Festival Guests 2025

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION JURY

Loulou João | Visual Artist

Loulou is an Afro Belgian visual artist. Due to her mixed roots, she developed an interdimensional worldview. Because of this she attempts to shine a different light on the narration and representation of women belonging to the Afro diaspora. She sees blackness as a technology. One that is constantly evolving to survive and go up against the barriers trying to keep them down. Out of a necessity she visualizes her own reality through the use of 3D software (Blender). A world that consists of candy-coated squishy objects. All while using hyper femme cuteness as her visual language to create a safe space. One where she is able to focus on the expression of her authentic self without any constructs weighing her down. Giving her the opportunity to reflect and create a platform to harbor new and meaningful connections.

Sophie Koko | Writer & Animation Director | United Kingdom

Sophie is a writer and animation director from Bath, England. Her graduation film Half Wet (2014) screened in festivals worldwide including SXSW, BFI, AFI and the Tate Modern. She has made short films for Hulu, FX, Adult Swim, MTV, BBC and BFI. Her film ‘Slug Life’ (2018) screened at Sundance 2020 and won awards at SXSW, Ottawa and GLAS Animation festival. Her latest short 'Hotel Kalura' (2021) was screened on Hulu and won an awards at Ottawa and Indie Lisboa. She has also curated animation for Adult Swim’s Off The Air programme entitled ‘Moon’ and Eternal Family’s monthly programme. She has been working in development for feature films and TV shows including her own animated TV series with Sony Pictures Animation and Adult Swim.

Daniel Šuljić | Animation Film Director & Musician, Director of Animafest Zagreb | Austria

Daniel is a Zagreb - Vienna based animation film director, musician and director of Animafest Zagreb. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. He was also given the title of honorary professor at Jilin College of the Arts Animation School in Changchun, China. He was a lecturer of classical animation at the University of Art and Design in Linz. His films 'Evening Star' (1993), 'Leckdonalds' (1995), 'The Cake' (1997), 'I Can Imagine It Very Well' (2004), 'Transparency' (2015), and 'From Under Which Rock Did They Crawl Out' (2018) were shown at hundreds of international and national film festivals, TV channels across Europe, and won various international awards.

VR JURY

Marissa Memelink | Artistic researcher | The Netherlands

Marissa is an artistic researcher in the field of art, technology, and society. She is fascinated by the interplay of technology and cultural expression. Currently, she focuses on how generative technologies affect our notion of autonomy and creativity, and how to come towards an alternative method of analysing and comparing generative art. As part of media lab SETUP, she explores the ethical and social implications of technological developments. Together with artists, designers, and experts, she makes these tangible for a larger audience through installations, images, and vocabulary. SETUP never takes on the same shape in this but continuously experiments with methods and media to build new narratives and future scenarios that help foster a technology-critical society.

Leonieke Verhoog | Head of Medialab at Cinekid | The Netherlands

Leonieke has spent 15 years exploring tech, creativity and play, especially in bringing people together. She founded the FigureRunning movement, created interactive installations and worked as programme manager and maker at Virtueel Platform, PublicSpaces and VPRO. As of November 2022, she is head of Medialab at Cinekid, contributing to Cinekid's mission to teach children in a playful way to look at the world and themselves differently through new (sometimes digitally enhanced) glasses.

Adrien Larouzée | Head of Digital Project Management ARTE France

Adrien is the Head of Digital Project Management, XR and Video Games Producing and Publishing Activities @ARTE France, since 2015. As the European public service cultural media, ARTE connects Europeans through culture and innovation. Its diverse editorial line-up – films, series, documentaries, video games, and podcasts – foster a shared imagination and a democratic space. For over ten years now, ARTE has co-produced and published independent and auteur experiences, such as 'Type:Rider', 'Notes on Blindness', 'To Hell with the Ugly', 'Gloomy Eyes', '30 Birds', or 'Battlescar'.

DOCUMENTARY AND DUTCH JURY

Quinsy Gario | Performance Poet & Artist

Quinsy is a performance poet and artist from Curaçao and St. Maarten. His artistic work centers on decolonial remembering and instituting otherwise. He is a member of the collective Family Connection, and his most well-known work is 'Zwarte Piet Is Racisme' (2011–2012). He has received numerous awards and shown his work nationally and internationally. Currently Gario is a PhD candidate in the research project Pressing Matter: Ownership, Value and the Question of Colonial Heritage in Museums.

Maria Mok | Documentary Filmmaker

Maria graduated in psychology at the University of Amsterdam and started making documentaries in 2005. Documentaries that take place behind the scenes in a fly on the wall style. Themes like mentally disturbed prisoners, heavy criminal cases, juvenile judges in the court of Amsterdam and so on. In 2022 she made 'The Blue Family', a film about whistle-blowers in the Dutch police force. They all reported racism, abuse of power, discrimination and failing leadership to their employer. As a result, their lives were made miserable. The film caused an outrage from the public, the media and politicians. Currently she is working on the documentary 'The Credible Messengers' and together with her sister Lisette on a podcast-series 'Our life with Cas' about growing up with their mother who suffered from depressions and bipolar disorder.

Ervin Han | Co-founder of Robot Playground Media

Ervin is the co-founder of Robot Playground Media, a Singapore-based animation studio. He leads the development of original productions, including animated series, short formats, and feature films, with a strong focus on regional stories with global appeal. Passionate about showcasing Southeast Asian animation, Ervin hopes to elevate the region as a hub of talent, craftsmanship, and storytelling for international audiences. He is currently co-directing 'The Violinist', an independent animated feature and a Singapore-Spain-Italy co-production, set for completion in 2026.

ARTIST IN FOCUS

Masaaki Yuasa | Film Director | Japan

Animated film director Masaaki Yuasa was born in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan in 1965. He made his feature-length debut in 2004 with 'Mind Game', which won awards in Japan and overseas, including 6 prizes such as Best Film, Best Director, and Best Script, at the 2005 Fantasia International Film Festival, and his second film 'The Night is Short, Walk On Girl' was awarded the Grand Prize for Best Animated Feature at the 2017 Ottawa International Animation Festival. His third film 'Lu Over the Wall' won the Cristal for Best Feature Film at the 2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and his fourth film 'Ride Your Wave' won the Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2019 Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival and also nominated for the 2021 Annie Award. His fifth film 'INU-OH' debuted and earned Yuasa his first invitation to both the Venice Film Festival and TIFF and was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film as well as Annie Award for Best Animated Feature-Independent. His other major works include 'Ping Pong: The Animation', 'Devilman Crybaby' and 'Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!'.

FESTIVAL GUESTS

Leenke Ripmeester | Head of Curators' Department, Eye Filmmuseum

Leenke is head of the curators’ department of Eye. Her expertise as a curator is animation. She has worked with the animation collections of the Geesink and Toonder studio, the NIAF (Dutch Institute of Animation Film) and the work of animator Ton Saane.  Currently she is working on the Puppetoon films the Hungarian-American animator George Pál made in the 1930s in the Netherlands. In 2006 she completed her PhD thesis on music videos and youth cultures at the University of Amsterdam.

Lamiae El Hajjaji | Visual Storyteller

Lamiae El Hajjaji is a visual storyteller specializing in graphic design, illustration, and animation. With a passion for transcending language barriers, she crafts layered narratives rich in symbolism and hidden details. Through her agency, LAMEIAE, she brings together tailored teams of freelancers to create impactful and meaningful projects.

Industry Days: Kaboom Camp

Anne Bothmer | Sound & Vision Project Manager | The Netherlands

Anne holds a BA in photography (Willem de Kooning Rotterdam) and a MA in Media and Journalism (Erasmus University Rotterdam). Currently, she works as a project officer at Sound & Vision. She participates in several European projects aimed at enhancing news literacy and oversees the creative reuse of the archive in collaboration with professional education.

Britt Raes | Director, Screenwriter & Illustrator | Belgium

Britt is a Belgian director, screenwriter and illustrator, making independent and commissioned work. Her shorts 'Catherine' (2016) and 'Luce and the Rock' (2022) both went to over 200 festivals and collected over 40 prizes. Based on 'Luce and the Rock', she is currently creating a series. She's also developing a new short and regularly gives workshops at schools and festivals.

Carlo Vogele | Director, Screenwriter & Character Animation

Carlo is a director, screenwriter, and a character animator. Born in Luxembourg, he studied film and theatre arts before focusing on animation. After graduating from Gobelins School, he worked 7 years for Pixar in California, animating 'Toys', 'Cars', 'Monsters' and 'Scottish Lords'. Back in Europe, Carlo wrote and directed his first feature film 'Icarus', released in 2022.

Michiel Schellekens | Animator & Director

Michiel’s sense of humor is undoubtedly doubted. But his passion for animation and storytelling is not. In his 15+ years as an animator/director he has been all around the globe…a quarter of the globe, okay like 5 cities. Hilversum, Amsterdam, Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles, and now he works from Budel-Dorplein. Living his life a keyframe at a time.

Fay Breeman | Animation Project Manager

Fay is a freelance project manager and consultant, with a heart for (audio)visual stories in all forms. As founder and director of Studio Camera (since 2024), she supports audiovisual and lens-based creatives in the Utrecht region with talent development programmes. Besides that, she works on freelance assignments for Utrecht Creative Community, Common Frames, EYE, the HKU and Cinekid.

Simon Buijs | BUCK Europe’s Head of Design

Simon, Head of Design at BUCK Europe, brings 15 years of experience as Designer and Art Director. His work spans illustration, animation, TV, movies and games for clients like Adobe, Amnesty, Squla and Spotify. He is involved in a Dutch publishing company for inclusive storytelling, taught design for 8 years at Dutch art schools and acted as editor for the We Are Playgrounds Festival.

Sophie Koko Gate | Director & Writer

Sophie is a writer and animation director from Bath, England. Her RCA graduation film Half Wet (2014) screened in festivals worldwide including SXSW, BFI, AFI and the Tate Modern. She has made short films for Hulu, FX, Adult Swim, MTV, BBC and BFI. Her film 'Slug Life' (2018) screened at Sundance 2020 and won awards at SXSW, Ottawa and GLAS Animation festival. Her short 'Hotel Kalura' (2021) was screened on Hulu and won an award at Ottawa and Indie Lisboa. She has also curated animation for Adult Swim’s Off The Air programme entitled Moon and Eternal Family’s monthly programme. She has directed the development of a feature film for Cartoon Network and her own animated TV series with Sony Pictures Animation and Adult Swim.

Tatev Martirosyan | Producer

Tatev is an animation line producer and production coordinator with an animation background. Graduated from Willem de Kooning Academy in 2022, she refined her filmmaking vision and contributed to various multidisciplinary projects, including installations, short animations and studio films. Currently she is a fellow at New Producers Academy and is working with Dutch production companies as an animation production coordinator. She is focused on the production of 2D (both digital and various analogue techniques) and stop-motion films, as well as exploring live-action. She strives to be part of projects that are visually interesting, as well as create space for dialogue and reflection.

Wiep Teeuwisse | Director

Wiep is a director based in Rotterdam. She studied Animation at the HKU and Directing Animation at the NFTS. Her graduation film Depart at 22 won the Cristal for Best Graduation film at Annecy Festival, and her debut film Intermission Expedition received global recognition and travelled around over 70 festivals. Wiep works with drawn-on-paper animation, stop motion, and other analogue techniques.

Yassin Karmoudi | Producer

Yassin grew up in Roosendaal and built a career in the film industry, with experience as an (impact) producer and storyteller at leading production houses in the Netherlands and Belgium. As Talent Coordinator for Documentary and Fiction at the Dutch Public Broadcaster (NPO), he oversees talent programs and trajectories designed to give emerging filmmakers the opportunity to develop their craft, gain industry experience, and build sustainable careers. In addition to his work at the NPO, Yassin is one of the founders of the New Producers Academy (NPA), an award-winning initiative that nurtures the next generation of diverse producers. NPA provides training, mentorship, and direct connections to industry professionals, ensuring that emerging producers—especially those from underrepresented backgrounds—gain access to the networks and resources needed to thrive. At both the NPO and NPA, Yassin is committed to creating pathways for new voices, breaking barriers in the industry, and fostering an inclusive, sustainable future for audiovisual storytelling.

Industry Days: Kaboom PRO

Albert 't Hooft | Writer & Director

Albert is writer/director and founded Anikey Studios in 2007 based in The Hague, the Netherlands. The studio quickly grew, creating independent animation films and doing work for hire, resulting in the highlight 'Triple Trouble', their first feature. Anikey collaborates with numerous Dutch and international talents who share a passion for handcrafted, high-quality animation. They are currently developing several feature films, including 'The King & The Thief'.

Annemie Degryse | Producer

Annemie studied Animation Film at the KASK Ghent and in animation business since 1992. Directed the Raoul Servais foundation and produced different short films. Worked as responsible for the pre-production support at Cartoon and organized the first Cartoon Movie. In 2000 she became the General Manager of Flanders Image (VAF), incl. MEDIA DESK. Currently co-founder and producer at Lunanime within the Lumière Group- Benelux  distribution, 5 city cinemas, tax shelter intermediate. Created the French company Les Productions de Milou in 2022.

Ben Tesseur | Director | Belgium

Ben is a Belgian director, voice director, animator and creative producer, specialized in stop-motion animation. Since 2004 Ben and his business partner, Steven De Beul, are running the stop motion production company Beast Animation ('Oh Willy…', 'This Magnificent Cake', 'Panique au Village', 'The Miracle, Sauvages', 'Wander to Wonder'). Ben co-directed stop motion TV series 'Dimitri, Mister Paper', 'Rusty', the hybrid feature film 'Coppelia' next to several commercials, trailers and music videos in different techniques. Nowadays Ben is writing and developing a stop-motion feature film and series called 'Fluffy Four'. He is shooting the second season of 'Mister Paper'. And is broadening his horizon as a voice director and foley artist.

Britt Raes | Director, screenwriter & llustrator | Belgium

Carlo Vogele | Director, Screenwriter & Character Animation

Charel Muller | Film Programmer

Charel is a freelance film programmer who has been working with the Luxembourg City Film Festival since 2020. His current focus is on the selection for the documentary competition, genre films and Luxembourgish (co-)productions. Additionally, he works for Pluk de Nacht, an open-air film festival which takes place in Amsterdam and Utrecht.

Chris Stenger | Producer

Chris is a producer representing Family Affair Films, a female-led production company committed to creating authentic stories that bring fresh perspectives and resonate with audiences worldwide. The company produced animations such as 'See Me' (Annecy 2021), 'Human Nature' (Toronto 2019), 'Tourist Trap' (Kaboom Animation Festival 2021), 'Balcony Cacophony' (Clermont Ferrand 2024), 'Down in the Dumps' (Berlinale 2025) and television series 'Hideous Henk' (Annecy 2023).

Dominique Seutin | Director Anima Film Festival

Dominique has been part of the team of the Brussels International Animation Film Festival for over 25 years and is its current director, together with Karin Vandenrydt.

Eric Goossens | Producer

Eric is a Belgian animation producer and co-founder of Walking The Dog, an acclaimed studio he launched with Anton Roebben in 1999. The studio has pioneered both traditional and CGI animation, contributing to Oscar-nominated films like 'The Triplets of Belleville' (2003) and 'The Secret of Kells' (2010). Other notable projects include  'A Monster in Paris' (César 2012), 'Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart'(Berlinale 2014), 'Another Day of Life' (EFA 2018), 'Where is Anne Frank '(Cannes 2021), 'Richard The Stork 2' (Annecy 2023), and 'Fox and Hare Save The Forest' (Berlinale 2024). The studio’s current productions are 'The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol'  by Sylvain Chomet and  'Outfoxed!' by Paul Bolger.

Geert Van Goethem | Producer & Director

Geert is a producer and director, specialized in animation films. He teaches Film Analysis, Production, Production Management and Project Development at the Brussels-based Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound (RITCS) and LUCA School of Arts Campus C-mine in Genk. He co-initiated the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Re:Anima - a collaboration between LUCA, Lusofona University and Aalto—in which he is member of the Academic Board. In 1987 he was co-founder of the Brussels-based multidisciplinary production centre for the arts S.O.I.L. (Sight Of an Ignored Landscape), where he still is the artistic director.

Gregory Zalcman | Producer

Gregory is a Belgian producer dedicated to animated films and series. At 'Take Five', he has co-produced acclaimed projects such as 'Flow' by Gints Zilbalodis, 'Sirocco and The Kingdom of the Winds' by Benoît Chieux, and the series 'Boys Boys Boys' (Arte). He is currently producing several projects, including the series 'Nino Dino' co-produced with Folivari.

Hidde de Vries | Cinekid Head of Film and Series & Distributor

Hidde grew up in the north of the Netherlands and started volunteering at a local cinema at the age of eight. He later studied Production at the Netherlands Film Academy. In 2020, he obtained a Masters in Creative Producing at DAS Graduate School. After working as a producer for a few years, his focus shifted to making films seen, with a strong preference for talent development. He does this through his short film distribution company Kapitein Kort, as head of the Films & Series department at the Cinekid Festival, and as a board member of the Association of Filmtheaters(VVF), which he founded in 2021.

Janneke Swinkels | Animator

Janneke lives in Maastricht, creating animations and illustrations, mostly on commission. After graduating in 2009 and 2010, Janneke completed a master’s degree in Animated Film at KASK in Ghent. Her graduation film, 'Zonder versnelling', about her grandfather who lived in a care home, planted the first seed for 'Zwermen', her first stop-motion short film alongside 'Tim Frijsinger', who she met during the Video program at the Maastricht Institute of Arts.

Janneke van de Kerkhof | Submarine’s Head of Animation

Janneke is head of the animation department at Submarine, an award winning production company with offices in Amsterdam, Antwerp, LA and London, that has established itself as an innovative company, working across multiple genres and platforms, all with an international focus. Recent productions include the features 'Fox and Hare save the forest' and 'Who Shot the Piano Player' and the preschool series 'Pol the Pirate Mouse'.

Joris Oprins | Writer, Director & Designer

Joris founded Job, Joris & Marieke—a Dutch animation studio—together with Job Roggeveen and Marieke Blaauw. Their short films and music videos are distinguished by the absurd concepts and distinctive designs. In 2012 they initiated the children’s series 'The Tumblies', which has been broadcast in the Netherlands and been sold internationally. In 2014 they made the short film 'Bon Voyage' for the Grand Depart of the Tour de France in Utrecht, and went on to make the 'A Single Life', a 2 minute short which got nominated for a Cartoon d’Or and an Academy Award®. His recent work includes 'Quota', which is scheduled to be screened during this edition.

Karin Vandenrydt | ANIMA Director

In 2000 Karin joined Anima, the Brussels Animation Film Festival, one of the most prominent European animation film festivals. She developed the Flemish branch and has been running the festival since the summer of 2020, together with Dominique Seutin. She’s a member of the Flemish Film Commission and till 2020 she taught Animation History and Contemporary Animation at the LUCA - School of Arts in Genk, Belgium.

Patrick Chin | Writer & Director

Patrick loves to tell stories about people that are often ignored. Best known for pre-school series 'Dr Panda', he's now working on the animated feature 'FAYA', about writer and activist Anton de Kom. He coaches young talent from diverse backgrounds. Co-founder of Animatie In Kleur, DAMD and board member of the DAFF, he works to professionalise and diversify the Dutch animation industry.

Paul Thiltges | Producer & Sales Agent

Paul is a film producer, sales agent, and is currently managing director of PTD, which he founded in 1993. Active in the film industry since 1986, he has co-founded numerous film institutions and presides Luxembourg’s Producers Association ULPA. Throughout his career, Paul has worked with internationally acclaimed directors such as Michael Glawogger, Ari Folman, Enzo d’Alò or Radu Jude, hence building up a solid catalogue worthy of the most prestigious film festivals around the world.

Perrine Gauthier | Producer

Perrine develops and produces animated films and series as partner of Thuristar in Belgium, and co-founder of La Cabane in France. Her recent credits include the International Emmy-nominated series 'Mush-mush and the Mushables', directed by Joeri Christiaen, and the short film 'Luce and the Rock' by Britt Raes, which has been selected for more than 200 festivals worldwide. Perrine is currently developing two beautiful new series and an exciting special with talented authors and a wonderful team!

Sarah D’hanens | Producer

Sarah is a producer whose work spans across documentary, animation and games. Her credits as an Associate Producer for the Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award winning production company Louverture Films (NY) include the feature documentaries 'Hale County This Morning, This Evening; Strong Island' and William Kentridge’s 2024 Venice Biennale video series 'Self Portrait as a Coffee' (MUBI), oa. 'At Cinnamon Entertainment' (BE), she produces animated shorts, games and immersive VR experiences. Sarah is a Berlinale Talents alumni and a member of WIG, WIA, EAA and ASIFA-Hollywood.

Simon Buijs | BUCK Europe’s Head of Design

Tom Van Gestel | Founder & CEO Fabrique Fantastique

Tom, originally from the province of Antwerp in Belgium, is a creative entrepreneur in the world of animation and entertainment. He graduated with high honors from the RITCS in Brussels in 2008 and has since built an impressive career in both the Flemish and international animation industries. After gaining six years of experience in various roles, including director and art director, Tom founded his own production company, Fabrique Fantastique, in 2014.

Wiep Teeuwisse | Director

Wiep is a director based in Rotterdam and part of Tinsel studio, the animation lovechild of directors Nienke Deutz, Alice Saey & Wiep Teeuwisse. She studied Animation at the HKU and Directing Animation at the NFTS. Her graduation film 'Depart at 22' won the Cristal for Best Graduation film at Annecy Festival. Her debut film 'Intermission Expedition' received global recognition and travelled around over 70 festivals. Wiep works with drawn-on-paper animation, stop motion, and other analogue techniques.

Sydney Neter | Distributor

Sydney founded SND Films in 1994, a boutique sales agency based in Amsterdam. Mostly selling short films these days. Strong animated and live action shorts are always welcome. Proud to be the exclusive agents for all of Bill Plympton’s animated shorts outside the USA as well as other animated gems like the Toronto Premiere 'Quota' by the Oscar nominated Job, Joris & Marieke and Anna Samo’s animated short 'The Wild-Tempered Clavier' that made it to the 2025 Oscar short list. Also repping a great deal of high quality LGBTQI shorts like the 'Swedish Game Rules', the 'Swiss Pipes' (Winterthur 2022) and the Dutch short doc 'Seahorse Parents' by Miriam Guttmann (on pregnant trans men). And many more!

Benelux Animation Pitch: Jury

Annemie Degryse | Producer

Annemie studied Animation Film at the KASK Ghent and in animation business since 1992. Directed the Raoul Servais foundation and produced different short films. Worked as responsible for the pre-production support at Cartoon and organized the first Cartoon Movie. In 2000 she became the General Manager of Flanders Image (VAF), incl. MEDIA DESK. Currently co-founder and producer at Lunanime within the Lumière Group- Benelux distribution, 5 city cinemas, tax shelter intermediate. Created the French company Les Productions de Milou in 2022.

David Mouraire | Producer

David is the producer and co-founder of Doghouse Films, an independent company based in Luxembourg. Doghouse Films is dedicated to producing films with clear humanist messages and high artistic value. The studio’s most recent co-productions include 'Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman' by Pierre Földes, 'Nina and the Secret of the Hedgehog' by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, and 'Fox & Hare Save the Forest' by Mascha Halberstad. Within the studio, a core team of 2D and 3D artists not only supports its role as a financial partner but also contributes valuable artistic input.

Janneke van de Kerkhof | Submarine’s Head of Animation

Janneke is head of the animation department at Submarine, an award-winning production company with offices in Amsterdam, Antwerp, LA and London, that has established itself as an innovative company, working across multiple genres and platforms, all with an international focus. Recent productions include the features 'Fox and Hare' save the forest and 'Who Shot the Piano Player' and the preschool series 'Pol the Pirate Mouse'.