The third edition of Rise & Shine – an Animation development & pitching Lab for young talents and their short films is fast approaching. Organized as a collaboration between Animafest Zagreb, Animateka IAFF and CEE Animation, the two-part workshop is aimed at short films in development. Participants will train their skills through guidance from experienced industry professionals, network with fellow animators, as well as have the opportunity to introduce their project to a wider international professional audience connected to both festivals.

Workshops will take place as part of Animafest Zagreb from 5 – 8 June 2024, where participants will receive a programme of lectures, individual and group sessions with experienced film professionals in the field of animation. A special focus will be on the story of the project, which they will work on with renowned mentors Pedro Rivero and Michaël Dudok de Wit. The second part will take place at Animateka from 4 – 8 December 2024, where selected teams will receive lessons focused on pitching preparations and improving their presentation skills with established mentor Anna Vášová. Jelena Popović will be joining the second part of the workshop to offer mentorship as a creative producer. On-site in Ljubljana, the selected teams will also participate in the pitching presentation. The winning project(s) of this pitching competition will be invited and get direct access to the pitching competition at the CEE Animation Forum 2025.

This year’s edition of Rise and Shine received a record number of 45 applications from all over the world,  and 11 of them have been selected to participate. “We are extremely happy that, together with our friends from Animateka, we have had the opportunity to organize this wonderful program for the third year in a row. Fantastic mentors, excellent projects, and the progress they show, but above all, the incredible positive energy and mutual support provided by the workshop participants are the reasons why it is a great joy and privilege to provide a platform for their professional development,” said Matea Milić and Saša Bach from the Rise and Shine organizing team.

Selected projects of Rise and Shine 2024

1. Ant, d. & p. Jonatan Schwenk, Germany
2. Countergrowth, d. Mackenzie Fincham, p. Peter Lindhout, Spotted Bird, Netherlands
3. Foolish Fish Fable, d. Yiyang Sun and Lei Chia Hui, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia
4. Hungry Heart, d. Nikolina Žabčić, p. Andrijana Vidaček, Zagreb Film, Croatia
5. Margareth, d. Vivien Hárshegyi, p. Bella Szederkényi, CUB Animation, Hungary
6. Monster, d. Sofiya Kruglikova, p. Maja Zupanc, Invida, Slovenia
7. Of Words and Waves, d. Valène De Valck, p. Bastien Martin, Camera-etc, Belgium
8. Telegrams to the Tree, d. Julia Benedyktowicz, p. Dominika Krysiewicz, Animoon, Poland
9. The Dog, d. Mariia Ozirna, p. Oleg Nosov, Bosonfilm, Ukraine
10. The Molepire, d. Marek Čermák, p. Karolína Fránková, Films & Chips, Czech Republic
11. The Shoebox, d. Cristina Pîrvu, p. Helga Fodorean, Susana António, Safe Frame/COLA Animation, Romania/Portugal (qualified as the winner of Pitch, please! 2023, Animest Bucharest IAFF)

More info about selected projects is available at the CEE Animation website.

Rise and Shine is financially supported by Croatian Audiovisual Centre, City of Zagreb, Zagreb Tourist Board, Croatian Directors´ Guild, Acción Cultural Española, AC/E, Animateka International Animated Film Festival, Slovene Animated Film Association - DSAF, Czech Film Fund, Audiovisual Producers´ Association, Ministry of Culture Czech Republic.