The 16th edition of Weird Market kicks off in Valencia as a national and international benchmark for the animation, video game and new media industry. From October 1st to 6th, more than 500 industry professionals will gather around a multidisciplinary program that includes project presentations, conferences, a short film festival, professional and talent search sessions, networking spaces and even a day dedicated to exploring new funding models and deepening the use of disruptive technologies with the participation of investors, publishers and institutions.

During Weird Market, the Spanish Federation of Animation and Visual Effects Producers (Diboos) will  present filmmaker Pablo Berger with the Honorary Diboos 2024 Award. The Federation, which has celebrated its 18th anniversary, will be giving this new distinction annually as an acknowledgment to individuals and entities that contribute significantly to the sector, promoting Spanish animation both at the domestic and international levels. With this award, Berger, director of Robot Dreams, nominated for an Oscar award for Best Animated Feature, wraps an epic tour with this work which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and has won awards at the Goya, Annie, Quirino, José María Forqué, Feroz, The European Film Awards, and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The first foray into animation by the Basque creator of other titles such as Snow White, Abracadabra and Torremolinos 73 was backed by an experienced team of animation professionals who helped him earn critical acclaim and public praise at its premiere at box offices around the world.

WEIRD MARKET IN NUMBERS 

The 2024 edition of Weird Market boasts figures that confirm its potential and relevance in the sector. The official catalog will include 180 projects, including features, short films, series, web series, video games, transmedia projects, comics and board games, of which around thirty will be presented during the professional days that will take place between October 3rd and 5th.

In the animation short film festival (WFest – October 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the Filmoteca Valenciana, Rialto Building) there will be 36 films in competition: 25 in the domestic section and 11th in the international section. The selection includes three world premieres featuring emerging talents, established names and some of the most important works of the year, such as the winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes or an Oscar nominee.

The industry area of the Market shows a significant expansion this year, with more than 500 participants registered in the newly created Weird Invest Day, which offers an array of conferences and activities aimed at exploring new funding models, examining case studies and deepening the use of disruptive technology. Attendees include investors, publishers and institutions such as Triple Dragon, Animond, Blue Bits, Madwest, Raw Fury, Veemkade Capital, Blackmouth Games, Bright Gambit, Foton Games, Parabellum Games, Elipsis Capital, FEI-EIF, Hulahoop Media, ICO, Enisa, Spain Audiovisual Hub, CDTI, DeAPlaneta Entertainment, MEDIA, the Ministry of Culture, and CESCE. Weird Invest Day will take place on Thursday, October 3, thanks to the support from ICEX, Animation from Spain, and Games from Spain.

Also in the professional area, the recruitment day will take place on Thursday, October 2nd, where talent scouts from 12 international companies will be present to conduct over a hundred interviews to incorporate new talent into their teams. Public interest exceeded expectations, and the recruitment day was fully booked in less than three hours.

One of the highlights of this edition of Weird Market is the addition of two new venues, Las Naves and La Harinera, which together offer over 10,000 square meters where projects such as a softlanding space for technologies and the Valencia Game City project are housed. La Harinera is where “The Showroom” will be located, an initiative that will be boosted by the video game fair IndieDevDay. On October 4th and 5th, Plaza Weird will host around twenty booths where, in addition to the IndieDevDay, there will be space for Animalcoi (Alcoi International Animation Festival), Prime the Animation!, training centers such as the Escola Superior D’Art I Tecnologia ESAT, Barreira A+D and the Universitat Politècnica de València, as well as 13 video game companies that will showcase their latest developments.

The 16th edition of Weird Market is co-organized by the Valencian Institute of Culture, attached to the Council of Education, Culture, Universities and Employment. It also has the main sponsorship of Europa Creativa MEDIA, the Valencia City Council and the Valencia Provincial Council; the participation of the Ministry of Culture, ICEX, Valencia Innovation Capital, Acción Cultural Española through the Program for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE) and the ICAA; it is also sponsored by À Punt, HP, and has the support of IndieDevDay, Tangram Solutions,  AVEPA, Animat, Movistar Plus+ and RTVE, among others.