Animayo Gran Canaria 2024 will once again hold its recruitment days in its face-to-face phase taking place in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, from the 8th to the 11th of May, creating new opportunities through which the Festival excels in each edition. In fact, in the last edition, there were over 350 interviews conducted for 78 job positions, both in-person and remote, across 30 categories demanded by prestigious national and international animation, visual effects, video games, technologies, and related disciplines studios and producers.
Through these events, Animayo directly contributes to the professionalization and sustainable growth of the industry, creating real job opportunities and providing participating producers and studios with an ideal environment to connect with emerging or experienced talent, as well as to identify collaborative opportunities.
The deadline for registration is midnight on the upcoming Friday, 26th of April. Each job offer will include specific requirements, with the general ones being the age of 16 or older, talent and knowledge in visual effects and animation, as well as purchasing the ‘Animayo Recruitment Pass’ soon available on the Festival’s website where specific schedules will also be provided. Upon purchasing the pass, each applicant can send their portfolio, reel, and cover letter to daura@animayo.com to receive relevant job positions and interview scheduling. Likewise, following the same instructions, holders of the sold-out ‘Full Pack’ passes can also access these events.
In line with one of the Festival’s main objectives, which after education is to properly manage talent in favour of employment with tailor-made selection processes, the coveted recruitment sessions aim to meet the demand of 13 outstanding recruiting companies, listed below, who are allies of Animayo and leaders in the sector. These are: Skydance Animation, Platige Image, Cinesite, Nørlum Studios, B Water Studios, Fortiche Production Animation, Atlantis Animation, 3 Doubles Producciones, Tomavision Studio, BMCAF Studio, 22 Dogstudio, Amuse Animation, and Nowake Studio.
Furthermore, the Art Gallery call for artists, professionals, and businesses linked to art and technologies remains open. This call is included in the Fan Zone and Experiences, an area for information, displays, and experiences located on the ground floor of CICCA, which will include: Artist booths (Art Gallery), art exhibitions, school and university booths, immersive experiences, artistic experiences, book presentations, and autograph signings that will remain open to the public for free from the 8th to the 11th of May, inclusive. Those interested in participating as exhibitors and showcasing works of Illustration, Concept Art, Character and Creature Design, Background and Environmental Art, Short Animations, 3D Modelling, or Digital Sculptures, Storyboarding, Digital Painting, Comics, or Graphic Novels, can email naia@animayo.com to learn about specific rates and requirements.
Regarding education, and in line with the theme of this edition, “developing talent, driving the industry”, Animayo, a leading figure in the field of animation and visual effects with 19 years of experience and an inspiring and motivational approach, facilitates the understanding of future professions. Educational options available at top national universities that Animayo once again welcomes in the ‘Choose Your Future’ programme, which includes a wide range of presentations covering the most artistic to the most technological careers, are now open for registration for educational institutions by sending an email to dori@animayo.com. The universities and schools participating in this programme are: U-Tad, Centro Universitario de Tecnología y Arte Digital (Madrid), The Core School (Madrid), L’Idem (Barcelona), LCI (Barcelona), Universidad del Atlántico Medio (Gran Canaria), and Escuela Artediez (Madrid).
In addition to portfolio reviews by young students, the ‘Animayo Talent Scholarships’ programme will offer over €600,000 to boost online and in-person studies at some of the aforementioned national schools and universities in the 2024-2025 academic year. This call, with no geographical limits, will remain open until the 30th of June 2024, and applications can be made online through the Animayo website.
Animayo Gran Canaria 2024, taking place from the 8th to the 11th of May, inclusive, will feature over 30 guests and star speakers in a lineup of experts, artists, and creators from national and international studios, producers, and schools at the CICCA Space and Teatro Guiniguada, who will share their knowledge. Distinguished guests from cities and countries such as New York (USA), Los Angeles (USA), Denmark, Poland, Toronto (Canada), Tokyo (Japan), Lyon (France) and Spain will deliver their expertise through 14 in-person masterclasses focusing on animation, production, VFX, leadership, and more, 4 workshops for practical learning in animation, matte painting, illustration, and artificial intelligence, as well as 15 educational presentations, 5 premieres and screenings, 3 author presentations, 5 school booths, 20 talent booths, 2 exclusive exhibitions including the European premiere of the “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” Art Exhibition by Sony Pictures Animation, and 12 hours of recruitments, portfolio reviews, and signings with over 15 participating sector companies such as Platige Image, one of Europe’s video game cinematics studios, creators of the series filmed in the Canary Islands “The Witcher”.
RECRUITING COMPANIES
[–>
Skydance Animation. Located in Madrid, Spain. Skydance offers “a dynamic, inclusive, and constantly evolving culture where innovative ideas are welcomed and growth is encouraged. The combination of unique creativity and technological advancements is evident in every aspect of the company. At the core of it all is a commitment to storytelling that is bold, entertaining, and relevant.
Platige Image. Poland. One of the leading companies in cinematics and video games at the European level. With a team of 300 wizards in the world of moving images. Their directors, art directors, graphic designers, animators, visual effects artists, and producers are capable of creating wonders such as Cathedral, Fallen Art, Another Day Of Life, and “Fish Night” from the Love, Death + Robots anthology series on Netflix. They have prestigious awards and distinctions, such as a BAFTA, an EFA, a Goya Award, and the SIGGRAPH Awards, as well as Oscar nominations, the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival.
Cinecite. Canada. The Cinesite group is a global home to award-winning creative brands with a rich history in creating visual effects and animation for film, television, broadcasting, and immersive entertainment. The group brings together the world’s leading animation and visual effects studios, including Cinesite, Image Engine, Trixter, FX3X, The Imaginarium Studios & Assemblage Entertainment, Squeeze & L’Atelier Animation.
Nørlum. Denmark. Nørlum develops and produces original stories in diverse worlds through animated feature films and other media. They work with international partners, both as producers and co-producers, and their focus is on high artistic and story quality.
22 Dogstudio. Based in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. A Visual Effects Studio for films and television series, with operational and fiscal headquarters in Tenerife (CANARY ISLANDS) since 2023, originally founded in Milan (ITALY) and developed alongside its office in Los Angeles (USA). Their international team of artists and supervisors is highly skilled and dedicated to creating custom digital effects solutions that meet the highest demands of clients. Their mission is to provide visually impactful and high-quality products, contributing to the development of new audiovisual languages, in harmony with industry sustainability initiatives. Despite their recent international expansion, they are fully committed to providing personalized attention to their clients and projects.
Bwater Animation Studios. Located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. At B-water, they have several branches spread across different cities (Berlin, Budapest, Barcelona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and Montreal). They are always seeking to make changes in production and creative processes while embracing every opportunity to innovate in animation. At B-water studios, they are constantly at the forefront, developing their own production tools and being creative with multiple pipelines.
Fortiche Production Animation. Located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. With offices in Paris, Montpellier (France), and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), producers, directors, storyboard artists, animators, composers, and editors work together from concept to final project delivery. The studio’s unique graphic style, which combines 2D and 3D media, is at the heart of the #ForticheTouch. Jérôme Combe, Pascal Charrue, and Arnaud Delord founded Fortiche in 2009 and named the animation studio after their mood at that time (Fortiche means Ace). Since then, they have worked tirelessly to establish Fortiche as a global reference in the animation studio industry. Their latest project, the series ARCANE, is a collaboration with the renowned RIOT Games, which premiered on Netflix.
Atlantis Animation. Located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. Atlantis Animation is a CGI animation studio that relocated from France to Tenerife. “Our specialty is the production of 3D animated series like Tara Duncan or Miraculous Ladybug (season 5).
Nowake Studio. Located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. “Nowake” is a former Japanese word “野分” meaning “strong wind that crosses the field like an invisible guide.” Nowake is where characters are created, “we design their souls because every story needs a unique character with a special personality. This is our concept of Studio Nowake Canary Island. The NowakeRig system has been developed for 10 years with its patented character manipulation tools and has been used in various animation film projects, series, and commercials. They explore all possible means to tell a good story with engaging characters: animated feature films, animated series, video games, and the metaverse.”
3Doubles Producciones. Located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. They produce entertainment projects that stand out for their creativity, technological development, and quality, positioning themselves as a leading company in Europe. Their production journey begins in Pipeline, IT, Concept Art, Animatic, Modeling, Lookdev, Layout, Animation, FX, Lighting, Rendering, and Compositing. They focus on developing high-quality international animated feature films, as well as collaborating as producers, co-producers, and service providers with other leading animation companies worldwide.
Tomavision Studio. Located in Barcelona and Tenerife, Spain. ProducerBreaking Boundaries in Kids’ Content Production – The Euros Drive Behind Animation Studios in Gran Canaria
Tomavision Studio, a leading and rapidly expanding company, is dedicated to creating and producing top-notch content for the international children’s market. With over 15 years of experience in 2D and 3D animation, director Mercedes Marro heads Tomavision Studio, with multiple IPs covering a wide range of styles and requirements. They offer co-production opportunities and service work under the appealing Fiscal Incentives Programme of the Canary Islands.
BMCAFF STUDIO in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, produce key art for games, most notably the Need for Speed series and Moto GP, G.I. Joe, and Star Wars Battlefront. The artistic passion of founder Brendan McCaffrey, for design combined with early influences from sci-fi artists like Syd Mead, Chris Foss, and Tim White, has been a driving force behind their work. Constant learning through observation and experimentation has kept him as excited about his craft as when he started 25 years ago.
AMUSE ANIMATION, also based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, is an animation studio that creates, produces, and distributes content primarily for a preschool audience via VOD platforms, driven by an entrepreneurial spirit. As disruptors at heart, they are always seeking innovative ways to offer the best possible animated content for children and adults alike, with a 360-degree digital approach to reach their audience organically and promote universal and positive values.
The realization of ANIMAYO once again becomes a reality thanks to the strong drive and determined support provided by its sponsors: the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, the Promotion Society of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the La Caja de Canarias Foundation, the Government of the Canary Islands, as well as the involvement of production companies, studios, schools, and universities, along with numerous private companies that firmly support the film industry and the effort to bring culture and education to all audiences.
