Rise & Shine 2024 Awards!

After its second and final round held at Animateka International Animated Film Festival in December, the 3rd Rise & Shine – Animation Development and Pitching Lab for young talents, has successfully wrapped up.

Organized by Animafest Zagreb and Animateka in collaboration with CEE Animation, Rise & Shine is a storytelling and pitching event consisting of lectures, workshops and individual and group sessions with experienced film professionals. In 2024 a total of 11 inspiring projects were developed by their creative teams of directors/script writers and producers.

The 2024 edition started in June at Animafest Zagreb, with a series of lectures and workshops focusing on story development. In October, the teams worked on the art of presenting their projects to a live audience, as well as the production of animated short films. The final part of their Rise & Shine 2024 journey, the pitching presentation in front of the professional audience, took place in December at AnimatekaPRO.

The mentors of the third edition were director and animator Michael Dudok De Wit (NL), director and scriptwriter Pedro Rivero (ES), producer Jelena Popović (NFB, CA) and producer Anna Vašova (13ka, CZ).

The winners of 2024 Rise & Shine:

CEE Animation Forum 2025 – Direct Access Short Film Category

The Molepire

Marek Čermák, Karolína Fránková, Films & Chips, Czech Republic

Rise & Shine 2025 Audience Award

The Foolish Fish Fable

Yiyang Sun, ChiaHui Lei, Kitajska, Estonia Academy of Arts, China, Estonia

Film Centre of Montenegro Award of 1.500,00 EUR

Of Words and Waves

Valène De Valck, Bastien Martin, Camera-etc, Belgium

Attendance of the Short Film Market Clermont-Ferrand 2025

Countergrowth

Mackenzie Fincham, Peter Lindhout, Spotted Bird, Netherlands

Mrs. Monster

Sofija Kruglikova, Maja Zupanc, Invida, Slovenia

Ant

Jonatan Schwenk, Olivier Catherin, Germany/France

Telegrams to the Tree

Julia Benedyktowicz, Dominika Krysiewicz, Animoon, Poland

The Shoebox

Cristina Pîrvu, Helga Fodorean, Susana António, Safe Frame, COLA Animation, Romania, Portugal

Congratulations!

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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.