Agora & Agora Pitching Forum Open Call for Project Submissions until 15th July
Skwigly
ANIMASYROS International Animation Festival powered by PPC returns for its 17th year, from September 23 to 29, 2024, in the capital of the Cyclades. The largest animation festival in Greece and one of the most significant in Europe is extended by one day this year and enriches its programme even further. As part of the Agora, ANIMASYROS launches a new three-year strategic partnership with the International Animation Film Market (MIFA) of the Annecy Festival, the largest animation festival in the world, with the support of the French Institute of Greece and the Institut français (Paris).
More specifically, the Agora Pitching Forum of ANIMASYROS this year will become part of the International MIFA Campus, an international programme aimed at supporting young creators and artists from Mediterranean countries, namely Greece and Cyprus, the Balkan countries, Turkey, Egypt and Morocco, by providing them with skills and experience. A total of six (6) professionals from these countries will participate in the programme, selected based on the project plans they submit by July 15.
From September 25 to 28, the 4-day Pitching Coaching Workshop will be held as part of the International MIFA Campus in Syros. The Pitching Workshop Tutors will be this year acclaimed audiovisual professionals selected by the Annecy International Animation Film Market (MIFA) team, namely Delphine Nicolini, creative producer & mentor, Claire Sichez, writer and director, and Sylvain Grain, head of MIFA Talent Projects. 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 2025 in Annecy.
At the same time, as every year, the presentations, roundtables, seminars, masterclasses, networking events organized in the framework of the ANIMASYROS Agora, offer the international audience – whether professionally involved in the art of animation or simply enthusiasts – the opportunity to expand their network, promote their work, meet with professionals in the field, and discover the international community. Of course, this year’s Agora will feature the Festival’s central theme “Africa: an animated continent”, with masterclasses, discussions and presentations by internationally acclaimed producers and artists from Morocco and Ghana to Egypt and Ivory Coast.
Other topics to be presented include new technologies and virtual reality, advertising, architecture and the popular yet demanding technique of stop motion. The presence of ANIMASYROS’ institutional partners, such as Creative Greece, Enterprise Greece, Creative Europe, and the University of the Aegean, will also be significant at the Agora.
Some prominent figures of the international animation community who will be present at the ANIMASYROS 2024 Agora include:
- Spanish director Isabel Herguera, creator of the acclaimed feature film Sultana’s Dream (2023).
- Internationally renowned Portuguese animator Regina Pessoa for a particularly interesting creative masterclass.
- Moroccan producer Mounia Aram, founder of the production and distribution company Mounia Aram Company.
- Vanessa Ann Sinden, producer at Triggerfish Animation, one of the largest animation studios in Africa.
- Emmanuel Blanchard, historian and director of the iconic animated documentary Notre-Dame de Paris (2019).
- Oscar-nominated legendary filmmaker Joanna Quinn and her partner, writer Les Mills, from the UK.
- Katerina Savva, managing director at Newtons Laboratory, one of the largest advertising agencies in Greece.
Additionally, as part of ANIMASYROS’ initiatives to strengthen the Greek animation scene, the highly successful Greek Animation Talks 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 screenwriter, actor and presenter Yorgos Kapoutzidis.
The speed dating sessions, introduced last year, will continue as well. 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.
More detailed information about the ANIMASYROS Agora and the 2-day Animation Agora Days in Athens – held this year in collaboration with AKTO and with the support of Enterprise Greece – will be announced soon. Stay tuned!