Mihai Mitrică is the co-founder and the director of Animest, the animation film festival based in Bucharest. Animest is the only Oscar-qualifying film festival in Romania, with follow-ups and special editions in various cities of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Mihai is a short film curator and selector for various international festivals, his main areas being animation, Romanian short film and horror film in general. He curates animation programs for international festivals, promotes Romanian film in markets such as Annecy and Clermont-Ferrand, and has been invited as a jury member in festivals around the world. Since 2014, Mihai has been a freelance producer of animation short films, working with some of the best representatives of the new generation of local animators. His most recent production with Safe Frame Studios, Cradle (directed and animated by Paul Mureșan) has been selected in over 100 international festivals.