Fourth edition of Rise & Shine Animation pitching Lab is coming your way! We are thrilled to announce the call for the projects and participants of 2025!
The three-part storytelling, development and pitching lab is going to take place again in June 2025 at World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb in Croatia, in October 2025 online and culminate in December 2025 at Animateka International Animated Film Festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
We are searching for inspiring short animated films in development, made by young talents. We will choose 10 teams and the 11th team will be coming as the direct selection from our partner event Pitch, please!, organized by Animest International Animation Film Festival.
Event format
Eleven selected projects will be invited to Animafest Zagreb in June 2025, where they will receive a programme of lectures, workshops, individual and group sessions with experienced film professionals in the field of animation. During the whole progamme they will be led by experienced scriptwriter and pitching mentor Anna Vašova.
A special focus will be on the story of the project, which they will work on with mentor – screenwriter, director and producer Pedro Rivero. Additionally, they will be exploring production specifics for their projects with mentor – creative producer Jelena Popović from National Film Board of Canada.
The second part will take place online in October 2025, where the participants will start to prepare and work on their pitch.
Third part will take place at Animateka in December 2025, where the teams will receive lessons focused on pitching preparations and improving their presentation skills. In the end they will participate in the pitching presentation in front of the international animation audiences and a selected panel of animation professionals. They will be competing for various awards.
Awards
Rise & Shine Audience Award
Award for the audience’s favorite project. It entails invitation to the next edition of Animafest Zagreb and Animateka festivals in 2026, with festival badge and accommodation.
CEE Animation Forum Award
Direct selection to the Short Film pitching category at the next edition of the CEE Animation Forum in 2026.
Rise & Shine Film Centre of Montenegro Award
A monetary award in the amount of €1,500 is awarded and sponsored by the Film Centre of Montenegro.
Short Film Market Clermont-Ferrand Attendance
Five projects will receive the opportunity to attend the next edition of the market in 2026.
Skills & Networking
All teams will benefit from having access to renowned experts to help them gain the skills and knowledge to successfully develop and present their work. In addition, the filmmakers will have the opportunity to introduce their project to a wider international professional audience connected to both festivals.
Deadline for submissions is 10 March 2025.