After the official opening on Sunday, Animafest’s film programmes began on Monday, 6 June at 8 pm in front of the gathered foreign and local guests, more than three hundred of them, with a presentation of jury members and a Q&A with the authors of films from Grand Competition - Short Film 1. Although the annual festival awards are already known, another special award, The Heart of Animafest, was presented last night to Margit Buba Antauer for her half a century of commitment to the World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb.

I am seldom speechless, seldom confused, seldom shaken to the core, but that is what happened to me today. I once received one award from ASIFA in Annecy, but this one is ours today, among us, and for a festival that is really a part of my life because I gave it so much love and effort. I always hoped to live to see this 50th birthday and what I see today. As long as we have a team like this and as long as there are audiences and authors who love Zagreb and come to it, as long as they are there – we will have a festival. I hope it will last at least another 50 years – said Buba.

The first part of Monday was marked by gathering at the Rise & Shine pitching lab, where Oscar nominees Joanna Quinn and Les Mills were among the celebrity mentors. This was followed by a lecture by Pedro Rivero, known not only for the scripts of award-winning animated films, but also for the Netflix hit film Platform.