The 35th World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb 2025 kicked off with a grand opening ceremony at the SC Cinema tonight, during which 350 artistic animated films will be screened from June 2 to 7 in the SC and Kinoteka cinemas, the Museum of Contemporary Art and other city venues, along with numerous side events. The most important Croatian film festival and one of the three leading animation festivals in the world was opened by the Deputy Mayor of the City of Zagreb, Luka Korlaet.

Dear organisers, dear animation fans, I am pleased to be able to greet you from this stage on behalf of the city administration, which has been following and supporting this festival for years. On 7 June 2021, I opened the 31st Animafest from this stage. It was the first event I opened in my term of office and I remember that it was not easy for me, but now I already feel at home and I thank you for that. I always feel Animafest as my own. We went to the screenings as a family, and later some members of my family had the honour of participating in it. It is a festival that breathes soul into things and presents powerful worlds for 53 years. This year’s 35th Animafest has impressive numbers. Two thousand entries from 92 countries, and 350 selected for screening, making Animafest an unparalleled event in Zagreb. The scale of the festival is also evidenced by the fact that it is held in as many as 11 locations, which is a beautiful tradition by which animators ‘colonise’ the entire city and bring magic to its numerous neighbourhoods. In addition to the already recognised A status, the festival is also a qualifier for the BAFTA Award this year, and for the Oscar, not only the winner of the Grand Competition Short Film, but also the winner of the Croatian Film Competition, which is a great recognition of the local animation scene. ‘A World on the Edge’ is this year’s theme of the festival, unfortunately very relevant today, and therefore the organisers deserve praise for this type of engagement. Let the festival officially begin – said Korlaet.

In the SC Cinema auditorium, the representative of the Minister of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia Nina Obuljen Koržinek, State Secretary Krešimir Partl, Director of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre Chris Marcich, high-ranking representatives of the diplomatic corps, media representatives and distinguished guests from the international animation scene were also addressed by Daniel Šuljić, artistic director of Animafest, and Matea Milić and Paola Orlić, the Festival producers.

I will quote Naomi van Niekerk, who was on our jury a few years ago and who said “Everywhere I look, I see someone I love”. This is our festival. This is all of you, this is a festival of authors for authors. Creative animation is our focus and we hope that it will remain there for a long time. That is why Zagreb is recognised and appreciated in the world. We have a week ahead of us in which Zagreb shows that it is a world centre of animation. We are very proud of all the programmes, approximately 48 screenings, 6 exhibitions, a bunch of lectures and everything else that makes a festival. And of course, the festival parties where new co-productions are created – said Šuljić.

The beginning of June – that’s Animafest. We are very happy to see you in such large numbers, in the same place every year, gathered to hang out together in a crazy week full of events. None of this would be possible without our dear supporters, the City of Zagreb and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, and we must also thank Telemach. They support us, but the magic of this festival is made above all by our team – Orlić said.

My task is always the sweetest – to thank our team, the wonderful people with whom we work on this festival. Even when the conditions are not ideal and when it is difficult for us and when we are struggling with everything, there are our beautiful colleagues with whom it is wonderful to work – Milić added.

The Animafest 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award was officially announced at the opening ceremony, where the winner, Michaela Pávlatová (explanation), expressed her gratitude in a video message, announcing her arrival at the festival later this week, when she will receive the award as part of the closing ceremony on June 7. A retrospective of Pávlatová’s films is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3 at 7 pm at the MSU and on Saturday, June 7 at 4 pm at the MM Centre. An exhibition of her works entitled Are You Listening to Me? can be seen throughout the festival week at the Kranjčar Gallery, and a finissage with the author is scheduled for June 7 at 2 pm. The Czech master of animation will also give a masterclass on the same day, at 10 am at the MM Centre.

The Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Study of Animated Film went to Georges Sifianos, and the Award for the Best Animation School went to the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf.

Dear friends, thank you for this award. Rather than of honour, I would like to speak of the great pleasure you give me. A speech about an honour would place me on a pedestal that seems both strange and distant to me. Pleasure, on the other hand, is a testament of friendship. I have been coming to Zagreb since the 1980s and have shared with you unforgettable moments of celebration, as well as difficult ones during the war. At this moment, I am thinking of the many friends I have met here, Buba, Joško, Bordo, Vesna, Krešo, Daniel, Pipo, Ajan and Giannalberto Bendazzi, and many others. I chose animation and it has never disappointed me. It evolves over time and is our common language that transcends nations. I love its openness to ideas, images, music and movement, not in the service of mediating reality, but in that of representing personal truth. As McLaren said, what happens “between the images” conveys the fundamental message of interdependence. Everything is connected, for better or for worse. This is a key issue of our time, especially when it comes to the environment. Living animation is an invitation to dialogue. The pleasure of dialogue and exchange, your gesture of friendship, means more to me than the honour you have bestowed upon me – emphasized Sifianos, who was presented with the award (explanation) by Margit Antauer, President of the Animafest Council. Sifianos is a keynote speaker at the Animafest Scanner XII symposium, which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 3 and 4, from 9:30 am at the KIC, with free admission for all interested visitors.

The Award for the Best Animation School, presented by the Student Film Competition Selection Committee consisting of Antonia Begušić, Eugen Bilankov and Daniel Šuljić (explanation), was received by Gudrun Krebitz, professor and representative of the school.

It is wonderful to see you and be here. Everyone from our University greets you. Enormous teamwork is needed to foster an environment and atmosphere in which students can shine. This award means a lot to all of us – said Krebitz, who will also speak ahead of the retrospective of the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf on Tuesday, June 3 at 4 pm at the MM Centre, with free admission.

After the introduction of the jury members and the festival trailer by author Varya Yakovleva and musician Alexey Prosvirnin, the ceremony ended with a screening of films from the Grand Competition Short Film 1 and a Q&A with the authors present: Jelena Oroz (No Room), Seun Yee (Boundaries), Rand Beiruty (Shadows), Meejin Hong (Deluge), Christoph Horch (The Way You Look Tonight) and Daria Dorofeeva (art director of Father’s Letters by Alexey Evstigneev). The Q&A was hosted by animator and president of ASIFA Croatia Kata Gugić.