A unique opportunity for animation professionals to widen their knowledge, skills and contacts was offered by the parallel programme of the “Animasyros” international festival; three days of networking and innovation for those working in animation.

The Animasyros International Festival + Animation Agora, one of the top 20 animation festivals worldwide, expands its dynamic Agora section, by opening the first Athens Animation Agora (3Α) which provides the main meeting point for members of the Greek, European and international animation community.

In the space of three days, participants followed stimulating discussions, presentations and educational workshops suitable for both professionals and students, which aimed to offer fascinating new opportunities for work, collaborations, Greek and foreign productions, funding and exchange of ideas. With the help of experts from the animation industry, who visited Greece to share their views and experiences with their Greek and international colleagues, the Athens Animation Agora (3Α) contributed towards an all-round, deeper recognition of animation in all its forms.

At the end of each day, Athens Animation Agora (3Α) will come to a close with a screening of selected animation films, including the Oscar-nominated Breadwinner by Nora Twomey of Cartoon Saloon studios, produced by Angelina Jolie, with technical director Mark Mullery attending the screening, and Harvie and the Magic Museum by Martin Kotík & Inna Evlannikova.

Athens Animation Agora (3Α) will also feature the special tribute Onasseas – The Salty Stories, in collaboration with Onassis Culture. Inspired by the power the sea has to spawn real-life or fictional stories—its salty waters also marking the starting point of the Onassis Foundation, since Aristotle Onassis became synonymous, more than anyone else, with life at sea and Greek shipping—this tribute focuses on the role played by the sea during important moments in our lives, through 11 quite special short films.

Animasyros 11 festival on Syros island

To cap it all off, the three-day event waved us goodbye by announcing the programme of the Animasyros 11 festival, with the Animasyros pre-festival event, which followed straight on, taking place on the island of Syros.

The first Athens Animation Agora is an initiative by the General Secretariat of Information & Communication of the Ministry of Digital Policy and the Animasyros International Festival + Animation Agora powered by Onassis Culture and is made possible thanks to the support of the French Embassy in Athens, the French-Greek Innovation Network Mazinnov, the Delegation of the European Commission in Greece and the National Centre of Audiovisual Media & Communication-ΕΚΟΜΕ SA.