ANIMAR 20 invites us to enter a world full of creativity and imagination, designed for children and young people of all ages and the whole family. Each room in the gallery is transformed into a different environment, inspired by the various Portuguese films on show, offering different possibilities for interaction.

This year, ANIMAR emphasises its educational mission, incorporating original and interactive experiences that inspire visitors to unleash their artistic potential. Visitors will be able to appreciate life-size sets from the films Three Comma Fourteen (Joana Nogueira and Patrícia Nogueira, 2024) and T-Zero (Vicente Nirō, 2024), in the first case accompanied by a series of props and figures meticulously crafted directly from the film. The exhibition also presents elements of the artistic process of It Shouldn't Rain Tomorrow (Maria Trigo Teixeira, 2024), including character studies, storyboards, drawing equipment and stop-motion filming, which recreate a professional animation studio - an inviting space for the bravest to explore their projects.

To reinforce this creative atmosphere, a staged reading of passages from the book The Girl with the Occupied Eyes (André Carrilho, 2024) will transport visitors to a narrative universe full of fantasy. In addition, there will be an unprecedented experimental installation, related to the film Almost Forgotten (Dimitri Mihajlovic and Miguel Lima, 2023), which promises to deepen the public's involvement, arousing curiosity and sparking dialogue about the art of storytelling through animation and moving images, spontaneously generated by the visitors themselves. In this way, ANIMAR 20 is not just an exhibition; it is an invitation to immerse yourself in the universe of film production.

For school audiences, the programme includes four film sessions adapted to different age groups — M/3, M/9 and M/12. Complementing these school programmes, there will be workshop visits to the exhibition, including workshops on optical toys, pixilation and stop-motion. In addition, the Curtas Metragens C.R.L. Educational Service will organise the Saturday Afternoon Workshops, a series of workshops led by the directors of the works on show and special guests.

The ANIMAR 20 programme also includes screenings of the films Flow (2024) and Robot Dreams (2023) at the Vila do Conde Municipal Theatre, marking the opening and closing sessions of the event, on March 8th and June 7th respectively. There will also be an open-air cinema session that will include a full screening of the short films in this exhibition.