Adam Wright is an expert in animatronics and special effects who made a brilliant career in film and fashion. He collaborated with Tim Burton and Lady Gaga, companies Disney, Warner Brothers and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and designed effects for Harry Potter films and Olympics opening in London. In Zagreb Wright will host an animatronics workshop in the Children and Youth programme. In addition to working with Wright’s models, the children will have a chance to ask the famous visitor what it was like to make Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball tour dress, or characters from Burton’s Frankenweenie. Aside from the workshop, Wright will participate in Animafest Pro with a lecture on his work and current trends in the field on mechanical puppet in the digital animation era.

Next to Wright’s workshop, the youngest audience is welcome to join the puppet-film workshop by Ivana Bošnjak, the author of the award-winning film Simulacra. However, the workshops only accompany the opulent Children and Youth Programme, whose central part consists of Films for Children Competition with 37 films from Europe, Asia and North America. Media psychologist Martina Peštaj categorised them by age groups (4-7, 7-10, 10-14 and 14+), while the winner will be chosen by the children’s jury. Another six films are included in the Family Programme, especially meant for parents and children watching together, while Animafest traditionally, in association with Travno, Dubrava and Trešnjevka cultural centres hosts free screenings of children and youth programme films in Zagreb’s neighbourhoods under the title of The Amazing World of Animafest.