Running May 7-10, the event will feature more than 40 guests and keynote speakers participating in 14 masterclasses, 15 educational talks, five workshops, six premieres and screenings, three auteur presentations, five school stands, 20 talent booths, two exhibitions, and 18 hours dedicated to recruitment, portfolio reviews, and signings.
The Animayo Festival 2025 will take place from May 7-10 at the CICCA in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.The program preview was announced during a press conference held last week, with the participation of main sponsors Antonio Morales, President of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria; Carolina Darias, Mayor of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; and Fernando Fernández, General Director of the Fundación La Caja de Canarias.
Alongside them, filmmaker Damián Perea, director and producer of Animayo, presented an overview of the new edition.The online program will extend through September 2025.The animation festival is a qualifying event as designated by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with the festival winners of the Grand Jury Award and Best Spanish Short Film receiving preselection consideration for the Academy Awards “Best Animated Short Film” category.
The event features face-to-face and online formats in animation, visual effects, virtual reality, video games and new audiovisual technologies.Over 40 guests and keynote speakers will participate in 14 masterclasses, 15 educational talks, five workshops, six premieres and screenings, three auteur presentations, five school stands, 20 talent booths, two exhibitions, and 18 hours dedicated to recruitment, portfolio reviews, and signings.Perea revealed that Walt Disney Animation Studios, Skydance Animation, Platige, Steamroller Animation, Rodeo FX, Illusorium Studios, and Fortiche will attend the event in person.
Some of these will also take part in one of the festival’s key components: creating real professional opportunities through “Professional Encounters” that include in-person recruitment sessions (by prior registration).Additionally, the festival will host exclusive media activities such as meet-and-greets with guest speakers, studios, and partner schools, as well as the Animated Breakfast”, offering the press an up-close opportunity to meet international industry guests.Highlighted guests include Sherry Gunther Shugerman (, ), Lorelay Bové (, ), Vanitha Rangaraju (, ), Bruce Anderson (, ), Aaron Gilman (, ), and Terrence Masson (, ).
Additional guests will join to share their knowledge, convey their experiences, and educate new generations, including Rémy Terreaux and Jordi Solanes of Fortiche Production, known for their work on ; Magdalena Rudnicka (, ); Yvon Jardel (S, ); Ángela Iturriza; and Daniel Fernández Casas (, ).Voice director/actor guests include Carlos Ysbert, (, ), Sara Vivas (T, Kyle Broflovski (, ), and Isatxa Menjíbar (, .Animayo Gran Canaria will host the “Decide Your Future” program, which will feature talks from the most artistic to the most technological disciplines.
Participating institutions include U-Tad, University Center for Technology and Digital Art (Madrid), U-DIT, University of Design, Innovation, and Technology (Madrid), ECIB, School of Film and Animation of Catalonia (Barcelona), Artediez School (Madrid), School of Visual Arts (Los Angeles), and others.In addition to portfolio reviews for young students, the Animayo Talent Scholarships program will offer over €600,000 in scholarships to support both online and in-person studies at several schools and universities for the 2025–2026 academic year.This is a globally open call, with some application periods extending until August 2025; applications can be submitted online through the Animayo website.
This year, the Fan Zone and Animayo Experiences area will host the launch of “Storyboard Artist’s Manual” by Raúl García.After a decade at Disney working on classics such as and , he set out on his own path as a director and producer, and now returns to participate in the portfolio reviews.Two graphic novels, “Take Care of Ángela,” by digital illustrator and content creator Ivart (Iván Pineros), and “Red Hurts Less,” by digital illustrator, content creator, and author Gema Vadillo, will also be unveiled.
The “My First Festival” event will be held on May 10 at Teatro Guiniguada, with free admission until venue capacity is reached.Aimed at children aged 5 and up, as well as youth and adults, the screening allows attendees to vote for the best animated short film of the edition from a curated selection of international animated shorts.The 20th edition’s winning poster, from the Animayo 2025 International Poster Contest, was also unveiled.
“A Journey into the Unknown” was created by 19-year-old Ukrainian artist Kateryna Cheromukhina, currently living as a refugee in Warsaw, Poland, since the onset of the war in Ukraine.According to Kateryna, the characters in the poster came to her in a dream and she felt compelled to draw them.“I deliberately drew the characters from behind so that viewers could feel like part of the scene and imagine their own story,” she explained.
This year’s international poster contest received a total of 893 submissions from artists representing 77 countries.Popular techniques used in the entries included traditional illustration, digital illustration, collage, photomontage, graphic minimalism, and 3D design.Animayo Gran Canaria is sponsored by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria through the Presidency Department, the Society for the Promotion of the City of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Department of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands through Promotur and from the Canary Islands Institute for Cultural Development (ICDC), Gran Canaria Tourism, the La Caja de Canarias Foundation, and the Government of the Canary Islands.
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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