ANIMASYROS 2023: Syros, Island, Greece | OPEN CALL for Entries
The Animasyros International Animation Festival invites creators from around the world to submit their films by June 30th, 2023. The largest festival of its kind in Greece and one of the largest in Europe will take place from the 26th of September to the 1st of October 2023 in Syros Island.
(Read our coverage of last year’s edition here.)
The artistic program of ANIMASYROS 2023 includes 7 competition sections, special tributes, training sessions, events, new local and international collaborations as well as the Agora, the industry event which has emerged as a reference point for the industry of the East Mediterranean region.
Syros Island, home to the festival
The main focus of this year’s festival, entitled Anima Ancients, is dedicated to Animation and Ancient Greece aiming to highlight the different ways in which the contemporary animation scene has reinterpreted, negotiated or been inspired by this long historical period.
Furthermore, ANIMASYROS 2023, recognizing the important position of the animation industry of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America, presents a tribute to these countries, entitled La Animaciόn Iberoamericana, which includes feature films for children and adults, while also hosting short film programs curated by partner festivals from Spain and Latin America.
This year’s educational workshops inspired from Ancient Greece are aimed to familiarize children, young professionals, adolescents with disabilities as well as the elderly with the basic animation techniques as well as call them to experience new ones, such as “sand animation”.
Moreover, the Agora continues its development as one of the most vibrant parts of the Festival by building international collaborations within the framework of the Pitching Forum while presentations, roundtables, panel-discussions, workshops, masterclasses and networking meetings will offer the opportunity to professionals as well as animation lovers from all over the world to promote their work, expand their network, meet with established professionals, get in touch with the international community and discover what’s on in the field. The Agora of ANIMASYROS 2023 will focus, amongst others, on female creativity in animated documentary films while masterclasses and talks by internationally acclaimed Spanish producers will also take place.
Universities will also be present at this year’s program through strategic collaborations with the University of the Aegean, Technical University of Crete and Cyprus University of Technology while, for the first time, the Agora will host speed dating sessions between creators, internationally acclaimed producers and representatives of institutions of the audiovisual field. These networking activities will enable scriptwriters and directors to collaborate, develop a strong creative universe or pitch their ideas to the biggest producers of the international industry.
Joanna Quinn and Les Mills speaking at AnimaSyros 2022
Greek animation continues to have a leading position throughout the Festival and, in this context, pre-festival activities focused on Greek creators starting from summer and culminating at Syros will take place.
Visual identity
The visual identity of ANIMASYROS 2023 was designed by the award-winning animation and motion design studio Odd Bleat founded in 2015 by Yannis Zoumakis and Manos Gerogiannis. Odd Bleat has undertaken commercial projects for Dior, Ebay, Google, Revolut, Dow Jones as well as many cultural projects through their long-term collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. Focusing mainly on the creation of advertising videos, Odd Bleat has been distinguished in competitions, such as the Greek Visual Communication Design Awards (EBGE), Ermis Awards, Muse Awards and Vega Digital Awards.
Talking about their inspiration, the creators, amongst others, mention: “We aimed to focus on Hellenicity, the summer character and the creativity of ANIMASYROS. Two arches that refer to the typical Cycladic architecture and the two hills of Hermoupolis function as a canvas within other visual elements. We can discern two faces; the first one seems to be holding a camera through which the second one, looking like an ancient Greek goddess bust sculpture, is projected […]. This composition reflects the director’s gaze and film directing in general, as well as the projection, thus paying homage to the protagonists of the festival, the films. Between the faces, we can also see an ancient Greek column, which makes a point on this year’s theme of the festival. There are three arches at the ancient column’s base symbolizing the three arched doors of the Apollon Municipal Theater in Hermoupolis, home and heart of the Festival.”
Call for entries
Entries for all competition sections of ANIMASYROS 2023 are submitted exclusively through the ANIMASYROS page at the FilmFreeway platform: filmfreeway.com/AnimaSyrosInternationalAnimationFestivalAgora-949575
Deadline for submissions is June 30, 2023.