Today in Peja, an agreement was signed between the French Embassy in Kosovo and the Anibar Festival, officially launching the “Génesis” initiative. This project aims to provide training for up to 65 young Kosovar animation professionals. Funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, “Génesis” will be jointly implemented by the French Institute of Kosovo and Anibar.
During the signing ceremony, delivered a speech highlighting the importance of the Génesis project and the close collaboration between Anibar and French partners.
“It is a great joy to welcome you to the inauguration of the Génesis project together with the French Embassy and the Ansitu Franse. At Anibar, we are committed to creating a platform where people with an interest in animation can meet, create, watch films and connect through our festival,” said Anibar’s Executive Director Vullnet Sanaja, speaking at the signing.
Sanaja emphasized that through the work of Anibar’s Animation Academy internship program in recent years, the festival has been able to support the growth of a community of young creative professionals. “Today, with our partners, we embark on a new journey with the Génesis project, a testament to our ongoing efforts to support and elevate the animation sector in Kosovo. This project aims to empower young Kosovars engaged in animation, multimedia, and video games, helping them transform their creative passions into successful careers.”
“The support provided by our French partners has been invaluable in our mission to promote sustainable and healthy development of the animation sector in Kosovo,” he added.
French Ambassador Olivier Guérot spoke about the significance of the Génesis project and the strong cultural ties between France and Kosovo: “What a pleasure to be here with you and to launch our new project Génesis with our long-time partner Anibar. It is always good to be speaking about cinema, animation, and creativity as a whole as the ambassador of a country whose love for cinema in all its forms has long been proven. As you may well know, the audiovisual industry in France plays a very important role in our identity, our culture, and our economy. More than 250,000 people are employed in around 13,000 companies all over France.”
Guérot highlighted the value of Kosovo’s contributions to the international cultural and creative industry scene, stating, “Your country is producing films of great quality, recognized internationally, at the Oscars, in Cannes, in Venice, and in many other film festivals and awards ceremonies. It is only natural for us at the Embassy to cooperate with stakeholders from Kosovo. We have been supporting and working with Anibar, with Dokufest not only through their festival but also during our annual Francophonie Weeks.
“The main objective of this project is to help young Kosovar professionals in animation create their own micro-enterprises in a bid to increase entrepreneurship in the country and with effects reaching far beyond Kosovo itself,” the Ambassador explained. “The first phase is training, which will be the longest. During this phase, around 65 pre-qualified and promising students will be trained by Anibar and the French Institute in animation and in the French language. This training will also help students define a clearer career path. Towards the end of the training, some students will have the opportunity to undertake study trips to France with professionals in the field.”
Next will be the acceleration phase, where students will prepare project presentations to be evaluated by a committee of experts. Selected students will work on creating their micro-enterprises with the help of mentors. The final phase will involve organizing a Franco-Kosovar young entrepreneurship fair, where participating students will interact with French companies.
“I strongly believe this project will benefit many actors, in Kosovo and in France,” Guérot concluded. “It will help the rise of a talented new generation of animation professionals. It will benefit all these young student-entrepreneurs, of course, but it will also benefit every actor in the multimedia field in Kosovo. I am really looking forward to starting this exciting and promising project with Anibar.”
The Anibar International Animation Festival, this year themed “Smash the Patriarchy,” opened Monday, July 15 and runs through Sunday, July 21 in Peja, Kosovo. This year’s festival signal art and official trailer were created by award-winning Hungarian animator Luca Tóth (Mr. Mare, Superbia, The Age of Curious). Learn more at anibar.org.
