Co-founder of Pepi Play, Lithuania

Pepi Play is an independent studio that creates applications for children. Pepi Play apps are well known for kids, their parents and teachers worldwide. Adas finished Vilnius Art Academy. Later he worked in many companies as a graphic designer, web designer, user experience designer and many other digital design disciplines. Adas also have experience in project management, marketing and even managing a company. All this background helped to start Pepi Play brand for international market. Currently Adas is engaged in game design.

Actor, Motion capture specialist, Co-owner of Mocap, Poland

Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Adrian is an actor, motion capture specialist and co-owner of Mocap company (founded in 2013). It specialises in motion capture data processing including tracking, solving and editing. Mocap wide range of services are a resource not only for Polish market, but also for any production in Europe seeking motion capture, high-end facial capture and animation, full virtual production or anything in between. Adrian has also acted in series, boards of theatre and lend his voice in dubbed and advertising production.

Community Manager at Sand Sailor Studio

Andreea Vaduva is the Community Manager / Curious Marketer / Enthusiast Organizer at Sand Sailor Studio. In the past ten years she kept on playing the communicator key role, unafraid of the rigid corporate land or of the unpredictable entrepreneurial sea. A year ago she joined Sand Sailor Studio and took a deep dive into the amazing world of indie games, specifically into the bleak atmospheric world of Black The Fall, sharing it with the world.

Game Director at Exordium Games

Andrej Kovačević is the Game Director at Exordium Games, an independent game development studio from Zagreb, Croatia. Exordium Games is currently working on Bear With Me, Zero Reflex, Agenda, Nephi’s Fall and Last Encounter. Bear With Me was awarded Best Indie Game of Reboot Infogamer 2014 and was nominated for Best Narrative Game at Causal Connect 2016. Andrej is also a columnist for the Reboot Magazine and game design lecturer at Machina Game Academy.

Belli has 20+ years of experience in Animated Film Production. She served in the key role of Unit Production Manager for the film Planet 51 at Ilion Animation Studios (Madrid), worked as Production Manager at Zinkia Entertainment as well as took part in the most successful Children’s TV Series Pocoyo production in Spain (2004-2005). Belli has experience working on the CGI film The Legend of the Guardians, The Academy Award winning company Animal Logic (Australia) and international clients such as Vodka Talent, Bren Entertainment, Cartoon Network, Neptuno Films, D’ocon Films and, in Hong Kong, for Full Action Limited. From 2011 to date, she works as a production management consultant helping and developing animation projects for different companies.

International Service Producer at Allfilm, Estonia Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Dagmar is a generation Y creative mind from Estonia. Her ambition is to use storytelling to offer audiences new and exciting experiences. Her first multi-platform project Nullpunkt Transmedia Experience had a successful run locally and was also recognized internationally. She studied Film, Radio and Television in Canterbury in United Kingdom, completed her MA in Crossmedia Production from Baltic Film and Media School and is now working as a producer in Allfilm looking to continue her mission to develop new and fresh ideas to excite the audiences.

Creative Director and Co-founder of Decochon, Denmark Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Eduardo is a visual thinker with a technical flair and strong international experience. While his specific responsibilities are focused on the front-end design, he’s got his hands on all aspects of product development. He co-founded Decochon in order to realize his many ideas and to have fun making novel and powerful interactive experiences in the company of friends.

Eva Brazdžionytė Head of the MEDIA sub-programme of the Creative Europe Desk Lithuania

Eva is a Lithuanian representative of Creative Europe MEDIA subprogram which financially contributes to European audiovisual sector. She started project management carrier in O. Koršunovas theatre, had been working at various International film festivals in Lithuania, contributed to the Lithuanian Shorts Agency, Cinema Boutique Kino Pasaka, Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius, advertising agency Not Perfect activities to mention a few. Eva holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Culture Management and Cultural Policy by UNESCO department of Vilnius Academy of Arts.

Accounting, Marketing, PR at Black Pants Studio, Germany

Florian is responsible for the accounting, marketing and PR at Black Pants Studio. You will most likely meet him networking at industry events or get to know more about the studio by reading his blog at Black Pants Studio website.

Head of Distribution and Founder of Kinomind Films

Gabija worked in broadcasting (with BBC Worldwide, NBC Universal, BSkyB, Turner, and Disney among others) for a decade, where she built her career in localisation of diverse range of content – animation and live action series, video games, feature films, etc. Together with Inesa Ivanova they have founded Kinomind Films (2014) with the aim to distribute art-house fiction and documentary films from the Baltics. In the past two years Gabija has attended workshops and labs organised by EAVE, Erich Pommer Institut, Cartoon Business, and FOCAL. Most recently, Gabija has co-founded an online and cinema event platform BALTIC VIEW, which has been partially supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and has launched this January.

Co-founder of Pepi Play, Lithuania

Indrė finished M.K.Čiurlionis Art Gymnasium, focusing on graphic art. After school she studied at Vilnius Art Academy and has bachelor degree in illustration and book design. Later she got the Master presenting interactive narrative theory and practices. After the studies she worked in many advertising agency’s and have experience as graphic designer, art director and creative director. Indrė together with her husband Adas Griškevičius founded games for kids studio Pepi Play, where she currently works.

Producer and founder of Kinomind Films, Baltic View

Inesa is an experienced action film producer who has recently extended her activity to distribution and the development of cross-media projects. Her projects have been selected for renowned development labs (Eave B’est, Eave Marketing, Eric Pommer Institute, DPC II Lab by Focal, Birds Eye View Filmonomics and BeCre8ative Lab). Inesa has been supported with bursaries from Creative Skillset, Lithuanian Ministry of Culture and the Nordic Council. Within the past 6 years, Inesa has produced a diverse body of work from award-winning shorts to feature documentaries. Her short films were supported by Arts Council of England and presented at La Biennale di Venezia and Geneva Museum of Contemporary Art. Inesa also founded an online and cinema event platform Baltic View, which has been partially supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and has launched this January.

Program Director and CCO of Nordic Game Resources AB, Sweden Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Jacob is a veteran of the Nordic games industry. Starting in media, he was the editor of several gaming magazines before moving on to industry focused outlets. In 2006, he became Communications Director for the Nordic Game Program, an initiative funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Today he’s Program Director and CCO of Nordic Game Resources, running the annual Nordic Game Conference besides still writing about games and is involved in production of new projects as well.

CEO at Apparat, Producer at Goodbye Kansas Group, Stockholm, Sweden Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Highly recognised producer and director specialising in animation and visual effects for feature and short films, documentaries, music videos, commercials, TV on-air design, projection design for theatre. Johan started his career with animated film before computers in 1977. Since then he worked in many European countries, Japan, United States and Canada. His clients include Swedish Television SVT, Kraft, Nestlé, Heineken, Carlsberg, Nissan, Chevrolet, Kia as well as animated TV series Doug (Nickelodeon) for which Johan was nominated twice for an Emmy Award as a director. He also frequently works as a guest lecturer at The Stockholm University of the Arts, Animationsakademien, Stockholm and other schools and institutions.

Johan is a filmmaker with a specialisation in stop-motion puppet animation. His professional debute Seven Minutes in the Warsaw Ghetto (2012) was screened and received awards at more than 120 film festivals. Oettinger works for the Danish Film Institute and the Art Council and makes music videos for Copenhagen Records and films for Lego. In partnership with Peter Tukei Muhumuza, he created Walk with Me. In 2014, the film has received a nomination for a Tiger Award for Short Films in IFFR. Currently, Johan runs his animation studio in Aarhus, Denmark.

Cross-media developer, Dept of Cultural Development at Region Gävleborg, Sweden

Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Josephine is educated as a Film Producer and currently works for the Dept of Cultural Development at Region Gävleborg, Sweden. She has held a number of courses at Uniarts in Crossmedia & Transmedia storytelling. In her current position Josephine produces StoryTech, a conference that focuses on technically enhanced storytelling, a virtual heritage project and KOF – an interactive app about contemporary art.

Animation Director at Rovio Entertainment Ltd, Creator of Angry Birds, Finland

Currently Kim is taking part in developing new game themes and directs animated commercials. Kim was also the series director for Angry Birds Toons, the animated TV series, where his main focus was on script and animatic development. He graduated from the Animation programme at Turku Arts Academy, Finland (2002). Before joining Rovio, Kim was a co-founder, director and animator at the animation studio Animaatiokopla (2011) and served as chairman of the board of the company.

Angry Birds Toons (dir. Thomas Lepeska, Kim Helminen): February 3rd 10:00 (Q&A w/Kim Helminen)

Managing Director and Producer at A Film Estonia, Estonia Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Kristel is a producer of the animation studio A Film Estonia since 1996 and the owner of the same company since 2011. She has a MA degree in economics and has attended several workshops of TV and animation production around Europe. Kristel has been a production manager of 20 animated feature films and 10 TV series. She has worked for films like Asterix and the Vikings, Niko and the Way to the Stars and Titeuf – the Movie. Kristel has also produced 5 short films and TV series Things You Think. Currently A Film Estonia is co-producing 30-minute animation The Overcoat in collaboration with Giant Creative from Ireland and there are animated feature film Ruby and Raggie in development.

Filmmaker, designer, Oslo, Norway

He works on short films with animation studio Mikrofilm and has produced animated poetry films in collaboration with the small press Gasspedal, publishing house Gyldendal, and the Norwegian National Library. Kristian has developed a distinct visual signature and narrative style, and his films have been featured at festivals for film, animation, literature and poetry film. He was awarded with Goethe Institute’s Film Prize at Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin, 2014. His short animated film The Boyg is presented in Best of Fredrikstad Animation Festival programme.

Producer at Mikrofilm, Norway Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Lise began her animation career as Director of Photography for acclaimed Norwegian/Russian puppet master Pjotr Sapegin at Studio Magica. After a few years, she started working as a producer, and in 1996 she co-founded Mikrofilm. Over the last 20 years, Lise has produced award winning short for an entire generation of Norwegian animation directors. Among her credits are the Academy Award winner The Danish Poet directed by Torill Kove, and Academy nominee Me and My Moulton. Lise has also produced a long list of commissioned films for clients such as Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), Tine, and Save The Children.

Producer at Nexus Studios, London, UK Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

After graduating from the London College of Communication (2009) with a First Class Honours in Animation, Mariano worked as a Director of short films, music videos and TV commercials before joining Passion Pictures in London as an Animation Producer (2010). During that time he worked with clients such as Vodafone, Toyota, Unilever, Diageo, Renault, HSBC, Visa and award winning artists Damon Albarn (Everyday Robots) and Spike Jonze (Her) and the recently released film by Stevan Riley (Listen to me Marlon). At Nexus Studios Mariano produces animation projects as varied as 360°/VR interactive film (Google Spotlight Stories), web (Facebook Groups), and Interactive Arts (1600 / White House one dollar, Qualcomm Invisible Museum).

Presentation by Mariano Melman and Michal Firkowsk: VR animation – Rain or Shine. February 4th 11:00 – 12:00

Illustrator, storyboard artist, cartoonist, animator, character desinger at Wide Wings

Director, Screenwriter and Producer at Sun In Eye Productions & Aittokoski Experience Ltd., Finland

Metsämarja is a children’s book author, director, screenwriter and producer. She has directed several popular children’s TV – series like Pikkuli, Respect!, Fire fairy and Leffatuutti Zurbaani and has translated many children’s books to Finnish. Metsämarja has a background as an artisan designing costumes for theater and dance performances. She is a talented storyteller and director, well known for her strong visual abilities and the creator of several media concepts. Her films were selected to such festivals as Helsinki Short Film Festival Kettupäivät (2010), Oulu International Children’s Film Festival, Tampere International Short Film Festival. At the Short Film Festival in Italy Metsämarja received the Jury’s Special Mention for her film Elisa’s House of Cards (2002).

Director, Co-owner of Sluggerfilm in Malmö, Sweden

Michael has been working as animator, designer and director for animations since 1985. Together with his colleague Christian Ryltenius they have founded an Independent Animation Film Production Company Sluggerfilm (2004). They specialises on animation in all various formats and techniques but mainly classic 2D animation. They both have directed, supervised and animated several international feature Films, commercials, TV-series, shorts and animations for web. Michael directed feature animation Molly Monster (2016). TV series: Wildlife (1999), Karlsson on the roof (2002), Imsy and Wimsy (2013). Short animations: The Muscal Mr Finch (2010),, The Fourth King (2005), and others.

CG lead at Nexus Studios, London, UK Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

After studying 3D animation at SupInfoCom, he had the chance to work for the last decade with great studios like Platige Image (Poland), Aardman (UK) or Digital Magic (Thailand). As a CG lead he works on animated TV shows, VR stories and commercials. Great believer of VR as a storytelling medium and a creation tool, he is committed to explore this uncharted territory and push the envelop further.

Presentation by Mariano Melman and Michal Firkowsk: VR animation – Rain or Shine. February 4th 11:00 – 12:00

Producer at PetPunk, Co-founder of Lithuanian Animation Association, Lithuania Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Miglė works as an animation producer at PetPunk. This company gained recognition by the most important graphic design magazines, becoming a synonym for the new design generation from Eastern Europe. In 2009, the Canadian Boards magazine included PetPunk in the top 6 of The New Wave of Designers, while in 2010, the UK’s leading design magazine Computer Arts featured PetPunk as The New Wave of Animation. PetPunk clients include: Sprite, MTV, Vodafone, Nike, McDonald’s, Computer Arts, Visual Editions, Cultures France and IMEPO institutions.

Managing and Creative Director of kunst-stoff, Germany Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Patrick is the managing and creative head of kunst-stoff and the owner of the company. He visualizes his role in the interactive design industry as an artist, designer, game-designer, author and producer. He is active in a broad range of areas, creating projects for commercial, cultural, social and artistic contexts; he is also interested in the educational capacity of research projects and has held extensive talks and workshops as a guest lecturer. Patrick’s work is characterized by visionary thinking, accuracy, high aesthetic demand and social entrepreneurial values.

Animator, Concept Artist and Co-founder of Moped Games, Denmark Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Peter is a cartoonist and game developer. He illustrates educational material, teaches character design, and now serves as one half of the game studio Moped Games, after having contributed to various game projects for seven years. He enjoys bright colors and puns.

Supervisor, Senior Artist at Chimney, Germany Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member Radoslaw has a degree in architecture at the TU-Berlin. He works as a freelancer on games, motion design, commercials and VFX for serials and movies at various companies. In 2010 he took a break from the industry and was teaching 3D at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in Potsdam (Germany). Since 2012 Radoslaw is working for CHIMNEY as a Lead 3D Artist/FX TD in Berlin and continues teaching at various schools.

Director, Lithuania, Estonia Currently

Reda is living in Estonia and working as a freelance illustrator and animator. Her short animated film Guilt (2013) has been awarded with The silver crane for the Best animated film by the Lithuanian film academy in 2013. The film has also won nominations at Leeds film festival, UK (World animation category) and the Grand Prix as well as the Anoba nomination in International animation festival Tindirindis in 2013 (Lithuania).

CEO, Artist and Illustrator at Black Pants Studio

Sebastian Stamm is a Comic Artist and Illustrator. At Black Pants, he draws, creates the characters, is responsible for everything 2D, contributes his visual style to the game and is one of the company’s CEOs.

Co-founder, Art Director at SP Studio Mitkus, Lithuania

Tomas took Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees of Animation in United Kingdom. Tomas created storyboards for ABC News TV series The Assets as well as many Lithuanian films including feature film Tadas Blinda.The Beginning (dir. Donatas Ulvydas). He also spent a year practicing as animator in game company Schell Games (USA). Currently Tomas delivers lectures of Cinematography and Animation in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (Lithuania) and runs his co-founded company SP Studio Mitkus. His short animation film Cities of Stone and Steam is presented at Lithuanian animation Programme.

Animation Director, Denmark, Lithuania

Urtė is a Lithuanian animation film director, painter, animator and lector. She is the graduate from The Estonian Academy of Arts. In her creative work Urtė experiments with different animation techniques, including stop motion, rotoscoping, hand drawn and painted animation. Urtė is a member of Lithuanian Film Academy and Danish Animation Union. At the moment she lives and works in Århus, Denmark.

Clinical Psychologist and Bibliotherapist

Veronika works on many children and youth-focused projects and workshops, where she applies principals of her main area of interest, bibliography. She also participates in conferences, writes popular science articles and consults young people and adults.

Chairman IGDA Finland Baltic Sea-Nordic Animation and Games Network member

Vesa is a game consultant and community developer. He has been a leader with IGDA Finland for 10+ years and help grow the organisation into one of IGDA’s flagship chapters with more than 1100 members and 10 hubs. In 2016, he became the second person outside of North America to be elected to IGDA Board of Directors. In 2016, after a mandatory year hiatus, he returned to the board of IGDA Finland as chairman. He believes in building and empowering small teams, be they IGDA Finland hubs or independent developers. Vesa is also a board member and evangelist with the Finnish Game Jam. He is currently working in game business development on a joint project with Cursor and the Playa Game Industry Hub consulting game teams in the Nordic and Baltic countries. IGDA Finland awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

CTO / Co-founder of Tad of Joy

Žilvinas Ledas is PhD of informatics and develops video games more than 6 years now. Currently Žilvinas is a co-founder and CTO at Tag of Joy – an indie game development company which creates innovative games merging fun and innovation. With their products the team has gained multiple awards at various international competitions. He also teaches Game Development at Vilnius University and is active in local game development community.