Alê Abreu

The Brazilian animator Alê Abreu introduced his commercial and authoral work. including the awarded short films  "Espantalho" (Scarecrow) and "Sirius" to the audiences in Rio de Janeiro. São Paulo and at the festivals' special edition in Belo Horizonte. His first feature film "Garoto Cósmico" (Cosmic Boy) was also premiered in Anima Mundi 2007. when he shared with a large audience his adventure of making a feature in Brazil with a low budget and a small crew.



John Weldon

The Canadian animation legend John Weldon attracted a legion of fans to his Animated Chat. who wanted to see his amazing shorts that tackles with irreverence some difficult issues such as identity. ethics and morality. They also wanted to learn about "recyclomation" - his own unique technique developed for the short "The Lump" - which uses old junk as pencil stubs. scraps of broken wood. scraps of fabric. etc. He shared his 33 years of experience as a National Film Board employee. working alongside Norman McLaren and Robert Verrall. John has won an Oscar in 1978 for the short "Special Delivery".



Kirk Kelley

Since it's creation in 2005. Kirk Kelley is one of the creative directors of the studio Laika House in Portland. USA. The studio is famous for creating innovative campaigns for Honda. Energizer. Nestle. Chili's. Arby's and Hostess. Kelley presented not only his commercial portfolio. but also his short film "El Dia de Los Muertos". that celebrates the Mexican ritual in which the ancestors revisit their relatives on the day of the dead. The audience had the chance to see trough his eyes the essence of animation on authoral and commercial works and also got valuable advices on the production facets.



Mikhail Aldashin

Back in 1993. at the first edition of Anima Mundi. Mikhail Aldashin's short-film's "The Hunter" was screened. In 2003. his film "Bookashkis" won the awards for best short film both from the audience and the professional juries in Rio de Janeiro. In 2007. the festival was honored to have him as a guest of the Animated Chat. Aldashin is one of the most talented Russian animators. having developed most of his work at Pilot. the first private animation studio in Russia. Once again the audience had the chance to chat with another brilliant professional. to watch his retrospective and share his journey as a successful animator.