ANIMAFILM Festival Empowers Young Women Directors with Financial Support

The 6th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival, held from September 6 to 10, 2023, at the Nizami Cinema Center, successfully hosted the “Women’s Rights Through Animated Films” workshop and funding program. This program, organized as part of the festival, aimed to offer a platform to young women directors to create their first animated films centered on women’s rights.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation provided funding for this workshop and also served as the main festival sponsor, aligning their commitment to women’s rights and empowerment.

The festival theme, “Women’s Rights,” not only sparked discussions but also took practical steps. The festival garnered 9456 AZN (approximately 5600 USD) from ticket sales, with over 3000 tickets sold during the event. Of this sum, 3000 AZN (around 1800 USD) was allocated to support the workshop participants.

The workshop attracted seven participants who applied through an open call from May to July. After a selection process, five participants were chosen:

1. Narmin Guliyeva
2. Leyla Novruzova
3. Zahrakhanim Guluzade
4. Aygun Bakhshiyeva
5. Mehriban Aliyeva

The selected directors engaged in training sessions, masterclasses, and consultations led by industry professionals, including Swiss director Isabelle Favez, French producer Olivier Catherin, and Azerbaijani director Nazrin Aghamaliyeva.

During the festival, participants had the opportunity to attend events such as film screenings and masterclasses by industry experts, including OSCAR-winning director Michael Dudok De Wit from the Netherlands and Netflix animator Matthew Lyon from Canada.

The program concluded with a “ANIMAFILM School: Pitching Competition,” where the five projects created by the participants were presented and evaluated by a panel of judges:

1) Ana Chubinidze (Georgia)

2) Tehzeeb Khurana (India)

3) Nazrin Aghamaliyeva (Azerbaijan)

Two projects were selected as winners:

• 1st Place: “Zuleykha Seyidmammadova,” directed by Mehriban Aliyeva, Azerbaijan, received a cash prize of 2000 AZN.
• 2nd Place: “Ring,” directed by Leyla Novruzova, Azerbaijan, received a cash prize of 1000 AZN.

“Zuleykha Seyidmammadova” explores the inspiring story of one of the first Azerbaijani female pilots, while “Ring” addresses the issue of early marriages in Azerbaijan. The details of these projects are included in the festival catalog (pages 58-62).

The “Women’s Rights Through Animated Films” program at ANIMAFILM Festival has provided support to young women directors and made a significant contribution to raising awareness about women’s rights through animation. This initiative reflects the festival’s dedication to social change and artistic excellence.

The organizers of the festival and the workshop are the Azerbaijan Animation Association and ‘PERI FILM’ LLC.

The general sponsors of the festival are the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Cinema Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation as the main sponsor.

Other sponsors of the festival include the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the TOTD Public Relations Organization.

This year the festival’s partners are the Azerbaijan Union of Film-makers, the Azerbaijan Creative Industries Federation, Shahmaran Metaceramica, Gender Hub Azerbaijan, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Embassy of France in Azerbaijan, the French Institute in Azerbaijan, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Tripsome, XPPen, Mr. Chemical, Bonaqua, and Dynamic Box.

The festival’s media partners are Skwigly Animation Magazine, Madaniyyat TV, Trend News Agency, Day.az, Milli.az, Azernews, the Akinchi, VarYox, KYNO platforms and CityLife.az.