Animatic Successful Applicants Announced!

The selected candidates for our inaugural animation talent development project Animatic have been announced today. Animatic is a major new industry initiative supporting Scotland-based creatives and studios in developing their animated feature film or series ideas for an international audience.   

Selected Animatic participants will take part in a three-month programme of workshops curated to aid project development and pitching skills before presenting their projects to studio executives from a world leading animation studio and industry experts. Animatic is supported through Scottish Government Festivals EXPO Fund. 

During our Industry Focus in March 2024, My SMASH Media - one of the scheme’s partners - will host final pitching workshops where candidates will learn from a team of experts on how to maximise their chances of success and receive performance feedback from leading industry professionals about how they would fare in a real-life pitching scenario. 

The candidates for the first ever Animatic are Glasgow-based writer and performer Zoë Bullock developing Gracie and the Start of the End of the World (Again), an adult animation series about jellyfish dictatorship, interspecies romance and how to build a new civilisation without repeating the mistakes of the old one; Edinburgh’s Sinead Kirwan presenting Rabbit, an animated feature documentary about female solidarity and resistance during Nazi oppression; Orkney-born Selina Wagner showcasing Tirrick, a coming-of-age fantasy drama feature following a 12-year-old girl finding her place in an isolated community; BAFTA-winning animator Will Adams developing his dystopian animated sitcom for young adults Smart Devices and East Lothian-based writer/ producer Paula Poveda-Urrutia with Mo, children’s comedy series following a prehistoric human as they explore the world around them. 

Alongside Animatic is the New Talent Mentorship Scheme at GFF Industry Focus. This initiative, funded by the William Grant Foundation, is for emerging professionals working in film, high-end television and animation from backgrounds currently underrepresented in the industry including (but not limited to) individuals of the global majority, LGBTQIA+, low or no income backgrounds, and people with disabilities. The full list of 2024 mentors - who will provide practical support and training to some of Scotland’s brightest new creative talents- have been announced today. They are BAFTA winning director of Aftersun Charlotte Wells; development producer and assistant director on blockbusters including Avengers: Endgame Mark Rossi; Ailbhe Keogan, writer on the Emmy-nominated Bad Sisters; BAFTA Scotland-winning director of Limbo Ben Sharrock; British-Pakistani screenwriter and director of Cake Asim Abbasi; BAFTA winning producer and MD of Edinburgh’s LS Productions Sarah Drummond; New Voice Award nominated filmmaker Louis Paxton and BAFTA winning Glasgow short film maker Michael Lee Richardson. Both the New Talent Mentorship Scheme and Animatic are just two of many opportunities within the Industry Programme that sits at the heart of the festival, creating a bustling hub of activity not only during the festival dates but throughout the year.