony Music, Chloé, New Balance, Dua Lipa and more. He loves creating crafty things by hand and hates deadlines.
The Chair
Short Film - 10’
Joan KamberajAL Animator, Director
Bill Plympton
Animator,
Director
Bill Plympton is considered the King of Indie Animation, and is the first person to hand draw an entire animated feature film, The Tune. Bill moved to New York City from Portland, Oregon in 1968 and began his career creating cartoons for publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, National Lampoon, Playboy and Screw.
In 1987, he was nominated for an Oscar® for his animated short Your Face. In 2005, Bill received another Oscar® nomination, this time for his short Guard Dog. Push Comes to Shove won the prestigious Cannes 1991 Prix du Jury; and in 2001, another short film, Eat, won the Grand Prize for Short Films in Cannes Critics’ Week.
After producing many shorts that appeared on MTV and Spike and Mike’s, he turned his talent to feature films. Since 1991, he’s made eleven feature films. Eight of them, The Tune, Mondo Plympton, I Married A Strange Person, Mutant Aliens, Hair High, Idiots and Angels, Cheatin’, Revengeance, and Slide are all animated features.
Bill Plympton has also collaborated with Madonna, Kanye West and Weird Al Yankovic in a number of music videos and book projects and he’s created numerous commissioned ads for Geico, Trivial Pursuit, Ford, Mercedes, Nike and Taco Bell. In 2006, he received the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award from The Annie Awards. He also animated eight opening “couch gags” for FOX-TV’s “The Simpsons” and six “Trump Bites” shorts, which was #1 on the New York Times online, using real audio from Donald Trump. It won a 2019 Webby Award. He also won the National Cartoonist Society Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Animated World of Bill Plympton
plymptoons.com
Momoko Seto Director
Born in Tokyo, Momoko Seto studied at Le Fresnoy before working as a director at CNRS. In 2021, she was awarded the Cristal du CNRS, the highest distinction for a scientific director. At the same time, she directed the PLANET series, consisting of four short films, including PLANET Σ, which won an award at the Berlinale in 2015. She is the 2022 winner of the Fondation Gan pour le Cinéma with “Dandelion’s Odyssey”, her first feature film, an ecological and poetic odyssey that mixes 3D animation, macro live action and timelapses.
Making Dandelion’s Odyssey
Between real macro/micro shooting and animation of dandelion seeds
setomomoko.org
Making Dandelion’s Odyssey
Between real macro/micro shooting and animation of dandelion seeds
Work In Progress
Animation meets VR in the development of ZAKO: Tools, Process and Possibilities.
Discover how virtual reality is changing the way we draw, animate, and tell stories — a personal journey into new tools and processes while developing the animated feature film ZAKO.
Tigran Arakelyan
Director, Animator
Tigran Arakelyan is an accomplished artist with over a decade of experience in animation and cinema. Graduating from Hakob Kojoyan Art School in 2009 and later earning an Art Direction degree from Yerevan State University of Theatre and Cinematography in 2013, he began his career early. Co-founding OnOff Studio in 2018, Tigran has led the creation of artistic projects and his debut animated film is “ZAKO,” where he explores innovative VR technologies to push creative boundaries. onoff.am
Joanna Quinn & Nancy Denney-Phelps
Talk Books - and anything else that pops into their heads
Eavesdrop on two old friends as they sit down over drinks to talk about their new books in what is bound to be an hour of laughter and funny stories.
Beryl
This book offers an in-depth look into the creative process of director Joanna Quinn and screenwriter Les Mills, including a range of sketches, storyboards, final artwork and entertaining and insightful commentary from both Joanna and Les. Included is a scene-by-scene adaptation of the Academy Award® - and BAFTA-nominated Affairs of the Art, a film about Beryl’s extraordinary family whose interests become all-consuming – from pickling, to body painting, to taxidermy, no passion is off limits. Welcome to the extraordinary world of Beryl!
On The Animation Trail
20 Years of Animation Festival History. What is it like to travel to China, Beirut, or Kosovo for an animation festival? Spend a week on a boat with 200 animators from around the world or be thrown off a train in Belarus. All of this and much, much more has happened to Nancy Denney-Phelps in her many years as an animation journalist. “On The Animation Trail” charts the history of the last 20 years of animation festivals. Nancy has recorded just not the films screened but also the people and what makes each festival unique.
Joanna QuinnUK Director
British animator Joanna Quinn discovered animation at Middlesex University in London while studying Graphic Design. Her graduation film Girls Night Out, kick-started Joanna’s career by winning 3 awards at the Annecy Animation Festival in 1987. She is renowned internationally for her drawing skills, wonderful characterisations and her humour. Joanna’s films have won many awards including 4 BAFTA’s, 3 EMMY’s and 3 OSCAR® nominations. Joanna is a committed educator and has an Honorary Doctorate from 3 UK universities and is an Honorary Fellow at the Royal College of Art, London and this year the Annecy International Animation festival awarded her an honorary Cristal for her contribution to the field of animation.
berylproductions.co.uk
Denney-PhelpsBE
Animation Journalist & Historian
Nancy Denney-Phelps is a journalist writing about European animation and festivals as well as a music producer for animation. Along with her composer/musician husband Nik Phelps, she co-founded the Sprocket Ensemble dedicated to presenting live performances of original music with screenings of contemporary animation from around the world. Nancy’s writings have appeared in such publications as CARTOON and ANIMATOON as well as on her regular blog for AWN (Animation World Network). She is also a regular correspondent for ASIFA/San Francisco and a member of the ASIFA International Board of Directors as well as the General Secretary Emile Awards Association and the pitching coach at ANIMARKT in Lodz, Poland. She also awards the annual Nancy Award at the Kaboom Animation Festival in Amsterdam. In 2019 was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ANIMAKOM Animation Festival in Bilbao, Spain and in 2022 received the Giannalberto Bendazzi Award from the Paris International Animation Film Festival.
awn.com/blogs/sprockets
Nancy
Choosing to Produce Animation Films in Europe Today
Accomplished European producers share with us their insights on choosing collaborators and themes, on how they approach the financing of their project and what opportunities and challenges exist in coproductions within the current European financial landscape.
Roundtable Discussion
Martin VandasCZ
Producer, Maurfilm
Producer of 9 animated feature films, dozens of animated shorts for children and adults, also for documentaries or TV. Maurfilm’s projects have won literally hundreds of festival awards including an Oscar® nomination. Martin works as an expert for film funds, teaches about production or pitching, and works as a tutor with CEE Animation. In addition he loves his three daughters, books, movie posters and long distance running, which always seems like a good metaphor for all animated films.
maurfilm.com
Choosing to Produce Animation Films in Europe Today
Kerdi OengoEE
Producer, Nukufilm Studios
Kerdi Oengo is the executive producer of the stop-motion animation studio Nukufilm since 2003. She has been the producer or production manager of 50 animation shorts plus 2 internationally co-produced full-length animated features – Lisa Limone and Maroc Orange and Captain Morten and the Spider Queen. In 2023 a short film Koerkorter (Dog Apartment) was officially shortlisted for the Academy Awards (Oscars) in the short animation category.
Nukufilm.ee
Supported
Roundtable Discussion
Paulina ZacharekPL
Producer, Momakin
Moderator
Athena KalkopoulouGR
Creative Producer, Animasyros Productions
Co-founder and CEO of Momakin, producer, and specialist in film education. She secures funding for Polish animated films and series and directs StopMoLab, an international training program for the stop-motion community. She co-created the Stop Motion Green Guide (2023) and the national animation education strategy (2023). Since 2016, she has co-organized Animarkt Stop Motion Forum. She serves on the Polish Producers Alliance (KIPA), representing the animation community and promoting sustainable production.
momakin.pl
Supported by
Choosing to Produce Animation Films in Europe Today
Athena Kalkopoulou is a creative producer & publicity expert with over 20 years of experience in the US and Greece. She is a producer with ANIMASYROS Productions. From 2020 till 2023 she served as the Director of Promotion at the Greek Film Centre. She has collaborated with the Sundance Institute, SXSW and the San Francisco International Film Festival.
animasyros.gr
The Contemporary Animation Scene in Croatia
The discussion will explore the unique visual aesthetic of Croatian animation, highlighting how experimentation and narrative innovation have long defined the country’s animated works. Speakers reflect on the balance between animation as an artistic pursuit and a commercial medium, while addressing the influence of Animafest Zagreb as a global cultural hub. Attention is also given to the diversity of voices shaping animation today, the importance of training the next generation through institutions like the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, as well as mentorship and apprenticeship within studios.
Roundtable Discussion
Sunčana BrkuljHR
Director
Sunčana Brkulj (1997) earned her MA in animation from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. Her student films have been selected for screenings at prestigious festivals in Annecy, Ottawa, Zagreb, Stuttgart, and elsewhere, winning several awards. After graduating, Sunčana undertook a residency at Open Workshop in Viborg, where she made her first professional film, Butterfly. Since then, Butterfly has traveled to more than 70 festivals and won 9 awards and recognitions. Sunčana is currently working on a new film.
Veljko PopovićHR
Director
Veljko Popović (1979) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, Department of Painting, in 2003. He is the co-founder of Prime Render animation studio. Since 2008, he teaches animation at the Arts Academy in Split. His films have been screened and awarded at many world festivals. He has been a member of juries at numerous film festivals.
primerenderstudios.com
The Contemporary Animation Scene in Croatia
Roundtable Discussion
Jure BušićHR
Producer
Moderator
Dalibor JakusHR
Head of Public Relations, Animafest Zagreb
Producer in production company Jaka Produkcija, based in Zagreb, Croatia. He worked as producer and co-producer on several animation, documentary and fiction films and series. His latest animation films were “The ballad of pipe and necklace” directed by Martin Babić, “Mouse House” directed by Timon Leder, and “The Shadow” directed by Petra Balekić. At the moment Jaka produkcija has several animated projects in production. jakaprodukcija.hr
Dalibor Jakus is a communication specialist, artistic director of the International Short Film Festival Tabor New Frame and a film publicist. His chief concern are projects from the field of film industry, animation, theatre and independent performance arts. He is the Head of Public Relations for the World Festival of Animated Film Animafest Zagreb. As film publicist he is responsible for creating and executing publicity campaigns for films, media relations, coordinating events and promotions. Some of the projects he has worked with includes Croatian feature films, International coproductions (features), documentary films and TV series. He lectures on Film and Media Communication at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb (Guest Lecturer), conferences, workshops and schools. animafest.hr/en
The Contemporary Animation Scene in Croatia
Shaping European Animation: Film Institutions, Promotion & Production in Europe
The roundtable “Shaping European Animation: Film Institutions, Promotion & Production in Europe” highlights the contribution of national film institutions in shaping strategies for the growth of animation across the continent. The Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Media Centre (EKKOMED) will be represented by Leonidas Christopoulos, alongside leading professionals and institutional representatives from Ireland, Croatia and Lithuania. The discussion will focus on the importance of European cooperation through networks, co-productions and co-funded initiatives that strengthen the international dimension of the sector.
Roundtable Discussion
Leonidas ChristopoulosGR CEO, EKKOMED
Leonidas Christopoulos became Chief Executive Officer of EKKOMED-Creative Greece in September 2024, following his role as President and CEO of EKOME from 2023 to 2024. As Secretary General of Digital Governance (2019-2023), he oversaw EKOME and improved Greece’s audiovisual cash rebate scheme, reactivated the Tax Relief incentive, and launched a Loan Guarantee Fund for audiovisual producers in collaboration with the Development Bank. He led Greece’s digital transformation strategy, including the Digital Transformation Bible, AI strategy, and Gov.gr digital services. Christopoulos previously advised the opposition on public administration and education (2016-2019). He holds degrees from Panteion University and the University of Warwick, is a National School of Public Administration graduate, and speaks English and German.
ekkomed.gr
Shaping European Animation: Film Institutions, Promotion & Production in Europe
Ronan MacCabeIE CEO, Animation Ireland
Ronan McCabe is the CEO of Animation Ireland, the trade association for Ireland’s animation studios. He has 30 plus years experience in the media industry. Ronan has built strong relationships with key industry stakeholders both domestically and internationally and regularly attends markets, festivals and industry gatherings. During his career he has worked in the areas of financing projects; negotiating of rights, formats, licensing/ merchandising and co-production deals with broadcasters, SVOD’s, promoters, music labels, licensees, advertisers and distributors.
animationireland.com
Roundtable Discussion
Petra ZlonogaHR
Artistic Advisor for Animated Films, Zagreb Film
Petra Zlonoga got her master’s degree in graphic design at the School of Design Zagreb (2007) and her master’s degree in animation and new media at the Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb (2011). Since 2009 she’s worked as a freelance animator, illustrator and designer. From 2018 until 2020 she held a mandate as Artistic Advisor for Animated Films at the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and currently she holds that position at Zagreb film. She has directed seven short animated films.
zagrebfilm.hr/en/
Shaping European Animation: Film Institutions, Promotion & Production in Europe
Justė MichailinaitėLT
Producer, Broom Films
Justė Michailinaitė is a producer from Lithuania. After gaining valuable experience in a number of roles across the film industry, she is delving deeper to achieve further success in producing films – an area that holds great fascination for her. Producing and co-producing feature films as well as documentaries and animations, Justė works with a wide range of emerging talents and is constantly seeking captivating stories to tell.
facebook.com/BroomFilmsLT/
Moderator
Athena KalkopoulouGR
Creative Producer, Animasyros Productions
animasyros.gr
Tech Meets Art: Animation Futures
Animation has always been one of the most technologically advanced and experimental of the arts. With the advent of AI and Extended Reality technologies animation has proven to be at the center of a spectrum of art forms from cinematic visual effects, to interactive and immersive media. We will be discussing VR as a new medium and platform for animation creation, Artificial Intelligence as a disruptive force in audiovisual production and Motion Capture tools as an alternative form of acting and animation creation.
Lazaros BoudakidisGR
Head of Immersive:All Around Cinema, Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Argyris HatzitofisGR CEO, Moverse
Lazaros has been working for the Thessaloniki International Film Festival team since 2003 and for the last six editions he has been the Head of the international competition section Immersive: All Around Cinema. He participates in the Festival’s new workshop AGORA XR Lab, which is aimed at the creative community. He focuses on the study of new storytelling techniques in XR, from interactive productions to multi-user experiences and on ways to bridge creators, technology and the market with an emphasis on expanding the ecosystem and audience in Greece.
filmfestival.gr
Tech Meets Art: Animation Futures
As CEO of Moverse, I’m dedicated to empowering the creative industry. My Ph.D. in machine learning and motion capture, combined with a background in game development, directly shapes our mission. I lead our team in revolutionizing 3D animation with accessible markerless mocap and generative AI tools. Our goal is to break down technical and financial barriers, allowing all creators to bring their digital worlds to life effortlessly and without limits.
moverse.ai
Aristotelis MaragkosGR Director, Animator
Aristotelis Maragkos is a director/animator whose work focuses on obsessive stories and dealing with the past. His films, known for experimenting with form and material, have screened at major festivals including Telluride, Locarno, and Annecy. His debut animated feature, The Timekeepers of Eternity, premiered at Fantastic Fest and was acclaimed for its bold, frame-by-frame paper reimagining of Stephen King’s The Langoliers.
Roundtable Discussion
Lazaros
AnagnostopoulosGR
Managing
Director, Founder, ThreeDeers
Lazaros is Managing Director and founding member of Three Deers, where he leads AI and CG production across Europe, the Middle East, US and Asia. He has collaborated with brands such as KIA, Hyundai, Lexus, Nestlé, Turkish Airlines, and Bulgari, while pioneering a hybrid of CG and AI production. Previously with Volvo’s Tech Watch in Sweden, he later founded DVS-Design in Greece.
3deers.studio
Tech Meets Art: Animation Futures
Dimitris DelinikolasGR Director/Producer Moderator
Dimitris Delinikolas is a film and digital media director and producer. He has been working as a commercials director since 2010. His short films have been screened and awarded at festivals such as Clermont Ferrand, Bristol Encounters, Seoul Youth Film Festival, Drama Short Film festival. Since 2019 he has been teaching directing, post-production, cinematic VR and animation at the University of Athens in the department of Digital Arts and Cinema. In 2021 he completed his PhD on transmedia storytelling and participatory film production. He has founded the company “emptyfilm” focusing on producing cinema, new media and transmedia narratives.
emptyfilm.com
Creative Europe MEDIA Talks…
Funding Animation in Europe: Opportunities and Challenges is a dialogue between the Creative Europe MEDIA Desks of Greece and Portugal, focused on the annual funding priorities and emerging opportunities for the European animation sector.
Roundtable Discussion
Anna KasimatiGR
Creative Europe Media Desk Greece
Susana Costa PereiraPT
Executive Coordinator - Creative Europe Desk Portugal
Anna Kasimati is Head of the Creative Europe MEDIA Desk of the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Film Center (EKKOMED). She holds a BA and MA in Communication and Cultural Management studies. She has twenty years of experience in research and analysis in the fields of culture and cinema. Her work includes the management of co-financed NSRF programs, cooperation with European bodies in audiovisual policy issues and the interconnection of cinema and digital technology. She was elected Executive Secretary of the SEE Cinema Network and she is a member of EFAD (European Film Directors Association) and EFARN (European Research Agencies Research Network).
ekkomed.gr
Since June 2019: Executive Coordinator at Creative Europe Desk Portugal and Manager MEDIA Strand and Creative Innovation Lab. Previously: Manager Creative Europe Programme 2014-20, Culture Subprogramme; CCP at European Union’s Culture Programme 2007-13. Consultant at IGAC– General Inspection of Cultural Activities; Project and Client Director at MasterLink Information Systems; Online Business Unit Director and Marketing Director at Media Capital, Senior officer at Institute for Cinema, Audiovisual and Multimedia; Communication Officer at Mosaic Initiative, Ministry of Culture.
europacriativa.eu
Co funded by
Creative Europe MEDIA Talks…
Creativity and art: teaching or learning? 10 principles that keep us going
Developing educational programs in the arts and the humanities, preparing students for the creative industries comes with challenges, needs experience, and is one of the most rewarding opportunities. Degrees in graphic design, visual arts, art history, cinema studies, as well as in theater, dance, and music require an experience-focused approach which equally involves students and learners; which combines freedom with discipline, imitation with exploration, creativity with skill and craftsmanship. Employability in our industries requires not just creativity but also adaptability, resilience, networking, loving risk and not fearing rejection. The more one grows, the more one needs to remain a learner. Because, after all, some things we cannot teach, but all things we can learn.
Georgia-Zozeta Miliopoulou, Ph.D.GR
Maria AnestopoulouGR
Creative Director, Animasyros
Associate Professor, Associate Dean for Education & Employability, Deree The American College of Greece
Zozeta has over 25 years of experience as a copywriter and creative director in Greek and global agencies, still offering workshops and consulting services to various agencies and organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Brand Communication from the Athens Panteion University and mostly teaches courses around creative advertising and new media. Her research interests include creativity, creative literacy, strategic storytelling, and the managerial factors affecting brand communication. Her research appears in the European Journal of Marketing; Gender, Work, and Organization; the Journal of Visual Lilteracy. She is the author of the book: Creative Advertising Concept & Copy: A Practical Multidisciplinary Approach, by Routledge.
acg.edu
animasyros.gr
Creativity and art: teaching or learning? 10 principles that keep us going
Making the Cut: Better Animation through Editing
Bill KinderUS Editor
Bill Kinder is the co-author of Making the Cut at Pixar: The Art of Editing Animation. He founded the Editorial & Post Production department––which became known as the “hub of the wheel” at the renowned studio for a long run of acclaimed films. Today he leads creative talent in projects including: animated television series in Paris and Ho Chi Minh City; a “must-see” feature film; and essay films.
makingthecutatpixar.com
Bringing NASA Data to Life: The Power of Visualizing Science
Οnline discussion
Helen - Nicole KostisGR/US
Data Visualization Product Manager. NASA
Helen-Nicole (Eleni) Kostis serves as Data Visualization Product Manager at NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio. With expertise in translating complex datasets into compelling visual narratives, she designs, develops, and produces data-driven media that communicate NASA science research to both scientific communities and the public. Eleni leads data dashboards and visualizations for the Earth Information Center wall-sized displays and is the recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Award for Outreach.
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Handsome frames: An introduction into character layout
A small introduction into the process that makes animation look believable and fun! Learn about fundamentals and theories that will make your animated character look and feel alive while also looking confidently and solidly drawn.
Kostas FirinidisGR Animator, Director
Director and cartoonist from Thessaloniki. He has worked on a variety of projects in Greece and the United States, while continuing to create his personal animation films.
How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Rig Animation
Cutout animation often gets a bad rap. In this talk, animator & instructor Shalev Ben Elya shares the journey of a group of students (and one skeptical teacher) as they dove into Toon Boom and discovered how to transform the perceived weaknesses of rig animation into creative opportunities. Through real production examples and behind-the-scenes insights, this presentation will explore how the rig can lead to surprisingly fun and expressive animation.
Shalev Ben ElyaIL
Animator, Director
Shalev Ben Elya is an independent scriptwriter and animation creator, a Bezalel Academy graduate and member of Jerusalem’s animation collective Tohu. His graduation film Are You STill There? earned an honorable mention at the Jerusalem Film Festival, while his stop motion short Reviver screened internationally. He later created Beware of Cliff, Hey Hey Ho Ho, and the web series The Fenesta Family for Israel’s Kan public broadcaster.
thehivegreece.gr
Animating Greek Gastronomy: The Plato’s Plate Experience
Plato’s plate is the timeless Greek gastrosophy. It is inspired by the origins of gastronomy in the mythical Homeric and philosophical ancient Greece, and runs through tradition to the present day and modern creation.Flavors, places, people, experiences. With the power of storytelling, taste and authenticity, Plato’s plate aspires to reintroduce Greek cuisine to the international audience, offering knowledge, experiences, enjoyment, but also awareness of modern demands for hygiene, conscious consumption, sustainable agricultural production and the interconnection of taste with place and history.
platosplate.gr
The project was implemented within the framework of the Inter-territorial Cooperation Plan “Selected Greek Flavours II - Greek Gastronomic Culture” by 23 LAGsDevelopment Companies of Greece (Sub-measure 19.3 of the LEADER/CLLD Programme of the RDP 2014-2020).
Sotiris BolisGR
Andreas LambropoulosGR Director
Animation Speed Dating
For a third year we are happy to present the very successful activity: Animation Speed Dating sessions, supported by Enterprise Greece. Up to 15 Greek creators will participate in 15’ meetings with internationally renowned producers and artists from all around the world, to discuss with them issues that touch all the production stages of an animation film and to help them pitch their idea with the aim of finding co-productions or other professional opportunities at an international level.
Participating Professionals
Joanna QuinnUK
Director
Tigran ArakelyanAM
Director
Barbara DukasGR
Director
Martin VandasCZ
Producer
Kerdi OengoEE
Producer
Paulina ZacharekPL
Producer
Viviane VanfleterenBE Producer
Powered by
Animation Producer Workshop
Animasyros International Animation festival, is inaugurating a workshop dedicated to the “art” of animation production, supported by the French Institute of Paris, Creative Greece EKKOMED and in collaboration with the French Institute of Athens. Ivan Zuber, a French animation producer and co-founder of the production company Laidak Films has put together a comprehensive program that will be presented over the course of 3 days during the Agora dates of the Festival. Some of the themes that will be covered include: the workflow of an animation film, the artistic input of the producer, analysis of the budget and financial plan, the funding system in France and coproduction opportunities
With the support Strategic Partner
Ivan ZuberFR Producer, Laidak Films
Ivan Zuber studied film production with a major in animation film at Gobelins School of Visual Communication in Paris. Upon completing his degree, he spends some time in Paris and Vancouver, Canada, while working in the industry for different films and production companies. In 2012 he relocated to Berlin to work in an international film music publishing company, 22D Music Group. Between 2012 and 2015 he attends several European MEDIA workshops such as Animation Sans Frontières (France-Germany-Hungary-Denmark) and AniDox (Denmark). In 2015, he joins the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris, a French-German one-year programme of continuous education funded by the European Union, which focuses on international coproduction. In October 2015, he co-founds France-based production company Laïdak Films. Still based in Berlin but traveling the world, Ivan gives prominence to international and intercultural projects. He was elected at the French-German Cinema Academy Board in 2019 and re-elected in 2023.
Laïdak Films is a production company based in France and Germany. We support and work with artists that develop unique, committed, and ambitious projects, whether they be animated or live action, short, features, or TV series. We live and work both in the small, south of France village of Dieulefit, and the wide, cosmopolitan city of Berlin, and this defines us very well: we see richness in diversity. This is why we are keen on developing international productions, in which artists from around the world can collaborate, and which we support from the first lines of the story to their very diffusion.
Recent Animated Filmography:
Hurikán | 2024 | animated short-film | Dir. Jan Saska | FR, CZ
Audience Award Annecy festival
Mum is pouring rain | 2021 | animated TV Special |
Dir. Hugo De Faucompret | FR | Jury Award Annecy festival, shortlisted at the Oscars Academy Awards 2022
Animated Projects in development/production:
Granny is a Tree! | animated feature film
Dir. Hugo De Faucompret | FR, LX
Girl Dog Cancer Space | animated short-film
Dir. Kiana Naghshineh | FR-DE
Rainy Days | animated series | Dir. Ani Antonova | FR, AT, HU
Ernestine | animated series | Author of the original comic strip: Salomé Lahoche | FR, US
Twingo Girl | animated series | Dir. Arnaud Tribout | FR
Programme
Agora presentations take place at the Cultural Centre.
Special accreditation is necessary for the Agora activities.
Greek Animation Talks powered by EKKOMED take place at the Cultural Center with free entrance.
Animation Speed Dating powered by Enterprise Greece takes place at Apollon Theatre.
| Tuesday 23.09
Cyclades Chamber of Commerce Conference Hall (Valmas Hall)
