Tulip is a short animated series about a young woman learning to deal with her emotions and chaotic mind. After a life-changing hospital stay, Tulip tries to live more mindfully, but it's not always easy. She faces mood swings, self-doubt, and the pressure of city life, but finds comfort in her connection to nature, her wise friend Cat, and the anxious but strangely lovable Moth. Her two best friends, Lily and Rosa, are by her side, and Oliver, a shy and kind friend, slowly becomes part of her journey too. Through small everyday moments, Tulip learns that feeling lost or overwhelmed is part of being human, and that even on the hardest days, she doesn’t have to face it all alone.

The series mixes humour, emotion, and dreamy visuals to tell a relatable, hopeful story about growing up, accepting yourself, and finding peace inside the chaos.

FNE: Tell us about the project you are pitching in Annecy!

Bálint Gelley, Bella Szederkényi, Aristote Douroudakis, Valentin Maupin: Tulip is a 2D frame-by-frame animated comedy-drama series for TV and social networks. We follow Tulip, a young woman, through 11 episodes (each of them about three minutes long), as she comes back from the hospital after recovering from a blood clot in her brain. She re-explores her daily life from a new perspective. Or so she hopes... but of course, the quest for emotional stability and inner peace is a journey. Instead of showing “what is” mental health, Tulip embodies personal, internal struggles anyone can relate to, and juggles with her own mood swings.

FNE: How important is the support of the National Film Institute - Hungary (NFI) for your project and for Hungarian animation?

Bálint Gelley, Bella Szederkényi, Aristote Douroudakis, Valentin Maupin: Even though Julia is a Hungarian director, Tulip was originally started as an Avec ou Sans Vous production. Luckily, Aristote and Valentin already worked with Bella and Bálint on a previous film, which was a great experience for both parties, so it came naturally that they teamed up for the coproduction of Tulip. CUB Animation is planning to apply for the NFI’s animation funds later this year. They find the NFI’s support highly valued and important not just for our project, but for the entire Hungarian animation scene.

Hungary is a small country with a tiny market, that’s why having coproductions is a great opportunity to expand possibilities of the industry. It would be quite challenging without NFI’s dedicated support towards the Hungarian animation scene.

FNE: What is the difference in how you approach TV and web series as compared to an animated feature film?

Bálint Gelley, Bella Szederkényi, Aristote Douroudakis, Valentin Maupin: There is a huge difference on many levels; for example, the production value is much higher on films that are meant for the cinema canvas, than the ones for smaller screens. Tulip is designed as a TV and web series with short, punchy episodes tailored to the fast-paced, digital viewing habits of the modern audience. The main episodes are between 2 and 3 minutes long, offering immersive yet concise storytelling with strong emotional and narrative beats. In addition, the series features super-short episodes (10- to 40-second snippets), that expand the Tulip universe through poetic and visual moments.

FNE: Animation production is a marathon, it often takes many years to produce an animated film or series. How long will your project take and how do animators keep going over the long haul to the finish line?

Bálint Gelley, Bella Szederkényi, Aristote Douroudakis, Valentin Maupin: I agree with you, animation is indeed a marathon! Luckily the people who work in this field are used to that. Also, there are different stages of making a film from development to production and postproduction, and each stage has different challenges which keep the whole process exciting. Probably the hardest job is Julia’s, because she will oversee all creative decisions, on all the stages. But it’s her vision that we will see unfold, so I think it’s worth the effort.

FNE: How important is finding international coproducers for your project?

Bálint Gelley, Bella Szederkényi, Aristote Douroudakis, Valentin Maupin: It is very important and not just because of financial reasons. At CUB Animation studio we believe that an international coproduction partner always elevates the project to an even higher level with their expertise and unique point of view. Luckily Avec ou Sans Vous and CUB Animation have already worked together on the coproduction of the short animated film Nube by Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada and Christian Arredondo Narváez. It was a great experience for both partners, and the film has had a pretty successful festival circuit too, so we can’t see a reason why we shouldn’t hop on board together again to bring Julia’s wonderful vision to life!