Guests

Vinnie Ann Bose, born in Kerala (India), studied animation film making at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. In 2016 she joined the animation film direction school l’école de la Poudrière in France. After the success of her graduation films What Is Your Brown Number?, and Dimanche Matin she directed her first professional short film Sulaimani.

Attendance dates : from 26/02 to 28/02

Simon Cadilhac is a 2D and 3D animation technician. He studied at Ensaama Olivier de Serres, École Estienne and Gobelins. In 2020 he joined Remembers, where he has contributed to a wide range of projects: commercials, short films, installations and the feature film Arco.

Attendance dates : from 22/02 to 24/02

Ève Ceccarelli-Moing is a director, storyboard artist and animator, a graduate of Gobelins and La Poudrière. She directed Fukushima, 5 Years On (2016), selected at Annecy, Stuttgart and San Francisco, and co-directed Edgard (2014). She also created the teaser for Dans ta face, a mini-series that tackles street harassment with humour and empowerment.

Attendance dates : from 25/02 to 27/02

Julien Chheng co-founded Studio La Cachette in 2014. A graduate of École Estienne and Gobelins, he trained at Disney before co-directing Ernest and Célestine, The Collection (2017). An executive producer of Primal (Emmy 2021), he co-directed Ernest and Célestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, nominated for a César in 2023, and directed The Spy Dancer for Star Wars Visions Vol. 2.

Attendance dates : from 27/02 to 01/03

Fabien Daphy is a director, author and illustrator who specializes in fiction and animation. He trained at École Émile-Cohl, where he explored 2D animation, staging and set design in several short films. He then directed Rester là (2014), a comedy-drama that won an award at the Rhône-Alpes Film Festival, and co-directed the animated series Mr. Carton, broadcast on France 3 in 2016.

Attendance dates : from 25/02 to 27/02

Arthuria is a freelance journalist with a passion for animation and Japanese pop culture. She also gives lectures on gender stereotypes and the representation of LGBTQIA+ characters in manga and anime. A young director trained at the Agnès Varda school in Brussels, she is preparing a documentary on anime dubbing in Japan.

Joke D’Heer (they/them) is a doctor in media studies from the University of Ghent and works at the crossroads of gender, politics and media representation. They also give queer readings at various cinemas in Belgium and The Netherlands. A queer reading challenges dominant interpretations, seeking queerness in texts where it’s implicit.

Attendance date : 28/02

A Hungarian-Polish director and animation designer born in Budapest, Tomek Ducki trained at Moholy-Nagy University and the NFTS in the UK. Based in Poland, he has developed a style influenced by the Hungarian and Polish schools, combining techniques, strong colours and hidden narratives. He is known for Life Line and Baths as well as music videos.

Attendance dates : from 25/02 to 01/03

Alice Eça Guimarães holds a degree in digital arts from the UCP School of Arts in Portugal. Specializing in animation, she has always worked in both advertising and animation, winning several awards. She co-directed Amélia & Duarte and Entre Sombras with Mónica Santos, a finalist at the 2019 César Awards. She is currently working on Roupa Velha.

Attendance dates : from 25/02 to 27/02

A Brussels-based director and animator who trained at La Cambre, he has made short films (Yin, Hugs) and music videos (BRNS, Korn), and has worked as an animator on various films. A compulsive draughtsman, he has created a giant anamorphosis for the Palais de la Découverte in Paris, produces series for micro-publishers and, for pleasure, revisits Bruegel the Elder.

Maurice Galway is the director and co-founder of the Animation Dingle festival in Kerry, Ireland. He is also a programmer, artist and film-maker. His short films have been shown in New York and China. He also presents Irish animation around the world and has received several honorary awards in recognition of his work.

Attendance dates : from 20/02 to 23/02

A director and artistic director, she began by working on the visual design for The Fifth Element and Renaissance. She went on to work at Gaumont, Xilam and later in video games. Together with Thomas Szabo, she created the Minuscule phenomenon, which has been adapted into a series and two feature films. She has since worked on The Legendaries and is developing a live-action film.

Attendance dates : from 20/02 to 25/02

Eliška Jirásková is studying animation at FAMU in Prague. She has directed three short films, including Beware Children! (2023) and the animated documentary Better Man (2025, premiered at Annecy). Her style is characterized by expressive drawing and a vibrant colour palette.

Attendance dates : from 22/02 to 24/02

In the space of thirty years, Joanna Quinn has won two Emmy Awards, four BAFTAs, three Oscar nominations and more than a hundred other awards worldwide. Her films, which focus on gender and oppression, are works of art in their own right. A real treat for the eyes, peppered with laughter and visual flights of fancy.

Attendance dates : from 24/02 to 28/02

After graduating in graphic design from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Janina Księska went on to graduate from the Animation Film Studio in 2024. She mainly focuses on animation, illustration and the creation of illustrated books.

Attendance dates : from 20/02 to 22/02

Jakub Krzyszpin is an artist and director who is studying in the Animation and Special Effects department at the National Film School in Łódź. His dynamic drawings emphasize the storyline of his films, including Scratch (2023), selected for the Drama International Short Film Festival, and Inertness (2021), best super short film at the Monstra festival in Portugal.

Attendance dates : from 21/02 to 23/02

A Franco-Belgo-Portuguese visual artist and director, Kelzang co-founded Temple Caché in 2018, a visual lab combining animation, collage, surrealism and emerging technologies. His work, which has earned him various awards at festivals, spans music videos, installations and visual experiences. Recent collaborations include Stromae, Paul Kalkbrenner and Snoop Dogg.

Attendance dates : from 27/02 to 01/02

A screenwriter for Pixar, Marvel and Netflix, Meg LeFauve is best known for her work on Inside Out, which earned her an Annie Award and an Oscar nomination, and more recently Inside Out 2. She also wrote The Good Dinosaur, Captain Marvel and My Father’s Dragon. She has been mentoring screenwriters for many years.

Attendance dates : from 21/02 to 26/02

Trained in screenplay analysis in the US, Valérie began her career at the non-profit organization Cartoon. A former production director of Nouky & Friends (sold in 160 countries), she became a screenwriter and wrote nearly 150 episodes of animated series (T’choupi, Calimero, Ernest & Célestine, etc.). She is a co-author of the feature film SamSam and screenwriter of The Great Dreamscape.

Alejandro Ariel Martin is an Argentine director. He holds degrees in social communication from the National University of Rosario and in creative communication from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He directed the stop-motion short films Epirenov (2019), which won 22 awards and was selected for 93 festivals, and Hatker (2025), which was presented in the official competition at Annecy.

Attendance dates : from 25/02 to 01/03

Bruno Mazzilli has been working in animation and illustration ever since he obtained his degree in art. He has collaborated with studios and agencies such as Trattoria di Frame and Neogama BBH, directed short films and music videos, including TU by Tulipa Ruiz, the opening film of the 40th São Paulo Film Festival, and won the competition organized for Pink Floyd’s 50th anniversary with The Great Gig in the Sky.

Attendance dates : from 26/02 to 28/02

Áine Mc Guinness is an Irish designer specializing in art direction for 2D animation. With more than 15 years’ experience, they were the art director on My Father’s Dragon, a Netflix original feature film, and the studio’s latest short film, Éiru. Áine recently relocated and are now based in Brussels.

After working on Who Framed Roger Rabbit under the direction of Richard Williams, Andrew Ruhemann founded Passion Pictures in 1987. This independent British studio is now recognized worldwide for its innovative animations. Andrew is the studio’s artistic director. In 2011 he won an Oscar for his film The Lost Thing.

Jean Tourette was born in Auvergne and studied philosophy and political science in Lyon. In 2004 he launched Kiblind, a project dedicated to contemporary illustration through a magazine (now in its 87th issue), a communications agency and a festival, the IF-Illustration Festival, the 3rd edition of which took place in Lyon at the end of September 2025.

Attendance dates : from 23/02 to 27/02

Émilie Tronche trained at the Atelier de Sèvres and then at EMCA in Angoulême (graduating in 2019). She directed Promenade sentimentale for En sortant de l’école. In 2020 she created Samuel, a series broadcast on Arte (where it was a real hit), and then published Le Journal de Samuel in 2025. She is also the designer of the Anima 2026 poster.

Péter Vácz, an animation director from Budapest, made a name for himself with Rabbit and Deer (2013), which won awards at more than 125 festivals. He has directed stop-motion music videos and the short film Pillowface and Dog Ear, presented at Annecy.

Attendance dates : from 25/02 to 01/03

Creative director Pieter Van Houte has created the visual effects for films such as The Triplets of Belleville, Hugo (Oscar for Visual Effects), The Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers: Infinity War and Okja. He has collaborated with Marvel, Sony, Disney, Netflix and film-makers such as Terry Gilliam and Bong Joon-ho.

Attendance dates : from 20/02 to 01/03

Born in Bruges, Anne Verbeure first studied art history, then screenwriting and directing at RITCS and KASK. Graduating in 2021, she won several awards for her film Red Giant, including the VAF Wildcard. Her short film The Golden Donkey won an award at Anima 2025. She is currently working on another short film, A Sleeping Fire.

Attendance dates : from 24/02 to 01/03

Born in Ukraine, Iulia Voitova studied graphic design and animation in Yekaterinburg and then at La Poudrière, where she made Le Nuage and La Plongeuse (2018). She then went on to make 19, rue de Nevers (2019), Roads (2021) and Longue distance (2025). She is currently developing a new short film and working as an animator for Folimage and Les Valseurs.

Attendance dates : from 26/02 to 28/02

Since graduating from La Cambre in 2019 after a bachelor’s degree from HEAJ, Pierre Watteyne has been working in traditional animation on numerous productions, mainly feature films: Where Is Anne Frank, Titina, Sirocco and A Magnificent Life. After working in several Brussels studios, he is now working in Ireland on Cartoon Saloon’s next film.

Veronika Zacharová, an animator and illustrator in Prague, specializes in content for children. Trained in graphic design and animation at Tomas Bata University in Zlín, she worked at Krutart and co-directed the multi-award-winning film Hello Summer with Martin Smatana. She is currently working on a new film and collaborating with the Amanita Design studio.

Attendance dates : from 23/02 to 26/02

As Administrator  for Animation Ireland, Roisin is passionate about championing Irish animation and emerging talent across festivals and markets. She supports the CEO, Board, and members through event coordination, funding administration, and industry initiatives. She works closely on the Irish Animation Awards, international market participation, and coordination the Animated Short Film Fund for the National Talent Academy for Animation.

Attendance dates : from 26/02 to 28/02

Born in Antwerp in 2000, Esther De Loose writes film reviews for Enola Magazine. She holds a master’s in film studies and visual culture (University of Antwerp) and has been an intern at CINEMATEK and the Zomerfilmcollege. As a content creator at De Studio, she focuses on arthouse and feminist cinema; she was a member of the press jury at the 2024 Kortfilmfestival Leuven.

A freelance journalist working in the cultural field, mainly on cinema and music, Didier Stiers has worked with various media outlets, including Larsen magazine and, since 1998, the newspaper Le Soir, for which he covers animation, among others.

Co-producer of 60 films, including Duo de volailles, sauce chasseur, Nuit chérie and Purpleboy, which won awards at Anima, Thierry Zamparutti now devotes himself to writing, consulting and distribution. Passionate about short films, documentaries and board games, he is on the board of directors at Ambiances, Cinergie and the Belgian Film Press Union.