On the 27th and 28yh of November, on the occasion of the Animation World Day, the International Student Animation Exhibit Prime the Animation was held at the Universitat Politècnica de València.

We started on Thursday with the opening ceremony and a superinteresting masterclass with Osbert Parker. We attended the first short film proyection at the same hall. The second masterclass, taught by Paco Sáez, completed a perfect morning.The afternoon activities started just after lunch. We must highlight the second short films proyection, that allowed us to watch the work of the UPV students. We were delighted to see how the effort of our colleagues was reflected on the screen, proving this faculty’s high level.

We attended the pitch of projects the following day. We gulped while travelling from Morocco to the ‘Smooth Tea Lyceum’ boarding school in New Mexico. We experienced a love story between two clock inhabitants and we suffered working hard in a mine. All of this convinced us that the future of animation in Valencia is in good hands and there are projects that will go far, undoubtedly.

Right after this... it was our turn! The round table! We had the chance to chat with Unit experimental, Loopy Teller Studio, The Neverending Wall, Patchwork and Silly Walks about the future of animation, funding of short films, team management and multidisciplinary approach, client’s assignments and festivals. We tried to highlight the fact that projects go well when there is a hugh effort behind them. A single person cannot be in charge of everything, we always need to count with a good team of people with different particular strenghts. Performing good in the office is not enough: we must go out, attend festivals and meet new colleagues that can help us, give us feedback and show us artists and new references we did not know. And specially: we must work, work and work. As Silvia Carpizo said: ‘A successful project is made out of 95% work and 5% talent’.

It was a great experience for us and, as we said at the hall, our office’s door is always open to anyone that wants to come in and have a chat. We would like to encourage all of you who have a project going on to make a maximum effort, because you have the future of animation in your hands.

The festival could not end in a more convenient way, with Alberto Vázquez’s masterclass and the projection of his prize-winning short film ‘Decorado’. It was a great experience for us to have such a festival in our own faculty. We expect it to go on like that in the following years so we can continue to be part of it and helping with this initiative.