Tirana Launches New International Animation Industry Event to Connect the Balkans
Skwigly
This October, Tirana will become the meeting point for the international animation community as it hosts the inaugural edition of Animating the Future: Training, Development and International Exchange in Albanian Animation, a new international industry event taking place from 7–9 October 2026.
Supported by the Albanian National Center of Cinematography (QKK), the British Council, the Embassy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation of Albania, and the Municipality of Tirana, the initiative represents a significant investment in the country’s creative industries and the future of animation in Southeast Europe. The inaugural edition will also mark the opening of the British Cultural Week in Albania, celebrating the creative partnership between Albania and the United Kingdom while highlighting the role of culture, education and international collaboration in strengthening the creative industries across the Balkans.
With animation becoming one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global audiovisual industry, Animating the Future has been created as an annual platform dedicated to education, professional development and international exchange. Bringing together internationally recognised artists, producers, educators, festival directors and industry leaders, the event combines hands-on workshops, masterclasses, industry discussions and curated public screenings to support emerging talent while encouraging long-term international collaboration.
The launch of the event comes at a defining moment for Albania. More than 50 years after the country’s first animated film, Animating the Future looks beyond celebrating Albania’s rich animation heritage and focuses instead on building its future—investing in new talent, strengthening professional skills and positioning Albania as an active contributor to the international animation industry.
For fifty years, Albanian animation has built an extraordinary creative legacy. Now it’s time to invest in its future. We created this event to give emerging artists access to world-class expertise, encourage international collaboration and establish Tirana as an annual meeting point where the animation community from across the Balkans and Europe can come together to learn, exchange ideas and build the future of animation.
Irida Zhonga and Belina Jano, Artistic Director and Producer of Animating the Future
Among the international guests is acclaimed British stop-motion animator Tim Allen, whose credits include Guillermo del Toro’s Academy Award-winning Pinocchio, Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs, and Aardman’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. Allen will lead an intensive three-day stop-motion workshop for a selected group of Albanian animators and present a public masterclass on performance animation.
British stop-motion animator Tim Allen
The programme also features internationally recognised animation producer, distributor and consultant Anna Pokorska, who will present Producing Animation: From Development to International Market, offering practical insight into how animated projects are developed, financed and positioned for international audiences. The session explores project development, financing strategies, co-production, public funding, distribution and effective pitching, equipping emerging creators with the tools needed to navigate today’s international animation market.
Additional masterclasses include Dimitris Savvaidis, internationally recognised producer, educator and founder of Funny Tales and the Thessaloniki Animation Festival, who will lead a session on writing for animation and storytelling while conducting portfolio reviews for emerging creators, and Joan Zhonga, one of Albania’s most celebrated animation directors, whose career spans more than four decades and includes five selections at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Over three days, Animating the Future combines hands-on training, inspiring masterclasses, international industry discussions and curated public screenings, creating a unique platform where education, professional development and cultural exchange come together. Designed not only to support emerging animation talent but also to celebrate Albania’s animation legacy, the programme strengthens creative collaboration across the Balkans and the wider European animation community.
The public programme celebrates animation across generations and borders through three specially curated screenings. Audiences will experience an Albanian Animation Retrospective, honouring the pioneers who laid the foundations of the country’s animation history, alongside an International Animation Programme curated by ASIFA Hellas and the Thessaloniki Animation Festival. Together, the screenings reflect the event’s mission to celebrate animation as a shared cultural language that connects countries, generations and creative communities.
Vullnet Sanaja, of Anibar Animation Festival (Kosovo)
The event will also host a series of international panel discussions bringing together leading professionals from Albania, the United Kingdom, Greece, Ukraine and Kosovo to explore the future of animation, international co-production, creative entrepreneurship and opportunities for collaboration across the Balkan region.
The organisers envision Animating the Future as the beginning of a long-term international platform that will return to Tirana each year, supporting emerging talent, strengthening regional collaboration and establishing Albania as one of Southeast Europe’s leading centres for animation education, professional development and industry exchange.