SYAA 22
Sisterhood of Young Animation Auteurs - SYAA was created as a consequence of the gender imbalance in the Romanian animation film industry and aims to offer support to female animation film auteurs.
Our consultations with the I.L. Caragiale University of Film and Television in Bucharest revealed that 70% of the animation students were female between 2016 and 2020, yet, according to the results published by the National Film Fund (CNC) for the same period, only 14.44% of the projects were submitted by female auteurs. Moreover, 15 years of experience in organizing Animest Festival confirmed that, in our national film industry, women in leading creative positions are notable exceptions, not the norm. We think that the gender imbalance is not something related to a lack of talent or interest, but a systemic issue.
Our research is backed up on a European level by numerous studies conducted by cultural institutes, and gathered by the European Commission.
The second edition took place in Bucharest, from the 29th of Aug untill the 4th of Sep, 2022, in Bucharest. 10 young filmmakers were selected from Romania and the Republic of Moldova to attend the workshop to develop their first or second animated short feature film. The workshops and presentations were conducted by Katarzyna Gromadzka (producer, Poland), Raluca Mănescu (screenwriter, România), Kamila Dohnalova ( producer, Czech Republic), Oksana Kurmaz(animator, director, Ucraine) and Zsuzsanna Kreif (director, Hungary).
The program consisted of a series of events - lectures, presentations, practical workshops, screenings and networking events - structured in the span of 7 days, with up to 4 events daily. It provided the participants with coaching on a variety of topics related to animation films: portfolio development, what tools to use to develop their ides, financing and promotion of indepenedent animation films. They also received guidance on budgeting, distribution and packaging of various types of animation projects.
