Film-Creative Studio VANIMA

Film-Creative Studio VANIMA is a non-profit civil society organization operating in Varaždin and Varaždin County since 1986 with the aim of developing audiovisual activities, media culture, and film literacy. This is primarily achieved through regular animation film groups for children and youth during the school year, led by founders Dubravka Kalinić Lebinec and Srećko Lebinec. In 2005, alongside its annual production, VANIMA started summer animation film workshops, which evolved into the Summer Film Workshops. Since 2010, it has organized VAFI – the International Festival of Animated Films by Children and Youth, which quickly gained international recognition and acclaim. The VAFI concept received an award for creativity and innovation in art and culture in 2011 from the MRAK association. The festival was launched to address the lack of specialized festivals for children and youth taking animated film seriously. The RAFI section held its first edition in 2018 in Rijeka, initiating co-organization with the Public Cultural Institution – Art-kino, after which the event was renamed the VAFI & RAFI Festival. From 2024, co-organization with Rijeka ended, and with a five-year strategy, the festival refocused on the development of media culture and film literacy in Varaždin and Varaždin County. From 2024, the festival has its official ambassador, Josh Staub, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the organization behind the American Academy Awards (Oscars). Since 2012, VANIMA has been designated as the bearer of audiovisual development in Varaždin and was given the use of the (then closed) Gaj cinema to maintain a program called “Kino Galerija.” The cinema’s repertoire features independent, European, and Croatian films of all genres, including recent releases, classics, and amateur films, and presents film festivals. Since 2017, the cinema has been managed again by the Public Open University Varaždin, and VANIMA moved its headquarters to the Youth and Independent Culture Center P4. Since 2016, VANIMA has developed and popularized activities through the program “Varaždin Factory of Experimental Film” in cooperation with the University of North. Since 2019, at the P4 Center, VANIMA organizes the exhibition program “Basement on Mondays,” showcasing young, both established and emerging artists who cultivate visual culture in the region.

• Film production and filmmaking
• Education and work with children and youth
• Organization of presentations and cultural events
• Cinema exhibition activities