ANIMASYROS International Animation Festival turns 18!

ANIMASYROS is continuing – for the second year – its strategic partnership with the International Animation Film Market MIFA of the Annecy Festival, with the support of the Institut français (Paris), The Hive Studio Greece, and SKY express, Official Partner and Air Transport Sponsor of the Festival.

More specifically, the Agora Pitching Forum of ANIMASYROS will once again be part of the International MIFA Campus, an international programme aimed at supporting young creators and artists from Mediterranean countries, namely Greece, Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Tunisia, by providing them with skills and experience. A total of six professionals from these countries will participate in the programme, selected based on the project.

From September 23 to 26, the 4-day Pitching Coaching Workshop will be held as part of the International MIFA Campus in Syros. The Pitching Workshop Tutors will be acclaimed audiovisual professionals selected by the Annecy International Animation Film Market (MIFA) team. During the workshop, the six participants will develop their projects to meet the challenges of the international market and will be effectively prepared to participate in the Pitch Partenaire to be held in June 2026 in Annecy.

Agora Pitching Forum open for submissions Until July 18, 2025. More information here.

At the same time, presentations, roundtables, seminars, masterclasses, and networking events organised within the framework of the ANIMASYROS Agora offer the international audience the opportunity to expand their network, promote their work, connect with industry experts, and engage with the global animation community.

Some prominent figures from the international animation community who will be present at the ANIMASYROS 2025 Agora include:

– Legendary director Bill Plympton, two-time Oscar nominee for his short films Your Face and Guard Dog, internationally acclaimed for his distinctive hand-drawn style, will deliver a dynamic and inspiring creative masterclass.

– Bill Kinder, Director of Editorial and Postproduction at the Pixar Animation Studios, has contributed to the company’s success for over 18 years, editing films such as Finding Nemo (2003), Monsters, Inc. (2001), and Brave (2012).

– Rising Armenian animation director Tigran Arakelyan, known for his work on films such as Aurora’s Sunrise (2022), presents his work-in-progress feature film ZAKO, a co-production with the French company SacreBleu, known for the Oscar-winning Flow.

Other topics to be presented include new technologies and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in animation production, as well as animation film financing in Ireland, Lithuania, Croatia, and Greece, with representatives from Animation Ireland, the Lithuanian film production community, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC), Zagreb Film, and EKΚOMED – Creative Greece participating.

At the same time, as part of the Creative Europe MEDIA Talks, Anna Kassimatis and Susana Costa Pereira, from the Creative Europe Desks of Greece and Portugal respectively, will discuss available funding schemes – including Creative Europe MEDIA – national supports, as well as the challenges and opportunities within the fragmented financing landscape for animated content in Europe.

Furthermore, as part of the tribute to the ever-evolving and highly active Croatian animation scene, creators and producers from the region (Sunčana Brkulj, Veljko Popović, and Jure Bušić) will be present in Syros. This year’s Agora will also embrace the Festival’s central theme, “Animated Cosmos”, dedicated to space.

Animation journalist and historian Nancy Denney-Phelps and legendary British animator Joanna Quinn – recently honoured at Annecy with an Honorary Cristal for her lifetime contribution to the art form – come together to present each other’s books. Denney-Phelps, in her book On the Animation Trail: 20 Years of Animation Festival History, shares in a personal and engaging tone, her experiences traveling to major animation festivals around the world – including ANIMASYROS. Meanwhile, Quinn, through Beryl: Affairs of the Art – co-written with her longtime collaborator and screenwriter Les Mills – reveals the behind-the-scenes process of creating the eponymous animated short, showcasing early sketches, storyboards, and final artworks, and offering a comprehensive look into the production journey.

Finally, as part of ANIMASYROS’ ongoing initiatives to strengthen Greek animation, an intensive three-day workshop will be held for the first time this year, led by Ivan Zuber, producer and co-founder of Laïdak Films. The workshop is specifically dedicated to Greek animation producers and will focus on project development and international co-production opportunities. This initiative is supported by the by the Institut Français (Paris) and the Hellenic Centre for Audiovisual Media and Communication – Creative Greece.

ANIMASYROS Agora stage will host the highly successful Greek Animation Talks, where Greek creators discuss their work, explore the challenges of the creative process, and share best practices.

The speed dating sessions will also return for the third consecutive year. Greek creators selected by ANIMASYROS will participate in short 20-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.