24/02/2026 - Twelve projects and 31 participants from 18 countries have been chosen to embark on a year-long intensive programme

Fairy Tale for Gnomes by Maria Görlich-Opyd, one of the selected projects

This year’s CEE Animation Workshop lineup includes 6 feature films, 3 TV series and 3 short films. Once again, the workshop welcomes participants from across Europe while maintaining focus on the CEE region and low production capacity countries. Producers and their creative teams with selected projects, including a scholarship-winning project from CEE Animation Forum 2025, will be joined by two career-oriented participants without projects, as well as two animation script consultant trainees, a new category introduced this year.

Throughout the year, participants will engage in group work, masterclasses, expert lectures, and individual consultations, under the guidance of group leaders: esteemed producers Réka Temple (Cinemon Entertainment, Hungary) and Annemie Degryse (Lumiere Group / Beast Studio, Belgium), and seasoned script consultants Phil Parker (UK) and Rita Domonyi (Hungary).

The workshop will consist of four modules: two online (May and October) and two on-site (February 23–March 1 in Lillehammer, Norway, and July 27–August 2 in Budapest, Hungary). Upon completing the workshop, participants will gain privileged access to the CEE Animation network and various industry and market events across Europe.

“We are ready to launch the 2026 edition of the year-long workshop with new partners and old friends. We are grateful for the continuous support of the Creative Europe - MEDIA, and thankful to our partners Lillywood and Animation Norway to have the opportunity to visit Lillehammer now and to the Hungarian Animation Producers Association to be able to go to Budapest in the summer, and connect with both animation industries. We are excited to meet and to welcome the eighth generation of international participants, who are coming as part of interesting project teams, career-oriented participants and the new script consultants in animation trainees”, commented Saša Bach, the managing director of the CEE Animation Workshop.

The first module launched in Lillehammer on February 23, 2026 with a programme of group and individual work, expert lectures, and an Open Industry Day, where participants will network with Norwegian animation professionals. 

In addition to more than 30 participants, coming from the animation industry, the following guest lecturers will attend the first module: producer Sarah Winge-Sørensen (Stray Dog Productions, Norway), concept artist Simon Nyhus (Norway), director and producer Rasmus A. Sivertsen (Qvisten, Norway), script doctor Sara Wikler (France/Belgium), legal expert Ulrich Michel (Noerr, Georgia), business and company development specialists Caroline Williams and Bernie Cullinan (Mileway, Ireland), producer Juraj Krasnohorsky (CEE Animation, Artichoke Production, Slovakia), and directors and pedagogues Luca Tóth and Katinka Bognar (MOME, Hungary).

The selected animated projects:

Fairy Tale for Gnomes - Maria Görlich-Opyd (Poland, feature film)
Screenplay: Maria Görlich-Opyd
Production: Aneta Zagórska (Krakow Animation Center)

Holy Moly - Margrethe Danielsen (Norway, short film)
Screenplay: Margrethe Danielsen
Production: William Holten (Mikrofilm AS)

In Between - Marie-Louise Højer Jensen, Ditte Lundsgaard Nielsen (Denmark, TV Series)
Screenplay: Marie-Louise Højer Jensen, Ditte Lundsgaard Nielsen, Metteline Ibsen
Production: Irene Sparre (Sparre Production)

Inner Glow (Lithuania, short film)
Screenplay: Emilija Juzeliūnaitė
Production: Gabrielė Vaičiūnaitė (WHY Films)

Mould - Philippe Kastner (Czech Republic, TV Series)
Screenplay: Philippe Kastner
Production: Tereza Havlová (BATCH film)

Recordanza - Jalal Maghout (Germany, feature film)
Screenplay: Jalal Maghout
Production: May Odeh (Mayana Films), Zorana Mušikić

The Climbing Girl - Benjamin Quabeck (Germany, feature film)
Screenplay: Benjamin Quabeck
Production: Christopher Zitterbart (Watchmen Productions GmbH)

The Ghost of the Riverbend - Bálint Gelley (Hungary, feature film)
Screenplay: Bálint Gelley
Production: Bella Szederkényi (CUB Animation)

The Summer of the Moth - Vera Lamminpää (Finland, feature film)
Screenplay: Vera Lamminpää
Production: Petri Kemppinen (Good Hand Production)

Through the Blizzard - Igor Đurić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, short film)
Screenplay: Igor Đurić
Production: Sonja Đurić (Sonet)

Trixi - Katarína Kerekesová (Slovakia, feature film)
Screenplay: Katarína Moláková
Production: Katarína Kerekesová (Fool Moon), Verona Dubišova

Tulip - Juli Tudisco (France, TV Series)
Screenplay: Juli Tudisco
Production: Valentin Maupin (Avec ou sans vous)

Selected career-oriented participants

Nataliia El Baba, M1X (Ukraine)
Peter Perunovic, Aerodrom (Slovenia)

Selected script consultants for animation

Jerneja Kaja Balog (Slovenia)
Petra Stipetić (Croatia/Germany)