Sisterhood of Young Animation Auteurs
16 - 22 Mar 2025

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. 

Mentors

Raluca Mănescu graduated from the National University of Theater and Cinema in Romania, screenwriting and film critic section. She wrote and produced a few short films which received high praise and awards at international film festivals like Cottbus IFF, Sarajevo IFF, Thessaloniki IFF, Namur IFF. Her debut in scriptwriting for the feature film ”The world is mine”, directed by Nicolae Constantin Tănase received the special mention of the jury at the Karlovy Vary IFF and also the debut award at TIFF, both in 2015. Presently, Raluca works as a screenwriter and story designer in national and international projects for various action films, documentaries and series.

Katarzyna started her professional career as a production manager and set manager in commercials and music videos production, as well as working for numerous film festivals. In 2010 she joined Se-ma-for as events coordinator and production assistant. From 2012 to 2015 she worked as production manager and line producer in Se-ma-for. Co-founder of Momakin and co-organizer of Animarkt Stopmotion Market, she is currently acting as an executive producer, coordinating work of stop motion artists from all around the world. She is a member of Polish Filmmakers Association (SFP) and Polish Animation Producers Association (SPPA).

Kamila Dohnalová is an independent film producer based in Prague, Czech Republic. Besides bringing to life animated and live action projects within her production company Last Films, she currently also heads ANIFILM IFAF’s industry programme. Kamila graduated from the Charles University and from FAMU, where she produced more than twenty films including Happy End (2015), an Academy Awards-shortlisted animated black comedy that premiered at La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes, or Peacock (2015), a Sundance-awarded short fiction. In 2016, she co-founded Silk Films production company, where she produced a Czech-French short mystery drama Figurant (2019) featuring Denis Lavant. Kamila loves mountains, particularly in winter, and enjoys travelling by train.

I am Zsuzsanna Kreif, freelance animation film director and illustrator based in Budapest, Hungary, graduated from MOME in 2014. My first animated short film, co-directed with Bori Zétényi was Limbo-Limbo Travel (2015) a french-hungarian co-production, selected to over 100 festivals, including Sundance, Annecy, Clermont-Ferrand. The film was awarded several times, and got eligible for the Oscars in 2016. From 2016-2018 I directed the 13 episodes animated comedy series Candide with co-directors Balázs Turai and Nándor Bera. he series is a contemporary adaptation of Voltaire’s 18th century novel, a political satire reflecting on controversial phenomena around the world. From 2019 I'm developing a feature sci-fi animation, Dino Doom on Desert Planet with co-director Balázs Turai. The project won the Open Workshop award in 2019 at the MIFA pitches, and got selected to the Annecy Festival Residency in 2022. Besides, I am currently teaching in the animation department of MOME.

Oksana Kurmaz is an animation director from Kyiv, Ukraine. During her individual animation activity, she constantly balances between commercial jobs, self-initiated projects, and personal brand. Originally a graphic designer and illustrator, she found her true calling in the world of storytelling and filmmaking, while being a self-taught animator. Mostly noticed as an animation director of music videos and commercials.