Festival
Animathesis
The mission of the National Center for Audiovisual Media and Communication-EKOME aims at the protection, support and promotion of public and private initiatives, domestic and foreign, in the field of audiovisual media and communication in Greece. The establishment and operation of EKOME is one of the most important initiatives and most innovative interventions of the government in the field of Greek audiovisual production, entrepreneurship and education, which aims to strengthen them as central development sectors of the country.
The aim, through EKOME, is to create a meeting point of all the productive components of the audiovisual sector with the citizens, which, through the cooperation with the responsible ministries, the regions and the municipalities, will significantly strengthen the domestic audiovisual market. EKOME functions as a pole of attraction, and at the same time as an incubator of ideas and actions, which will allow the necessary conditions to be gradually created, so that young people can find the creative way they seek in their place foremost, but also in the international job market.
1. Applications can be submitted for international and domestic productions and/or co-productions that select Greece as a country of shooting, production and/or post-production.
2. Applications are submitted to EKOME throughout the year, no later than ten days before the start of production and/or post-production, through an electronic system that guarantees normalcy, speed and transparency.
3. The cash rebate is paid within six months after the completion of the production and/or post-production works, given that all the conditions of the legislation have been met.
The Animasyros International Animation Festival was born from a small group of friends with a vision and ideas on September 19, 2008. Thirteen years later, it has evolved into a modern and ever-growing cultural body of reference on the international animation scene. With its cultural headquarters on the cosmopolitan island of Syros, the art of “animation” has found the right ground to flourish, creating an international pole of attraction, meeting, exchange of views and networking with award-winning professionals of the genre.
Animasyros is structured in three main pillars: 1) animation film screenings (International, Student Competition Program, TV and Commissioned Films, Hellenic Competition, European Award Values, K.ID.S. Competition, Animapride Competition, and thematic tributes), 2) media literacy animation workshops addressed to different target groups (children, teenagers, seniors, people with disabilities and young professionals, 3) the Agora (Market) section, in the framework of which a Pitching Forum is organized with a presentation of animation films from Greece and the rest of the world that are under development, presentations and lectures are held, in collaboration with institutions on international contemporary and key issues in the field of animation, but also networking activities for professionals from the field of animation. In addition, Agora includes parallel artistic activities such as exhibitions, music concerts and parties. As part of its development, Animasyros has expanded its activities, carrying out organized activities of informal audiovisual training in the form of media literacy workshops and animated film screenings in every corner of Greece as part of the annual Animasyros#tour.
With over 2,700 animated film screenings from around the world, 68 animated short films, the results of educational workshops, 25 projects within the Agora and over 1,000 guests, the Animasyros International Animation Festival has become the top animation event in Greece today, while at the same time it is one of the biggest festivals of the genre in the world.
The implementing body of Animasyros, International Animation Festival is PLATFORMA Urban Culture Company, a non-profit company, based in Athens that aims to promote the work of Greek and foreign artists, as well as to organize cultural promotion activities. An independent initiative based solely on the physical and moral support of volunteers, supporters, private sponsors as well as the artists and professionals in the field.
The next edition of the Festival takes place on September 22-26 on the island of Syros and on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, the theme of Animasyros 2021 is dedicated to the concept of Freedom drawing inspiration from the famous phrase of Theodoros Kolokotronis in his speech in Pnyx “Like rain, it fell on all of us the desire for our freedom […], and we made the Revolution”.
The annual theme includes animation film screenings from around the world based on the concepts of freedom and personal and social revolution.
Animasyros’s partnership with the (National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication) EKOME was launched for the first time in the 11th edition of the festival, in 2018. EKOME, as a valuable helper of the Agora, has expanded its creative support to Animasyros since November 2020, taking over the (6) online and physical animation workshops, in the period December-June 2021.
EKOME, with this new step in the scientific support of the media literacy workshops, aims at the expansion and promotion of audiovisual productions in the field of animation.
In addition, the partnership between EKOME and Animasyros includes the field of documentation of the domestic audiovisual culture, as the set of films created within the educational programs of Animasyros are added to the national audiovisual repository of EKOME.
This concerns more than 60 films of various themes, created from 2010 until today by different target groups (children, teenagers, the elderly, the disabled and sensitive social groups such as HIV-positive people and former addicts) under the guidance and supervision of an experienced network of educators. The aim of the workshops is to highlight the art of animation with the creativity, social sensitivity and cultural peculiarities of the target groups.
Informal education activities are optional educational programs that aim to broaden the horizons of the participants through an experiential, open and intercultural educational process. Informal education provides participants with the opportunity to work in groups, organize a project and cultivate their creativity, as well as a spirit of teamwork and cooperation between them.
One of the main areas of activity of Animasyros is the informal education animation programs that are organized, both in the context of the annual Festival and in the framework of the Animasyros #Tour action, as well as through Animasyros synergies and collaborations with various organizations.
The educational programs are addressed to different target groups, having as primary goals the familiarization of the trainees with the basic principles of the art of animation and the cultivation of free artistic expression that are achieved through their participation in the creation of an original animation film. In addition, participants are given the opportunity to experience up close the production process of a film as they take on the roles of creator and cinematographer, living the experience of shooting a film.
For the implementation of the educational programs, Animasyros collaborates with a significant number of experienced coordinators-educators from Greece and abroad. These are renowned and emerging creators who, with their tools of appetite and imagination, successfully guide the target groups in the field of informal educational activity.
All films that are the fruit of Animasyros media literacy workshops, are uploaded on the vimeo (https://vimeo.com/animasyros) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtdcopnqTCFIguEyOObWxfg/featured) official channel of the Festival, composing a rich archival library with artistic interest as well as teaching significance.
The National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication (EKOME) is a regular supporter of the educational activities of Animasyros.