Animasyros supports animation professionals with a strategic partnership with NEF Animation
Animasyros 2022 International Animation Festival is back for the 15th year, from 20 to 25 September in Syros Island, Greece. This year, the Festival expands its activities for an extra day and as usual is taking place in several locations, sites, and venues on the island, while its rich program will be presented digitally as well through Animasyros official platform.
Agora is organized for the eighth year, launching a new strategic partnership with the renowned NEF Animation. Nouvelles Ecritures pour le Film d’Animation, is a non-profit association dedicated to the research and creation of animated films. It gathers professionals from a wide range of disciplines: authors, directors, producers, distributors, students, teachers, cultural mediators and institutions.
The collaboration with NEF Animation as well as the presentations, the roundtables, the seminars and the networking meetings organized by the Agora this year, will offer the opportunity to the international public that is professionally engaged in the art of animation to expand its network, promote its work, meet with key industry professionals, discover the international community and get in touch with the tendencies and artists of the future!
For this purpose, Agora in collaboration with NEF Animation organizes a four-day Pitch Coaching Workshop, offering the opportunity to the participants of the selected projects to prepare their works effectively and present them at the Pitching Forum to the public and also to an international committee of professionals from the field of animation. The pitch coaching workshop will take place during the festival, from 21 to 23 September in Syros and will be led by Xavier Kawa-Topor, Director of NEF Animation / educator / author / researcher and Catherine Totems, Educational Director of the animation workshop, L’atelier des Sèvres.
The committee of the Pitching Forum consists of Xavier Kawa Topor (FR), Catherine Totems (FR), Olivier Catherin (FR), Nancy Denney Phelps (BE) and Marineta Mak Kritikou (GR).
The winner of the Pitching Forum Agora Animasyros will be announced on 25 September at the Festival’s closing ceremony and will be the official guest of the La Résidence Internationale de Fontevraud program, organized by NEF Animation whose mission is to promote emerging artists internationally, through creative workshops. Starting either in April or in October 2023, the winner will move to the Abbaye de Fontenvreau-Maine et Loire in France for one month to create a film with facilities provided by NEF.
In addition to the above, Agora this year will accept applications for participation in the Pitching Forum of creators/producers from countries in the wider Mediterranean region. At the same time, people from the International Animation community will present topics related to the following sections:
– Master Class by Oscar nominee Joanna Quinn and Les Mills (From sketch to Oscar)
– Master Class by internationally renowned producer Olivier Catherin (The production of an animation film)
– Museums and animation – New ways of illustration
– From graphic novels to animation films. Moderator: Tunde Vollenbroek (NL) – Studio Pupil and Member of the Board of the European Animation Awards. Speakers: Marlyn Spaaij (NL) – Animator/Director, Tigran Arakelyan (AR) – Animator/Director.
– International Co-productions. Moderator: Romanna Lobach (GR) – Animasyros Festival Productions. Speakers: Viviane Vanfleteren (BE) – Studio Suza, Olivier Catherin (FR), Amit Gicelter (Israel) – The Studio Hive
– Baltic countries and animation – Gints zilbalodis
– Round table with directors of selected European Animation Festivals.