Rise & Shine 2025 Selection Announced

Eleven inspiring animated short films in development have been carefully selected from more than 60 applications to participate in the three-part programme, organised as a collaboration between Animafest Zagreb, Animateka IAFF and CEE Animation.

Participants will train their skills through guidance from experienced industry professionals, network with fellow animators, and have the opportunity to present their project to a wider international professional audience connected to both festivals.

The first part of Rise & Shine will take place at the World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb in June. The second part will take place online in October 2025. Third and the final part will take place at Animateka International Animated Film Festival in Ljubljana in December 2025, culminating in the pitching presentation in front of the international audience and a selected panel of animation professionals.

*Lovers in a Dangerous Time* © Une boite de plus

Throughout the programme the participants will be led by experienced scriptwriter and pitching mentor Anna Vášová. A special focus will be on the story of the project, which they will work on with mentor – screenwriter, director and producer Pedro Rivero. Additionally, they will be exploring production specifics for their projects with mentor – creative producer Jelena Popović from National Film Board of Canada.

Stated the project managers, Matea Milić and Saša Bach stated

We are very excited to welcome the fourth generation of inspiring projects and talents for Rise & Shine this year. We had a tough time selecting the projects, especially as this year we received the record number of applications, more than 60! For this, we are sincerely thankful to our tutors and team, and previous participants, as they are not only helping us to enjoy as we embark on this creative journey every year, but also to promote the programme as unique and useful, helping us reach quality projects with each new edition.

Participating projects will compete for several valuable awards: Rise & Shine Audience Award, CEE Animation Forum Award which grants direct selection to the CEE Animation Forum 2026, Rise & Shine Film Centre of Montenegro Award and Short Film Market Clermont-Ferrand Attendance.

The selected projects are:

Daylight, d. Ayala Shoshana Guy, p. Fabian Driehorst, Fabian&Fred GmbH, Germany
Family Recipe, d. Lou-Anne Gérard, p. Titouan Tillier, Frigo Films, France
I Was Born Under This Tree, d. Mihaela Mîndru, France / Moldova
The Place of Home, d. Henri Veermäe, p. Erik Heinsalu, GRAFIK OÜ, Estonia
Lovers in a Dangerous Time, d. Daniel Sterlin-Altman, p. Alexandre de Paillerets, Une boîte de plus, France Redefining Island, d. Julie Černá, p. Michaela Režová, Pure Shore, Czechia
Runaway Heart, d. Mery Gobec, p. Nataša Vugrinec, Studio Virc, Slovenia
Seal the Deal, d. Lea Vučko, p. Damir Grbanović, Octopics, Slovenia
Sighthounds, d. Marko Por, Slovenia
The Chestnut Fair, d. Valeria Weerasinghe, p. Eleonora Muzzi, Sayonara Film, Italy
Waltz on the Shore, d. Anna Tőkés, p. Bálint Gelley, CUB Animation, Hungary

More info about selected projects is available at the CEE Animation website.

Rise & Shine is financially supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, Croatian Producers Association, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, City of Zagreb, Zagreb Tourist Board, Croatian Film Authors’ and Producers’ Association, Acción Cultural Española, AC/E, Animateka International Animated Film Festival, Slovene Animated Film Association – DSAF, Czech Audiovisual Fund, Audiovisual Producers’ Association, Ministry of Culture Czech Republic.