This year, the festival has established a co-operation with other organizations for animation within the Nordic region to have a stronger focus on the Nordic animation scene during the festival. In co-operation with the Swedish organization SAAVA, Finish FinnAnimation, and Danish ANIS, we will present speakers who highlight the Nordic animation scene. Together, we’ve set up a programme that shows the diversity and some current developments in the scene of animation in this part of the world. The key speakers are: award winning director of short films and music videos Jonas Odell, director and creative VFX supervisor Sunit Parekh-Gaihede, Mats Grorud, who will present his current project The Tower, and creator of the Finnish animation project Pikkuli, Metsämarja Aittokoski.
SAAVA is an interest organization for animation and VFX in Sweden. Their goal is to strengthen the position of animation by arranging screenings, seminars, gatherings and other social events. SAAVA also runs its own animation blog.
FinnAnimation is an association formed to build a functioning international network and develop the animation industry in Finland.
ANIS – Animasjonssammenslutningen is a Danish union that works to strengthen the animation branch in Denmark. The organization wishes to protect their members’ copyrights, both artistically and financially.