The Animation, Video Games and New Media Market reveals the core of its programming with current and future industry trends.
This year’s call for projects focuses on IPs, with 173 titles selected for the catalog.
Argentina’s Bárbara Cerro, France’s Sylvain Grain, and Armenia’s Vrej Kassourny will be the jury members at the WFest short film festival
Valencia, September, 2025. A total of 9 projects and 32 short films make up the catalog’s backbone for the 17th Weird Market and the Wfest festival, respectively. The selection of projects—which this year focuses on the value of IPs—features multiple co-productions that reflect the powerful international fabric making up the animation sector. The film competition features works from 22 countries, selected among the 1,734 entries received from a total of 104 territories. “The animation industry has been flexing its muscles for years. It is a network of professionals who are able to adapt to the times and have a great talent for developing original ideas,” says José Luis Farias, director of the event.
VALENCIA TO HOST PRESENTATIONS OF 9 ANIMATION PROJECTS
The upcoming edition of Weird Market will feature nine presentations of projects from the 173 selected for its official catalog. These include one feature film, three short films, two video games, and three web series from Portugal, Spain, and Germany, as well as co-productions from the latter two countries with others such as France, Thailand, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States, and Brazil.
The feature film is Condenaditos, for which more details will be revealed. This is the opera prima of Matisse González, a Bolivian animator, illustrator, and director based in Germany who was nominated for an Annie Award in 2020 for her short film Gravedad.
https://www.matisse-gonzalez.com/condenaditos
The short film section will feature Mole and the Light, Die Captcha Krise, and The Homeless Wolf. The first is a work by renowned Spanish illustrator María Ramos, a project that will be coupled with a series and its own toys, while the second is a production by 3D/VR artist Eric Giessmann, a project that will also expand its format to include a video game and a virtual reality experience. The third production comes from Portuguese artist Ricardo Adrêgo.
Co-production will be the common factor among the web series. Koffe Kat by Arisa Veeravitayases and Thawatchai Chunhachai involves Spain and Thailand, while The Means of Destruction by Nabil Samandari, Nicolás Petelski, and Martijn Kreemers involves Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United States. Hurricanimals by Paulo Muppet and Luciana Eguti is a Brazilian-Spanish production.
Lastly, more details will be provided about two Spanish video games: Unboxing Mr. Coo by Nacho Rodríguez and Jordi & Oslo: The Lost Tail by Joveguille.
WFEST PRESENTS 32 SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION
Every year, Wfest, the short film competition that forms part of Weird Market, selects some of the best animated works in its two competitions. A total of 8 productions will be screened in the national competition, while the international competition will feature 24 shorts. These works represent countries as diverse as Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Jordan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and the United States.
The national selection covers, through techniques such as stop-motion or traditional two-dimensional design, a broad spectrum of themes, ranging from issues such as the environmental crisis and historical memories to self-awareness, destiny, and women-related topics that are rarely depicted on screen, such as menstruation. Prominent names in the industry will participate, such as Izibene Oñederra, Goya nominees Alicia Núñez Puerto and Valle Comba, as well as the Gaudí Award-winning duo Marc Riba and Anna Solanas. They will be joined by local talent from the Valencian Community, such as Alex Rey and Félix Bollain, plus eclectic and versatile authors like Jaime Penalva and David Rosel.
The international competition will offer a broad snapshot of animation worldwide. A wide range of techniques, themes, and cinematography will be featured in the sessions scheduled at both the Filmoteca and La Mutant (a venue that is joining the program this year to bring the works closer to producers, distributors, and creators). The selection features award-winning creations from festivals such as Annecy, Venice, Sundance, and the BAFTAs. Renowned filmmakers such as Oscar nominee Bruno Caetano and Annie Award winner José Prats are mixed in with emerging talent. “The selection showcases animation’s ability to transcend genre barriers and pre-established clichés. There are some more traditional projects, others that are experimental, as well as fiction, documentary, or reflections of the current geopolitical landscape, such as the war in Ukraine,” says Farias.
PROMOTING NEW TALENT
Weird Market aims to be a launch pad for emerging talent, as demonstrated by the competitive section within Wfest: Talent. A selection of thirteen national and European works from schools or directors making their first or second film. The selection is divided into two parts: “TALENTO WEIRD,” consisting of eight Spanish shorts, and “WEIRD TALENT: European shorts,” which includes five more works from various European Union countries. Both can be seen at La Mutant and universities, schools, or studios such as La Salle at Ramón Llull University, the Master’s Degree in Animation at the University of the Basque Country, UDIT, the University Centers for Technology and Digital Art (U-TAD) and Art and Design in Barcelona (BAU), and Barreira Arte y Diseño S.L.U. support the selected proposals.
ARGENTINA, FRANCE, AND ARMENIA ON THE JURY
This year, the short film competition will feature an exceptional jury made up of three professionals from Argentina, France, and Armenia. Bárbara Cerro, from Buenos Aires, is an audiovisual producer whose work has won awards at such prestigious festivals as the Berlinale, Annecy, Mar del Plata, Sitges, FICX Gijón, and the Ottawa International Animation Festival. She is also the founder and director of the BITBANG International Animation Festival (an Oscar® qualifying festival).
From France comes Sylvain Grain, a producer and consultant with a 20+ years career in the entertainment industry. He is part of the team at the Annecy International Animation Film Market (Mifa) and is a key player in nurturing talent in animation and building bridges between creative industries.
The jury is completed by Vrej Kassourny, an Armenian filmmaker, animator, and painter, founder and director of the ReA Festival (ReAnimania International Film and Comics Festival in Yerevan). Vrej is a multidisciplinary talent and a leading figure in his country, with more than 25 years at the helm of his animation studio (ReAct Production) and as the driving force behind ReAComics, a publishing house that aims to translate and publish international comics in his native language, while helping to generate a new wave of comic artists in Armenia.
The jury and the audience at the competition will determine the winners of five awards: the jury will grant the distinctions for “Best International Short Film,” “Best European Short Film,” “Best National Short Film,” and “International Talent Jury Award for a debut film or international school short film,” while the audience vote will decide the “Audience Award for Best National Short Film.”
The 17th edition of Weird Market is primarily sponsored by Creative Europe MEDIA, the Valencia City Council, Valencia Innovation Capital, the Ministry of Culture (through the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Union–NextGenerationEU), and the participation of Acción Cultural Española through the Program for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE). It is also supported by RTVE, Movistar Plus+, Valencia Game City, Tangram Solutions, the Valencian Institute of Culture attached to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Universities and Employment, BCN Game Fest, DIBOOS, AVEPA, Animat, and the Annecy Festival.
Links of interest:
Projects selected in the catalog:
https://weirdmarket.es/proyectos-catalogo/
Projects presented at Weird Market:
https://weirdmarket.es/en/presentacion-de-proyectos-2025/
WFest selection:
https://weirdmarket.es/en/wfest-selection-2025/
Short film market selection:
https://weirdmarket.es/en/market-selection-2025/
