ANIMASYROS 2025 places special emphasis on its tributes, highlighting key milestones of the international animation scene. From the... stellar central theme Animated Cosmos, to the presence of the legendary Bill Plympton and the extensive focus on Croatian animation, the Festival invites audiences on a multifaceted journey through stories, imagery, and creators who have shaped – and continue to inspire – the art of animation.

ANIMATED COSMOS

The main theme of this year’s ANIMASYROS edition, titled “Animated Cosmos”, is dedicated to space and runs through all pillars of the Festival. It aims to highlight how the art of animation approaches, explores, and portrays this vast and mysterious realm of human curiosity. As part of the tribute, 25 feature and short films will be screened - from Disney blockbusters like WALL-E, Lightyear, and the recent Elio, to acclaimed independent European shorts such as Cosmonaut by Kaspar Jancis (Estonia) and Solar Walk by Reka Busci (Hungary).

Visual identity of ANIMASYROS 2025

The visual identity of the 18th ANIMASYROS is created by visual artist Alexandra Manousakis.

Speaking about her inspiration, the creator mentions, among other things:
“The universe has preoccupied us since the beginning of time. Is there life out there? How does it parallel us? Is time the same? How many universes are there? Where does it end? What if all beings on all planets have these existential questions, what if they are looking around thinking the exact same thing? Does that make us the same as them? 
I often think of the ending of the movie Men in Black in which our universe is found within 2 marbles being played with by some aliens on some sort of board game. The scene zooms out and out and out... when you go down that rabbit hole it seems endless. 
This drawing I have made for AnimaSyros is about aliens having the same thoughts as us humans about their existence and their surroundings. There is no answer that we know of, either for us nor for the aliens- or maybe there is. 
Either way, maybe this is just how it has to be.”

BILL PLYMPTON

In its coming-of-age year, ANIMASYROS proudly welcomes the leading figure of independent American animation, the legendary director Bill Plympton. Renowned for his unmistakably personal style, Plympton is a two-time Academy Award nominee (Your Face, Guard Dog), and a Cannes award winner, with collaborations ranging from Madonna and Kanye West to The Simpsons and iconic publications, such as The New Yorker. As the first artist to hand-draw entire animated feature films solo, he stands as a living legend of the medium. This September, he comes to Syros to immerse us in his magical, surreal universe through ten of his films - including Cheatin’ and Your Face - and to lead an inspiring creative masterclass as part of the Agora.

CROATIAN ANIMATION TRIBUTE

ANIMASYROS 2025 also presents an extensive tribute to the vibrant and ever-evolving Croatian animation scene, curated by Daniel Šuljić, director and artistic director of ANIMAFEST ZAGREB. This curated programme traces the evolution of Croatian animation from the Zagreb School of the 1950s - when Croatia was still part of Yugoslavia and animation production was centered around the legendary Zagreb Film studio - to the present day. The tribute features 28 landmark films from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, alongside contemporary works that continue to inspire cinephiles. Highlights include Surogat (The Substitute), which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1962; the Oscar-nominated Tup Tup (1972); and the space-themed short We Used to Call It: Moon (2011).