Black Sea Animation Workshop

Event Description
Sofia Animation Lab, Compote Collective, and Saqanima, with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Institut Français of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian National Film Center, Zippy Frames, and Annecy International Film Market (MIFA), are launching the Call for Projects for the second BLACK SEA ANIMATION WORKSHOP.

BLACK SEA ANIMATION WORKSHOP is supported by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the French Institute as part of the strategy for the export of Cultural and Creative Industries internationally.

Regional partners:
COMPOTE COLLECTIVE (Bulgaria), SAQANIMA (Georgia), ANIMEST (Romania), LINOLEUM Festival (Ukraine), and ANIM.IST (Türkiye).
The Partners supporting with Awards are: Annecy International Film Market (MIFA), NEF Animation France, CEE Animation Forum, Residency of Saint-Quirin (Centre de résidence de l’écriture à l’image) and Sisterhood of Young Animation Auteurs workshop (SYAA).

Call for Projects 2025 (Archive)

The second BLACK SEA ANIMATION WORKSHOP — an animation development workshop — will take place November 25–29 in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is open to projects from Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey and Georgia, with Moldova joining as the guest country. Creators, animators or filmmakers may submit either as individuals or through a production company registered in their country.

This call welcomes short animated film projects in development, regardless of:

• technique (traditional, 2D, 3D, stop-motion, mixed media)
• target audience
• genre (fiction, documentary, educational, experimental, etc.).

Eligibility

• Duration up to 20 minutes
• Only one project per author(s) can be submitted.
• Eligible are authors who are the citizens of the above-mentioned countries and who are based in their country. Only exceptions for the authors from Ukraine.
• The project presented must not be part of a school syllabus or have been pre-purchased by a TV channel.

*2 Romanian and 1 Moldovan projects from the Pitch, please! @ANIMEST will be considered for the workshop in Sofia. More information is available here.

The selected 11 short film projects will take part in a workshop led by renowned French mentors Corinne Destombes and Olivier Catherin, conducted entirely in English. The workshop will culminate in a public pitching session open to both industry experts and general audiences. Participation is free of charge.

Five standout projects — one per eligible country — will be selected by MIFA experts to pitch during the BLACK SEA ANIMATION SHORTS Partner Pitch at MIFA 2026 in Annecy (June 23–26). Selected teams will receive free accreditation to the Annecy Festival.

ADDITIONAL AWARDS INCLUDE

• A one-month residency at the Abbey of Fontevraud (France)
• A one-month residency at the Prieuré de Saint-Quirin (France)
• Participation in SYAA workshop (Romania)
• Accreditations to CEE Animation Forum (Czech Republic)

• Submission Regulations
• Submisson form
• or email your digital PDF file (max 10 MB) to the local partner:

• for Georgian projects - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. /  for Bulgarian projects - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. /  for Turkish projects - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. /  for Ukrainian projects - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• Deadline: 15 September 20 September 2025
• Registration is free

2025 Event coverage

• Black Sea Animation Workshop 2025: The Winners
• Black Sea Animation Workshop 2025: Impressions
• Black Sea Animation 2025: Selected Projects

2024-25 Coverage

• Discover 5 Black Sea Animation project at Annecy Festival
• Black Sea Animation 2024 Workshop Report
• 2024 Winners
• Selected projects

NB: 2026 Event Dates are tentative