A conference on the development of cooperation between Russian and Serbian animation studios was held in Belgrade

On November 26, 2024, Belgrade hosted the international conference ‘Opportunities for Business Cooperation between the animation Markets of Moscow and Belgrade’, which opened the Moscow Animation Film Festival in Serbia, organized by the Government of Moscow with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Serbia and the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Serbia.

The business event brought together more than 80 representatives of government, creative business and the cultural community to discuss the prospects and challenges in the development of the creative industries of Moscow and the cities of Serbia. The main objectives of the conference included the exchange of experience between the animation communities of the two countries, the development of cooperation in the field of joint projects, and the search for new models of sustainable industry development.

The Conference participants were welcomed by Evgeny Dridze, Deputy Head of the Department of Foreign Economic and International Relations of Moscow, Irina Negrebetskaya, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Serbia and Vida Samardzic, Secretary of the Association of Creative Industries of Serbia. The discussion was moderated by RAFA CEO Irina Mastusova.

Among the speakers from the Serbian side: Milan Milosavljevic, producer, director, organizer of the European Animated Film Festival ‘Balkanima’, Igor Tohol, director, producer of the studio ‘Zero Production’, Rastko Chiric, Honored Professor of the Faculty of Applied Arts, lecturer at the Belgrade University of Arts, Mirela Srebric, member of the Association of Cinematographers of Serbia, director of the production house ‘Animatika Association’ and others.

The conference included two thematic blocks: a presentation by the conference speakers and a panel discussion, as well as pitching by Moscow animation studios. During the first part, the participants discussed issues such as the experience of interaction and creation of projects in co-production between the studios of the two countries, opportunities for cooperation with local and global markets for Moscow studios in Belgrade, as well as best practices in the animation market of Russia and Serbia.

In the second part of the event, there was a presentation of current projects of Moscow animation studios, participants of the festival: Yulia Osetinskaya, general producer of SMF studio, Vladimir Sakhnovsky, founder of the Sakhnovsky Park animation studio, Ksenia Nikolaenkova, manager of the Platoshka animation studio and others.

Summing up, Irina Mastusova noted: ‘Representatives of the professional community of the two countries met at the conference. We got acquainted, exchanged experiences, and discussed current trends. For the first time in the history of cooperation between representatives of the animation industry of Russia and Serbia, an event of this kind is taking place. It is incredibly important that personal meetings took place, which will certainly lead to the emergence of joint projects. Serbia is very close to Russia in spirit, we have a common cultural code, we meet incredible cordiality, openness and willingness to dialogue in a professional environment here. During the festival, we will have time to visit several animation studios in Belgrade and Novi Sad.’