Animation Programme 2025

48th Drama International Short Film Festival

Ηead Programmer: Spyros Siakas

Σπύρος Σιάκας

Dr. Spyros Siakas. Associate Professor, 3d Animation, head of the Department of Painting  and Animation and  Director of the  Postgraduate Program of Animation in the Department of Graphic Design and Visual Communication of  University of West Attica. Director of the undergraduate Studies Programme of the Hellenic Open University, entitled: Film Studies: Screenplay, Filmmaking, and Research (USP). Founding Member of ASIFA HELLAS. Head programmer of animation in Drama International Short Film Festival, Greece. He has involved, as trainer and supervisor, in number of educational seminars for formal and non-formal education focusing on introducing  the animation technique in the learning process. He has directed short animated films which has been participated and awarded in many animation festivals, including the ASIFA award for his film “The Mirror Stage” in 2005. Currently, he is working on “The Shadows of the Kalikatzarous”,  his new feature animation film.

Animation, as a film medium, is dynamically evolving, constantly expanding its spatial and technical horizons. This year’s festival edition saw a new record in animation film submissions, with entries coming from an increasing number of countries, echoing a broader trend of rising participation across all festival sections.

The selection of these films was not only based on core criteria such as quality characteristics of animation and cinematic storytelling, but also on three key parameters. Firstly, the diversity of techniques and expressive tools. Secondly, the representation of as many countries and national animation schools as possible, offering a representative sample of today’s global animation scene. And lastly, the journey of each film, in an endeavour to be the first to discover, showcase, and present works in their world or international premiere at Drama International Short Film Festival.

With this in mind, four Greek productions were also selected – works that can confidently stand within a competitive, high-calibre international landscape. The overarching goal remains the same: to foster animation literacy and to actively engage both Drama’s local audience and the wider Festival community in the appreciation of animation cinema.

Spyros Th. Siakas
Head Programmer, Animation Competition Section

  1. The Synthetic Age, Dimitris Armenakis
  2. Poplars, Alexandros Vounatsos
  3. Holy shit,Taxiarchis Deligiannis – Vassilis Tsiouvaras
  4. 13m2, Antonis Dimitropoulos
  5. At Night, Pooya Afzali
  6. The Sounds of Things Ablaze, Hayat Najm
  7. The Death of the Fish, Eva Lusbaronian
  8. My Gut Friend, José Manuel Lo Bianco – Mariano Andrés Bergara
  9. HOLY HEAVÊNESS, Negah Khezre Fardyardad – Farnoosh Abedi
  10. Heal, Manu Larios
  11. Dark Globe, Donato Sansone
  12. Help Me Tom, Jiahang Yang
  13. Tears, Paulina Ziolkowska
  14. The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Chris Lavis – Maciek Szczerbowski
  15. Dog Alone, Marta Reis Andrade
  16. Mealitancy, Marie Royer – Zinia Scorier
  17. On Weary Wings Go By, Anu-Laura Tuttelberg
  18. Because Today is Saturday, Alice Eça Guimarães

The posters of the films in the International Animation Program

Η Συνθετική Εποχή, Δημήτρης Αρμενάκης
Poplars, Αλέξανδρος Βουνάτσος
Holy shit, Ταξιάρχης Δεληγιάννης – Βασίλης Τσιουβάρας
13m2, Αντώνης Δημητρόπουλος
At Night, Pooya Afzali
The Sounds of Things Ablaze, Hayat Najm
The Death of the Fish, Eva Lusbaronian
My Gut Friend, José Manuel Lo Bianco – Mariano Andrés Bergara
HOLY HEAVÊNESS, Negah Khezre Fardyardad – Farnoosh Abedi
Heal, Manu Larios
Dark Globe, Donato Sansone
Help Me Tom, Jiahang Yang
Tears, Paulina Ziolkowska
The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Chris Lavis – Maciek Szczerbowski
Dog Alone, Marta Reis Andrade
Mealitancy, Marie Royer – Zinia Scorier
On Weary Wings Go By, Anu-Laura Tuttelberg
Because Today is Saturday, Alice Eça Guimarães

The Jury of the International Animation Program

Anna Feistel

Anna Feistel

Nihan Sivridag

Nihan Sivridag

Κωνσταντίνος Βασίλαρος

Konstantinos Vassilaros

Anna Feistel is a programmer, curator, and arts mediator based in Hamburg. She studied Literature, Art, and Media Studies at the University of Konstanz and Sapienza Università di Roma. Her passion for short films ignited many years ago through organising a student short film festival and working in a communal cinema. She has worked as an art mediator for Art Basel, MKG Hamburg, and Kunstverein Konstanz. Since 2016, she has held various positions at Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg, including in the distribution department, festival administration, and School Cinema Week. Since 2019, she has been part of the International Competition selection committee and the programme coordinator of Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg.

Nihan Sivridag is a cultural worker based in Berlin, and has worked in various roles on projects and with institutions in the fields of Theatre, Film, and Visual Arts. She has collaborated with renowned cultural institutions such as the Berlin International Film Festival, the Berliner Festspiele and the Goethe-Institut Berlin. Since 2021, she is a member of the Berlinale Shorts selection committee.

Producer and co-founder of StudioBauhaus, Konstantinos Vassilaros has produced fiction, documentary and animation films including Riviera (2024) by Orfeas Peretzis (4 Thessaloniki Awards) and Holy Emy (2021) by Araceli Lemos (Locarno Special Mention, 2 Independent Spirit Award nominations). He studied Film Production at the University for the Creative Arts (UK), NY Film Academy (US), and holds a Master’s in Creative Entrepreneurship from Goldsmiths. His short animation credits include Night at the Cemetery (Iris Best Short Animation 2023), Kafka’s Collection of Porn (Onassis & AIFF Best Script Awards), and Pink Mountain (Iris nominee). He was also line producer for Loving Vincent.