The XII edition of Animayo will be a tribute to women.

The XII Summit, Conferences and International Film Festival Animayo will be held on Gran Canaria from 2nd to 6th of May 2017, with a program dedicated entirely to women in the industry of animation, visual effects and video games, facing a week full of activities. This program aims to pay tribute to the talented and great female in the industry, paying attention to their work, an increasingly growing opportunity to promote reflection on the necessary evolution of the representation of women and all their work in the field of festivals.

Even though events throughout the world offer in their sections programming dedicated to women, Animayo has decided to give a turn of the screw and demonstrate in this twelfth edition, the work of women in the audiovisual sector and it is in many others, not only produces a marginal work capable of filling some sections, but their importance is so remarkable that is capable to turn the entire programming a festival, and dedicate entirely to their figure.

Damian Perea, director of the festival, who has spent two years working on this special edition, says that “women in the world of animation has always been very important and deserves to claim the right to its space and the relevance of their work.” During the past eleven editions Damian Perea has been presented Animayo galas, this year will step back so that even that place is taken by a woman. The festival poster Animayo 2017 will be the starting point for a host of content that have women as main character.

Therefore, Animayo will be the first film festival in the world that will change all their programming to give voice to the work they do all these women, with presentations, master classes and workshops taught by women will be. There will be winners Animayo 2017 projections, contests, premieres, concerts, outdoor activities and the second edition of the forum Animayo aimed at professionals.

The program will highlight the role of women and contribute to the reflection on their contribution to the industry, the special artistic sensibility of women, their way of understanding cinema, their values ​​and creative talent, and with particular emphasis on overcoming barriers and obstacles that women face nowaday, without falling into sexism.

Animayo International Festival last year exceeded all expectation increasing its attendees by a twenty percent compared to edition 2015, reaching historical figures of 15,003 participants.

In its consolidation as a reference Animayo festival has been chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Spain as festival partner for the screening and registration work for Best Animated Short Film of the 31st edition of the Awards Goya® . In addition, Damian Perea, director and producer, has been nominated as one of the ambassadors of the European Émile Animation Awards.

Animayo has managed to become indispensable in the field of animation, visual effects and video games internationally with a very defined goal: creating a fertile ground for new generations, a platform for knowledge and for the development of all creative processes , from children to adults, in order to create a professional fabric and boost the talent.

Year after year, Animayo has been fulfilling its objectives and expanding its horizons to be present not only in the rest of the country but also in many other places around the world thanks to its roaming festivals. Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Madrid, Huesca, Zaragoza, Los Angeles, India, Uruguay, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal, are some of its stops.

From April Animayo will reveal the names of the great professionals that will be part of this special edition. In advance we can say that the guests of this year have worked in international producers such as Ilion Animation Studios, Walt Disney, Warner Bros, Animal Logic, Scaline, Double Negative, Weta Digital, MPC … or movies as Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hobbit , Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Pocoyo, Man of Steel, The Simpsons, World War Z, Prometheus, Power Rangers, Star Trek: Beyond, Alice through the Looking glass, Meg, Justice League, The Chronicles of Snow White: The Hunter and the Ice Queen, Red Eagle, Planet 51, Legend of the Guardians, Mortadelo and Filemon: Mission Implausible, etc.