AFN Edu: Writing and directing short animation films
29/11–01/12
Slovenian Cinematheque
Tutor: Ivan Bogdanov
The Animation Festival Network educational programme, AFN Edu, proudly presents its fourth animation workshop for young professionals and students. It will take place during the 22nd Animateka International Animated Film Festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
This 3-day workshop introduces students or participants to the art of writing and directing short animated films through a practical and accessible tool called The Three Keys.
The Three Keys simplify the creative process into three essential steps for short animation:
- Following – finding patterns, recognizing the “unlocking moment”, and shaping the culmination of an idea so it can be followed by the audience.
- Understanding – building structure through narrative and non-narrative approaches, balancing static and dynamic scenes, and connecting wants, needs, and emotions.
- Feeling – exploring the vast possibilities for cinematic expression through images, sound, voice, movement, metaphors, and artistic choices in general.
Through screenings, discussions, and hands-on exercises, participants will apply The Three Keys to their own projects, testing how ideas evolve when guided by clear structure, emotional depth, and visual storytelling.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have:
– A stronger grasp of narrative dynamics in short animation.
– Practical methods to shape and refine their own film ideas.
– An understanding of how to move from idea to culmination using The Three Keys as a creative guide.
About the tutor
Ivan Bogdanov (1973) is a director, illustrator and comic artist. After graduating in Animation from the Willem de Kooning Academy of Art and Design in Rotterdam, he worked as an animation director and illustrator before co-founding Compote Collective with Vessela Dancheva. Over the past decade he has directed and co-directed several award-winning short films, including Father (2012), Milkmaid (2015) and Travelling Country (2016), which have been screened at international festivals.
Alongside his creative work, Bogdanov has been teaching at New Bulgarian University for nearly a decade, sharing his experience in animation and storytelling with the next generation of filmmakers. His practice combines strong visual style with narrative experimentation.
What is AFN Edu?
AFN Edu is aimed at reaching and developing young filmmakers by introducing them to the world of animation industry, experts and future collaborators through a series of lectures and workshops as well as networking opportunities at each festival.
Alongside AFN, connecting five leading animation festivals from Central and Eastern Europe, partners of the programme also include renowned animation schools, such as Tomas Bata University (CZ), VŠMU Bratislava (SK), University of Nova Gorica School of Arts (SI), National University of Theater and Film – UNATC “I.L.Caragiale” in Bucharest (RO), and Academy of Fine Arts Zagreb (HR).
What is AFN?
The Animation Festival Network is a network connecting five leading animation festivals from Central and Eastern Europe (the CEE region), all dedicated exclusively to auteur animated films for both young and adult audiences. With the World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb (Croatia) as the network coordinator, the network also includes Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films (Czech Republic), Fest Anča International Animation Festival (Slovakia), Animest International Animation Film Festival (Romania) and Animateka International Animated Film Festival (Slovenia). One of our long-term plans is to gradually expand the network by slowly including more animation festivals.
The Animation Festival Network is supported by Creative Europe – MEDIA.