AnimationXpress is gearing up for its highly anticipated annual animation conference Animation & More Summit along with this edition’s highlight: Anime India 2025, India’s first anime convention. The joint event is spread across three days between 22 and 24 August 2025 at Nesco’s Bombay Exhibition Center (BEC) in Mumbai.
The three-day event promises an immersive journey into the world of animation, combining insightful discussions and innovative presentations. From expert-led panels to interactive showcases, the summit has a lot to offer for everyone- aspiring animators and industry professionals to passionate fans.
Taking the stage at this year’s summit are industry leaders and leading broadcasters, who will share their insights with the audience:
- Warner Bros. Discovery [Arjun Nohwar, Managing Director – South Asia, Warner Bros. Discovery]
- JioStar [Anu Sikka, Business Head – Kids & Infotainment]
- Sony YAY! [Ambesh Tiwari, Business Head, SPNI (Kids & Animation)]
Attendees can explore a vibrant store of experiences, including exclusive previews, artist showcases, and unique merchandise from leading studios and brands.The summit aims to celebrate art, innovation, and business of animation, all under one roof.
AM Summit 2025 will bring together leading broadcasters, brands, studios, institutes, freelancers, creative professionals, and students. Esteemed industry leaders have joined as advisory members to help make the event a dynamic and impactful experience for both professionals and enthusiasts alike. The advisory board members include:
- Abir Aich | Executive Vice President Academics, Content & Emerging Technologies, Aptech
- Anand Bhanushali | Co-Founder / Managing Director, philmCGI
- Anil NM Wanvari | Founder, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, AnimationXpress
- Arjun Madhavan | CEO, Assemblage Entertainment
- Kasinath Patro | National Academic Head, Zee Learn (Zica & Zima)
- Manoj Mishra | CEO & Managing Director, Powerkids Entertainment (Singapore)
- Michelle Sta Maria | Head of Business Development – Animation, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
- Milind D. Shinde | Founder & CEO, 88 Pictures
- P Jayakumar | Chief Executive Officer, Toonz Media Group
The event will bring together leading media companies from around the world to share insights on animation and the wider media industry.
This year, one of the major focuses is on building a Japan-India corridor for providing insights in animation from the industry experts. This groundbreaking initiative revolves around the theme Creativity Beyond Borders, with insightful sessions led by some of the most influential voices in the global animation landscape.
After the introduction and customary lamp lighting, and a welcome by Anil NM Wanvari, founder, chairman, and editor-in-chief of AnimationXpress, the event will open with a keynote address from Arjun Nohwar, Managing Director – South Asia, Warner Bros. Discovery.
Spotlighting Industry Challenges & Innovations
A panel discussion titled The Elephant in the Room will be addressing the challenges in global animation, exploring the reasons behind major studio closures and the medium’s evolution beyond traditional screens with new tools, formats, and platforms. The eminent speakers:
- Gauri Sriram | Co-founder and Director, Studio56 Animation
- Milind D. Shinde | Founder & CEO, 88 Pictures
- P Jayakumar | CEO, Toonz Media Group
- Prabhakar Sambandan | Studio Director, Saffronic, India
- Tejonidhi Bhandare | Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Animation
Guiding the conversation will be Anil NM Wanvari as the moderator, ensuring an insightful and thought-provoking discussion.
Click here to view the two-day agenda
Yotta, known for building ultra-scalable, hyper-dense data center ecosystems will present a session on From Pixel to Platform: Cloud-Driven Rendering & Media Management for the Future of Content Creation. It will offer a look into how cutting-edge digital infrastructure and cloud services are enabling the animation industry to push creative and technical boundaries, setting the stage for more scalable and efficient production pipelines.
In another panel, Animation in the Digital Era-Storytelling Across Platforms the speakers will explore how animation is expanding its reach beyond traditional screens. They will discuss the creative challenges, cutting-edge tools, and new narrative formats that are redefining animation for streaming platforms, social media, immersive experiences, and more. The lineup includes:
- Munjal Shroff | Co-founder, Graphiti Studios & Chairman, FICCI – AVGC-XR Forum
- Sarath Bhooshan | Founder & CEO, Bhooshan’s Jr
- Sourabh Kumar | Founder & CEO, PunToon Kids & VidUnit Media
- Vaibhav More | Owner, Vaibhav More Films
- Vinoth Chander | Founder & CEO, ChuChu TV
The discussion will be moderated by Adi Shayan | Chief Operating Officer, International Division, Cosmos Maya.
Exploring animation and global perspectives
An interesting fireside chat is planned on Fireside Chat with Anu Sikka – The Power of Animation. The session will explore creative processes, storytelling techniques and much more on the state of the Indian animation industry. The discussion will witness Manoj Mishra | CEO & Managing Director, Powerkids Entertainment (Singapore) in conversation with Anu Sikka | Business Head – Kids & Infotainment, JioStar.
The summit will explore Global Trends in Anime, with insights from Japan’s market shared by Hideo Katsumata, Executive Officer of Avex, President of Avex Pictures and The Anime Times Company. Wanvari will interact with the esteemed guest delving deep into the world of anime. Up next, fresh perspectives from one of the world’s most iconic entertainment brands will be offered by Susumu Fukunaga of The Pokémon Company.
Creative innovation takes centre stage with Evolution of an Idea, presented by Zebu Animation Studios’s Veerendra Patil, Founder & Creative Director and Rakshith Hoskote, CG Supervisor. This session will trace the journey of a concept from its earliest sketches to a fully realised animated production, highlighting the studio’s unique storytelling approach, design philosophy, and production techniques.
Complementing the insightful conversations on the animation industry, the panel: Rebooting an Iconic IP: Obbochama Kun will highlight the collaboration between Sony YAY! and Green Gold Animation,with insights from Ambesh Tiwari, Business Head, SPNI (Kids & Animation) and Rajiv Chilaka | Founder & CEO, Green Gold Animation. The session will be moderated by Siddhie Mhambre | Founder & Studio Head, 88 Pictures.
Business and technology tracks
In an effort to understand the business of the rising animation industry, a session has been planned on Marketing & Licensing 101 discussing the best practices for fan engagement, audience connect, partnerships, content creation and IP licensing. This panel will feature a lineup of esteemed guests:
- Hakuei Kosato | Indian Representative & Director, Kikkoman India
- Hemang Vasani | Licensing Head – India, MENA and Pacific, Hasbro
- Mitali Desai | Co-founder & COO, Black White Orange Brands
- Tarandeep Singh Sekhon | Chief Business Officer, KidZania India
The event will also witness interesting presentations by TMS Entertainment, Muse Asia, and MDEC on opportunities for cross-border collaboration. Attendees will also the first-hand experiences from accomplished animation artists, who will share their journeys and perspectives on the industry’s current landscape. The session: Ink & Imagination will feature artists like Santanu Hazarika, Jazyl Homavazir, Sourav Roychoudhury. They will share their creative processes, inspirations, and artistic journeys.
The event will also pay tribute to the late maestro Arnab Chaudhuri, whose groundbreaking work in the animation industry helped put Indian animation on the global map. His directorial feature, Arjun, the Warrior Prince, was the first Indian animated film to be considered for the Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2013. In his honour, the Arnab Chaudhuri Award celebrates directors and filmmakers who have demonstrated brilliance in craft, vision, and originality.
The event will conclude with a ceremony that presents the Ram Mohan Award, a heartfelt tribute to the father of Indian animation. This accolade embodies the values Mohan championed throughout his illustrious career and is awarded annually during the Ann Awards.
Also part of the Ann Awards 2025 will be the winner announcement of 27th DigiCon6 Asia Awards – Asia’s Supreme Short Film Contest. The winner will represent India on the global platform.
The event is presented by Anime Times and Toyota, and co-powered by Yotta. The gold partners include 88 Pictures, ARK, Maxon, Epic Games and Unreal Engine. The silver partners are Redington, Autodesk and Zebu Animation Studios. Datsi is on board as the talent development partner. The associate partners are Fuji Film and Sony YAY!. The gaming partner is PlayStation. Powerkids Entertainment is the lanyard and badges partner.
The delegate bag partner is Shinchan: Spicy Kasube Dancers in India. The outdoor partner is Bright Outdoor Media. The country partners are Jetro and Mdec (Fly Studio, ICYM Studios, Infinite Minds Academy, Monsta, Stuido Raksa and Yeah Studio. DigiCon6 Asia is the festival partner. The education partners are Atlas, Cosmos Creative Academy, Frameboxx 2.0, ITM Skills University, MAAC, Whistling Woods International and Zica. The industry partners are Captain Raj, IICT, Toonz Media Group, Toonsutra, XP Pen and Huion.
The two-day agenda for the AM Summit & Ann Awards can be viewed at the link below: https://animationandmoresummit.com/agenda.php. Registrations for AM Summit and Anime India are open now! You can register here online to attend the AM Summit and Ann Awards.
Tickets for Anime India are available now on Zomato’s District platform, priced at Rs 199, Rs 299, Rs 799 and Rs 1499. For the latest updates, follow Anime India social media handle here.
