Symposium Perspectives on European Animation - Pioneers in Spanish Animation
The first edition of the FAN Symposium will take place in Spain, in 2025. Six expert speakers will conduct a multidisciplinary analysis of selected films, representing the creative output of Greece and Spain.
Entitled “Perspectives on European Animation”, the event will bring together animation researchers, film academics, industry professionals, and students to discuss the evolving role of European animation in art and culture. The Symposium seeks to explore the artistic, cultural, social, and intellectual value of animation, fostering dialogue across film theory, culture, and creative practice.
Conceived as a specialised event, it aims to support the growth of academic studies in animation in a multifaceted way, providing analytical depth, and is directed at a specialised and qualified audience interested in European animated cinema.
Whether you are an academic, a creative professional, or simply passionate about animation, this Symposium is the place to connect, reflect, and be inspired.
Pioneers of Spanish Animation
Hosted in Valencia, Spain and Online
The first edition of the FAN Symposium – Perspectives on European Animation marks an important milestone in FAN’s mission to deepen academic, artistic and cultural engagement with European animation. Developed in collaboration with Prime the Animation!, the research group MESA – “Mujeres en los Estudios de Animación”, supported by Creative Europe – MEDIA, the symposium will bring a focused and richly documented look at the women who shaped the origins of Spanish animation.
This inaugural edition centred on the theme “Pioneers of Spanish Animation”, offers a four-talk programme that traced key historical threads:
- the first women known to have worked in the Spanish animation industry;
- the role of Fine Arts studios in the emergence of early Spanish animation practices;
- the impact of pioneering independent women directors;
- and the student films created by professionals trained at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV).
A Deep Dive into Forgotten Histories
One of the standout contributions of the symposium will be the presentation on Paca Moreno, recently brought back into the spotlight through the research project MUPANIME – “Mujeres pioneras en el cine de animación en España”. Her story, and the stories of other early women animators, illustrate how much of Spain’s animation history remains to be uncovered and recontextualised.
The programme featured speakers whose research is reshaping contemporary understanding of the field. Among them, Maite Junguitu (UPV/EHU), whose work spans Basque animation history, the legacy of director Juanba Berasategi, the evolution of animated feature films in Euskadi and the intersections with videogame studies. Her participation, connected to her research within ADI Ikerketa Taldea and her contributions to groups such as the Society for Animation Studies, MIA – “Mujeres en la Industria de Animación” and several international conferences, reinforced the academic depth of the symposium.
A Meeting Point for Researchers, Students, and Creators
The FAN Symposium established itself as a collaborative space for:
- professors and researchers dedicated to European animation studies;
- students of animation, fine arts and audiovisual creation;
- and early-career professionals interested in understanding the roots of their artistic medium.
Through lectures, discussions, and direct engagement with archival findings, participants were invited to reflect on how early women artists shaped creative practices, technologies, and visual languages that continue to influence European animation today.
Expanding Dialogue Across Europe
The symposium forms a core component of FAN’s long-term goals:
- strengthening the academic dimension of European animation;
- fostering cross-border exchange between festivals, universities, researchers and cultural organisations;
- promoting visibility for creators and voices historically pushed to the margins.
By partnering with Prime the Animation! and MESA, FAN reinforces the importance of intersectional and inclusive perspectives when telling the story of animation in Europe.
Looking Ahead
The FAN Symposium will continue to travel across partner festivals and institutions, expanding its themes, geographic focus, and research collaborations. Each edition aims to shed light on crucial chapters of European animation history – connecting past and present to shape a more complete and representative future for the medium.
Guest panel from Spain
Coordenation - Grupo Mesa (Mujeres en los Estudios de Animación)
Universidad Europea de Madrid
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Universidad del País Vasco
Universitat Politècnica de València
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Universidad Miguel Hernández
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Panel of Authors
She joined Estudios Moro in the late 1950s and worked her way through various departments until she became the studio's only female director and one of the first in Spain. She participated in animated commercials that are part of the collective memory and also collaborated with the American company Hanna-Barbera, where she animated some of its most iconic series, such as The Flintstones, Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo.
The figure of Paca Moreno has been rediscovered as part of the research project Pioneering Women in Animated Film in Spain (MUPANIME).
She is a professor in the Department of Drawing at the UPV, where she has been teaching since 1976, the year in which she received a scholarship from the Provincial Councils of Valencia and Alicante. Throughout her career, she has participated in numerous competitions, winning the City of Gandía National Painting Awards (1974, 1978), Valencia Spring Salon (1975), Senyera de Grabado de Valencia (1977, 1986), Albarracín National Painting Competition (1982, 1984) and Alicante Winter Exhibition (1984). She has held numerous exhibitions since the late 1970s in Alicante, Valencia, Castellón and Madrid. She was a founding member of the Láser group, participating with this collective in numerous travelling exhibitions. Her work is represented in the three provincial councils of the Valencian Community and in numerous town halls in the region. She is the author of the book Carmen Maris (Polytechnic University of Valencia, 1992), which contains some of the more than 100 drawings that make up her series dedicated to the sea.
She studied Fine Arts and a Master's Degree in Animation at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Since 2014, she has been working as a stop-motion animator, collaborating with studios such as Conflictivos Producciones, Inspiranimation and Pangur Animation. Her experience includes series such as Clay Kids, Scream Street (Factory Create, United Kingdom) and the video game Just Dance (Ubisoft). She has also participated in the short films Becarias (nominated for the 2024 Goya Awards), Pietra (nominated for the 2026 Goya Awards), La Valla (nominated for Best Animated Short Film at Sitges 2024 and the Lola Gaos Awards), Carmela (nominated for the 2026 Goya Awards, the 2025 Lola Gaos Award and the audience award at the Malaga Film Festival). More recent works include El Aspirante (Conflictivos Productions), Vers la forêt (Milos Films), Algo en la casa (Carla Pereira) and Only Rats (Pangur Animation). He has participated in commercials such as the Suchard Christmas nougat campaign (Pangur Animation) and the feature film Olivia y el terremoto Invisible (Nominated for Best European Film, Gan Foundation Award).
Panel of Researchers
Rescuing the pioneers of the animation industry. The MUPANIME project and Paca Moreno.
The figure of Paca Moreno has been rediscovered as part of the research project Pioneering Women in Spanish Animated Film (MUPANIME). The project focuses on rediscovering and raising awareness of women who have pursued careers in Spanish animation over more than a century, from the 1930s to contemporary productions. Its aim is to rescue the memory of these professionals, analysing their careers and contributions in order to place them within the general history of animation in Spain.
She is a professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). She also taught in the Department of Art History and Music, and was a researcher in the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising. Her research focuses on the historical development of commercial animated films in the Basque Country. Her doctoral thesis examines the Basque animated feature film industry, focusing on the work of animator Juanba Berasategi. She has also developed a second line of research that includes analysis of the video game sector in the Basque Country. She is a member of the ADI Ikerketa taldea research group: Audiovisual industry, narratives and gender(s). He has completed two research stays at the University of Nevada, Reno (USA) and the University of Stirling (Scotland), has participated in numerous conferences and published texts on the animation industry in the Basque Country. He is a member of the Society for Animation Studies and the MIA Association, Women in the Animation Industry.
That's how it all began. The origins of animation at the UPV: Carmen Lloret
In the early years of Fine Arts at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Carmen Lloret argued that movement was a plastic language in its own right and should be part of artistic training. In the 1980s, she introduced the first animation practices into drawing courses, opening up new methodologies and another way of understanding images. This commitment grew until, in the 1990s, animation was included in a curriculum for the first time: a milestone that expanded the creative possibilities for students. Throughout her career, Carmen Lloret was a pioneer on multiple fronts: she created the first research group, promoted the first doctorate and led the faculty's first research project. Her contribution not only incorporated animation into the UPV: it opened up a field that continues to evolve today thanks to her initial vision.
She is a university professor and lecturer in animation at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Polytechnic University of Valencia. She has directed the UPV Animation research group since its foundation in 2009 until 2025, with which she has developed collective projects such as: the Prime the Animation! international festival for new talent, the Con A de animación research magazine and the UPV Master's Degree in Animation. She has participated in and curated exhibitions, published in specialised magazines and books, and served on juries at international festivals and conferences. Among the projects in which she has participated, the following stand out: Animaleta (Red PLANEA and the Consorci de Museus de la Comunitat Valenciana), the MIA 2022 Report (Research Grants from the Film Academy) and the MUPANIME project, which researches the pioneers of Spanish animation (UC3M). Since 2024, she has been a member of the MESA (Women in Animation Studies) group, made up of seven researchers from five Spanish universities.
The pioneering female directors of independent animation.
If you are interested in the history of Spanish animation—and cinema in general—this talk is for you. Historian Emilio de la Rosa will review the work of the first female directors of animated short films in Spain. Through the viewing of a brief selection of works, we will be able to situate and understand the creative context of authors such as Anna Miquel, Mercedes Gaspar, Isabel Herguera, and Begoña Vicario, essential references in independent animation. De la Rosa will also analyse the situation in Spain at the time, the state of cinema and the animation industry itself, offering a more complete picture of the challenges of creating animation in that era... and, in particular, the added difficulty of doing so as a woman. Emilio de la Rosa is known for his vast knowledge—he has contributed to Bendazzi's Cartoons: 110 Years of Animated Film, in the chapter on Spanish animation—and Emilio de la Rosa also has a gift for communicating with passion and warmth.
He is an animation historian and has been a producer, film director and production teacher at ESDIP (School of Professional Drawing) in Madrid. He has worked as a consultant and documentalist for Canal +'s Animaraton programme (1996 and 1997). He has actively collaborated with various film festivals, such as Animadrid and Alcine (Alcalá de Henares Festival), as an advisor for the animation sections (1993-1997). He also collaborated as an advisor and programmer for the Animateruel International Animation Film Festival (1992-1995). As an executive producer, he has worked on short films such as El aparecido (2001), Nuevas islas (2003), Vuela por mí (2004) and Hara! Together with Gabriel Martínez Rodríguez, he runs the production company De cuatro a 6. In specialised periodicals, he has been editor of Muittu magazine, dedicated to animated film (ASIFA Euskadi, Bilbao, 1997), and a regular contributor to Cinevideo 20 magazine, serving as a correspondent at the following film festivals: Annecy (France), Espinho (Portugal), Alcalá de Henares, Huelva (Spain).
From the classroom to the profession: Short films by animation students.
In this talk, we will discover the student short films of various animation professionals. We will see how these early works, made while they were still in training, were key to discovering their vocation, defining their profile within the sector, and taking their first steps in the professional field. Miguel Vidal, professor at the UPV, will take us on a journey through the 1990s and 2000s to show us some of these short films, commenting on the evolution of techniques, the limitations of the time and how, even with few resources, surprising results were achieved. The presentation will feature Nuria Bataller, stop motion animator and former UPV student. Together they will talk about her career, what it meant to create her short film Luz and her professional evolution to become a stop motion animator in short films, advertising and feature films that have received numerous selections and awards.
Doctor of Fine Arts from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. University lecturer and researcher with the UPV Animation group. He has been director of the Master's Degree in Animation at the UPV and is an editorial member of the magazine Con A de animación. He has directed the BDAE project, the first online database of Spanish animation, for which he received a grant from the Valencian Regional Government. He has published in magazines and books and was editor of the volume Keep out of reach of children. Animation for adults (Sendemà, 2018). He has curated several exhibitions, including: The Lost World of Jiři Barta (2014), Traces of Light. Abi Feijó y Regina Pessoa. 25 años de animación portuguesa (2017) and Zaramella, entre la realidad y la animación (2024). During his professional career, he has worked as a director and film animator at the ICAIC Animation Studios (Havana, Cuba), as well as on productions in Barcelona and Valencia.
