Children’s Jury Prize for Hedgehog’s Home was a great ending to a fantastic week we spent in Ljubljana at the 14th Animateka festival (December 4 – 10). There is nothing better to say but to quote the jury statement: ‘The film won us over with its story, which was adapted from a well-known Croatian tale. We were fascinated by the animation and the puppets made of felt. The music we hear is finely tuned to the action, and makes the film even better than it already is. We can admire the work from various angles, and, finally, learn something from its message.’

Like every year, we were very very busy at Animateka. First, we took part at the PRO Pitching Forum jury together with Gyorgi Falvai and Jožko Rutar – with 15 projects in the pitch. Then we celebrated the world premiere of a 10-minute meditation animation Just Swimming by Darko Vidačković. We enjoyed seeing Marko Meštrović’s Trip on the big screen as well. And we saw Hedgehog’s Home in both Main Competition and in the Elephant in Competition programme. Eva Cvijanović had a fantastic masterclass and participated – together with Darko and Marko – in the legendary Breakfast with Authors talks led by Igor Prassel, Animateka’s mastermind. All in all – it was one great week!