SYAA 2024 Participants

The intensive study programme for female filmmakers from 8 Central and Eastern European countries has named its finalists. 10 artists will take part in the fourth edition of the Sisterhood of Young Animation Auteurs (SYAA) from 17 to 23 August. During the workshop in Bucharest, female animators will meet experts in the field and go through important steps in the development of their projects.

Following a call for applications launched in April, the 70 applications received from Romania, Moldova, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Ukraine were reviewed by the project organisers together with Polish producer Katarzyna Gromadzka and screenwriter Raluca Mănescu - the leaders of the fourth edition of SYAA. This year we doubled the applications and the competition was extremely high. Finally, for the 2024 edition 10 participants with projects were selected. The decision was influenced by the quality of the film project, the originality of the script and its coherence with the animation technique, previous relevant experience, the level of basic knowledge about film production and the motivation of the applicants, their compatibility with the programme designed by the organisers and with the team of other participants and trainers.

The 10 female artists are:

• Corina Bojan, sk8 birds - Romania

• Elena Georgieva, Bloom - Bulgaria

• Iulia Teodora Turicianu, Triassic Cuddle  – Romania

• Lavinia Petrache, If you really think about it - Romania

• Mihaela Mîndru, I was born under this tree - Republic of Moldova

• Mary YANKO, Kateryna - Ukraine

• Nataliia Grygorieva (Domini), Ice cream | I scream - Ukraine

• Rozalie Vaňaskova, Vetesnice - Czech Republic

• Tanya Bozhinova, 2 Bodies, No Body - Bulgaria

• Tereza Burianova, Standing Alone – Czech Republic 

Creating a community of women to act as a support network against discrimination in the industry is among the main objectives of the programme. For 7 days, mentors and speakers invited from all over Europe to give the participants the behind-the-scenes secrets of the industry will share their experiences and provide the 10 artists with the tools they need to achieve their professional goals.

The programme will consist of a series of lectures, presentations, practical workshops, 1:1 meetings, screenings and networking events, where participants will be able to develop their animated short film projects. They will also learn how to develop their artistic portfolios, what tools to use in developing an idea, what are the levers for developing an independent artistic career and what the process of setting up an animation studio can look like.

The workshops and presentations will be presented by Katarzyna Gromadzka (producer, Poland), Raluca Mănescu (screenwriter, Romania), Ana Branea (editor, professor UNATC, Romania ), Mariam Kandelaki (Animation Director, Producer, Georgia), Sara Gunnarsdottir (animator/director, Iceland) and Damian Groves (Director/ producer, UK/RO). The list is constantly being updated.

More details about the Sisterhood of Young Animation Auteurs are available online at the programme website: http://syaa.animest.ro/. 

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SYAA is a project initiated by the Animest Association în collaboration with AFN - Animation Festival Network and is co-financed by Eurimages and Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union.

Logistical partners: The Goethe Institute in Bucharest, Studioset.