9 international experts to judge the Animest.19 competitions

The 19th edition of Animest: over 350 short and feature-length films from around the world, most competing in seven sections, two animation development contests – the ever-growing Pitch, Please! and just-launched Toon Scripts – events for animators, general audiences, and kids, and many fun surprises.

This year's juries reunite international animation experts, as well as local specialists in screenwriting, animation, music, and VR.

Meet the international jurors of Animest.19!

Jonathan Hodgson (UK)  
One of contemporary animation’s greats, Jonathan Hodgson has directed projects across the most various formats during his 40-year career. His short films have won numerous international awards, including two BAFTAs for The Man with the Beautiful Eyes in 2000 and Roughhouse in 2019. His recent animated documentary for Save the Children UK, Margarita's Story, highlights the experiences of children living through the war in Ukraine. Join us for the screening on Tuesday October 8, 7 PM, at the Cervantes Institute, to watch these films and nine others in the Animest.19 Retrospective dedicated to Jonathan.

Jonathan has lectured internationally extensively and, since 2008, acted as Course Leader of the Animation BA at Middlesex University in London. Want to experience his public speaking and lecturing talents? Join his masterclass on Friday October 11, at 11 AM at the Cervantes Institute, Drawing on Reality.

*Jonathan will judge the Short Film and Student Film competitions.

Claudia Cazzato (Italy) 
Always in search of a good story, after years in the corporate world, Claudia found her happy place in animation. She first joined Craft, the sister company of the Oscar-nominated animation studio Nørlum, to work on festival collaborations and soft funding. Her desire to experiment with new ways to engage with the audience brought her to the VOID Animation Film Festival in Copenhagen and, in 2020, the production team at the award-winning studio Sun Creature. Since then, she's worked on series and short formats commissioned by HB, Mihoyo x Genshin Impact, Supercell x Brawl Stars, among others. She currently serves as Associate Producer in branded content.

*Claudia will judge the Short Film, Student Film, and Toon Scripts competitions.

Clara Marquardt (France) 
Clara Marquardt holds a degree in Modern Literature and a Master's in Intellectual Property from Sorbonne University. Following diverse experiences in international sales, festivals, and production, she joined the Oscar-nominated French production and distribution company Les Valseurs in 2020, where she’s currently a producer collaborating with emerging directors from around the world in both fiction and animation. Les Valseurs' recent productions include Yves Piat’s short film Nefta Football Club, which won over 70 festival awards and earned a double nomination at the Oscars and César, Brazilian director Carlos Segundo’s short films Sideral, which was presented in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and Big Bang, which received the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival.

*Clara will judge the Short Film, Student Film, and Pitch, Please! competitions.

Pierre-Luc Granjon (France)
A graduate from the Applied Art School of Lyon, he began his career in animation in 1998 at the Folimage Studio (Valence, France). After several short movies in stop motion and cutout paper, Pierre-Luc directed The Four Seasons of Leon with Antoine Lanciaux and was first assistant director on Mats Grorud’s The Tower. The Inventor, by Jim Capobianco, is his first feature film as co-director. Catch it at Animest.19 during multiple screenings, including one accessibilized for the d/Deaf.

*Pierre will judge the Feature Film and Romanian Film competitions.

Orsolya Sipos (Hungary)
Producer, master lecturer and head of the Animation BA Program at MOME, Orsolya has been in the animation film industry since 2003. She worked on TV series and commercials for Minimax, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, coordinated production for several animated feature films and TV specials as well as the production of diploma films as line producer at the Department of Animation of MOME, and also helped organize international training programs. Currently, at SALTO Films, she produces animation projects, such White Plastic Sky, a feature film presented at Berlinale in 2023.

*Orsolya will judge the Feature Film and Romanian Film competitions.

Andrea Martignoni (Italy)
Performer, sound designer, and Animation historian Andrea has created soundtracks for many short animated films, taught history of animation at universities in Italy, and collaborated with several international festivals for animation and soundtrack-related workshops. He won the Golden Reiter for the best soundtrack at the 23rd edition of the International Short Film Festival FilmFest Dresden and the Italian Asifa Award in 2010. Since 2020, Andrea has been artistic director of ANIMAPHIX New Contemporary Languages Film Festival in Sicily.

*Andrea will judge the Feature Film and Romanian Film competitions.

Kōji Morimoto (Japan)
Co-founder of the STUDIO4°C animation production company and Phy creative team, Kōji Morimoto is a pioneer in the development of software for the fusion of 3D CGI and hand-drawn animation, laying the foundation for Japan's current unique Cel shading animation techniques. His representative works include Akira, Animatrix: Beyond, and more. Meet him at Animest.19 for his masterclass and Genius Party Beyond screening on Sunday, October 6.

*Morimoto will judge the Animusic competition.

Ornela Čop (Hungary)
A graduate of the Art History, Museology and Heritage Management program at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, Ornela has worked for various cultural events and joined Animafest Zagreb in 2015. She now coordinates the festival and assists with the coordination of the Animation Festival Network, connecting five leading animation festivals from Central and Eastern Europe, all dedicated exclusively to auteur animated films for both young and adult audiences. Alongside Animafest Zagreb, the network also includes Anifilm (Czech Republic), Fest Anča (Slovakia), Animest (Romania) – yours truly – and Animateka (Slovenia).

*Ornela will judge the Pitch, Please! competition.

Ivana Sujová (Slovakia)
Screenwriter and festival director Ivana works on independent short films and TV projects, including daytime dramas and comedy series. Since 2018, she has been the executive and program director of Fest Anča, the only Slovak festival that qualifies films for the Oscars. Since 2023, she has been the first Slovak author to serve as an ambassador for the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) and she is the president of the Association of Screenwriters in Slovak Audiovisual (ASSA).

*Ivana will judge the Toon Scripts competition.