JURY MEMBERS

ANDRIJANA RUŽIĆ (Italy, Serbia)

She holds a degree in Art History and Criticism from the Università Statale in Milan, Italy, with a specialization in the history of animated film. As an independent researcher, she has participated in numerous international conferences on animation studies—presenting papers on independent animators and has served as a jury member and film selector at international animation festivals. She is a member of the scientific committees for the Ca' Foscari Short Film Festival (Venice) and the Piccolo Festival di Animazione (San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy). From 2012 to 2019, she curated the animation program for the International Comic Book Festival in Belgrade, Serbia. She is a member of the selection committee for Animafest Scanner, an international symposium on contemporary animation studies held annually at the Animafest International Animation Film Festival in Zagreb, Croatia. She writes about animation and other art forms for the Belgrade weekly jurnal ,,Vreme”, the Zagreb-based film studies and criticism journal ,,Hrvatski filmski ljetopis”, and the French animation magazine ,,Blinkblank”. She is the author of the book ,,Michael Dudok de Wit: A Life in Animation” (CRC Focus-Routledge, 2020).

MARGIT ANTAUER (Croatia)

Margit Antauer (Zagreb, 1950) was attended elementary and grammar school in Varaždin, and studying English and German at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb. In 1974, she was employed at the Zagreb Concert Directorate as a producer, where she worked with short breaks until her retirement in 2015. From 1992 to 2006, she was the head of the KDZ events office and organizational director of Animafest, and in 2004 and 2006 she independently signed the design of this world-famous and recognized animation festival. She has participated in the work of selection committees and judging panels of many international animation festivals and is the winner of the annual award of the International Association of Animated Film ASIFA for all-round contribution to the development of the art of animation and the prize of the Portuguese festival Monstra Premio carreira 2023 for long-term work on the animation festival scene.  For the 30th anniversary of the World Festival of Animated Films - ,,Animafest” Zagreb, has edited a Manual of Remembrance that covers the festival's years from its inception in 1972 to 2002. In 2022, he actively participates in writing and editing the appropriate festival monograph and a large exhibition on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Zagreb Animation Festival, and from his younger colleagues receives a special memorial "Animafest's heart" for half a century of dedication to Animafest. Since 2015, she has been the president of the Animafest Council.

NEMANJA VUČENOVIĆ (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Nemanja Vučenović (Kozarska Dubica, 1993) is an animator, animation director, and technical director based in Banja Luka. He graduated in Animated Film from the Academy of Arts, University of Banja Luka, and previously completed studies in Music Theory and Pedagogy at the same institution. He is the author of the animated short films Oblikom (2020), Choice (2019), and Reunion (2018), which were screened at numerous international festivals including Sarajevo Film Festival, Animateka, Banja Luka International Animated Film Festival, Supertoon, and others.

He works as a senior 3D artist and character rigger at AEON Production, contributing to animated films, series, video games, and interactive media projects. As a technical director and pipeline designer, he worked on the projects Primal Hunt (directed by Barna Nemethi), Mirage (directed by Naima Karim), as well as several productions in the field of real time animation and new media. He is also engaged as a teaching assistant at the Academy of Arts, University of Banja Luka, where he participates in courses related to animation, modeling, and digital production.

DAJLA ALIBEGOVIĆ (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Born in 2003 in Bihać. She is a final-year student at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka, majoring in Animated Film. She completed her primary and secondary education in Bihać, attending the ,,Nusret Keskin-Braco” Art School, where she qualified as an Applied Painting Technician. During her studies, she worked on the animated films ,,Na ivici” (On the Edge) by Marija Kalabić and ,,Ispod površine” (Beneath the Surface) by Maja Ćetojević. She has attended animated film festivals in the region: Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Banja Luka, gaining insight into diverse artistic approaches, contemporary animation, and international festival productions. Her enthusiasm for animation stems from curiosity and a love for the craft. Animation offers immense freedom for experimentation, exploration, and the creation of new worlds. She places special emphasis on originality, visual expression, and the various ways that animation can convey ideas, emotions, and stories.

TIJANA ŠIPKA (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

She was born on April 6 2003, in Banja Luka. She is currently in her final year of animated film studies at the Academy of Arts, University of Banja Luka. During her studies, she has worked as an animator and storyboard artist on various student and professional animation projects while also developing her own original works. As an animation workshop leader for the "Hi Neighbour" organization, she works with children, introducing them to the medium and the practical process of creating animated films. She is currently directing the local children's animated series "Ježurko". Through her previous arrangements participated in numerous domestic and international film programs and workshops Additionally, she is currently working on her own original short animated film, which also serves as her graduation project at the Academy of Arts.