The 17th edition of Weird Market presents some of the main highlights of the 2025 edition and announces dates and formats for mainstays such as the recruitment day, where some 500 job interviews are held, and the showroom with the main trends in the sector. Meanwhile, La Mutant is added as a screening space and, along with the Filmoteca, will be the screening venues for the event. The organization also announced some of the big names for its conferences, the presentation of El cuerpo de Cristo by Bea Lema (2024 National Comic Award), and the awarding of the 2025 Diboos Honorary Award.

The International Animation, Video Games and New Media Market, which will be held in Valencia from October 2 to 4, will once again be the focal point for the search for new talent. Leading international companies will meet on Thursday, September 2, to conduct around 500 job interviews. Candidates from different parts of Spain will be able to join the work teams of studios such as Admirable Films, ATLANTIS Animation Boutique, Aupa Studio, Hampa Studio, Skydance Animation, Studio Kimchi, Sultana Films, TV ON Producciones, and Uniko. “Weird Market has always had in its DNA to be a ‘talent catalyst’; with each edition we seek to make this recruitment event as personalized as possible. We want the experience to be productive, effective, and agile for both companies and professionals,” says José Luis Farias, director of Weird Market.

Another spearhead is the showroom, which returns this year with the renewed support of BCN Game Fest (by IndieDevPlay). A showcase for the most recent trends in the animation, video game, and new media sectors, it is open to both professionals and the general public. Las Naves (the venue for the event) will host the showroom, which will open its doors Friday and Saturday from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm and from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Registration for a booth is open until September 8.

NEW SCREENING VENUE TO BRING WORKS CLOSER TO THE INDUSTRY

One of the main new features of this 17th edition is related to the cinematographic component, as the screening venues are being expanded by adding La Mutant to the Filmoteca. This new space, interconnected with Las Naves and which houses a significant portion of the professional activities of the event, adds a new viewing window for professionals. The main objective is to bring the works and their creators closer to the industry.

Distributors, producers, and other creators will have the opportunity to see all the WFest short films between Friday and Saturday, a special out-of-competition session called “weird talent” for emerging Spanish and international animation, in addition to the “MIFA’s special screening of selected works in competition at Weird Market 2025” in collaboration with the Annecy Festival. The general public will also have the opportunity to view the international selection on Thursday at La Mutant, in addition to the usual screening of works participating in the national and international competitions at the Filmoteca.

PROMINENT INTERNATIONAL NAMES AMONG THE SPEAKERS

Weird Market will hold its professional section on Friday, October 3, and Saturday, October 4, two days during which conferences, presentations, and project pitches will take place. Prominent names have already been confirmed, such as those of the Americans Vera Verba and Dotti Sinnott, Sweden’s Arvid Tappert, and Spain’s Carles Dalmau. Verba is the Strategy Director of Sesame Street, one of children’s animation milestones that has achieved global relevance and has become an intergenerational icon.

Also coming from the United States will be Sinnott, Head of Content at Doodles, a leading brand in the Web3 world which merged with Golden Wolf animation studio and has launched an innovative IP between digital art and entertainment of the future. The way they approach their work is one of their differentiating features due to the relevance given to the community. Doodles has been able to build a transmedia brand, with its own creative ecosystem (Golden Wolf, Doodles Records, physical experiences).

Another confirmed name is Arvid Tappert from Sweden, who will be in charge of explaining how AI can support the creative process without replacing artists themselves. An example of this is his eccentric animated adult comedy The Odd Birds Show.

Illustrator Carles Dalmau will also be present to discuss the success story of Cult of the Lamb, Devolver Digital’s all-time best-selling intellectual property (with a revenue of almost 90 million dollars). Its development goes beyond the video game to include comics, animation, and a very active fan community on social media.

Other highlights for the event include the presentation of the second Diboos Honorary Award (Pablo Berger received it last year), the “bastard formats” session with groundbreaking, singular, experimental, and diverse works, the “Beerworking” meeting, and the project pitches. It is in this area that a paradigm shift is confirmed to focus on the value of IPs as a defining element, something that was reflected in the call and which will materialize during Weird Market. RTVE, Movistar Plus+, and the Annecy Festival continue as collaborators, granting various awards.

Under this new vision, El cuerpo de Cristo will be presented in Valencia: an audiovisual adaptation of the graphic novel by Bea Lema, winner of the 2024 National Comic Award. The project returns to WEIRD after winning the Movistar Plus+ Short Project Award in 2023.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

The registration process for the 2025 edition of Weird Market is now open until September 23, a must-attend event for professionals and lovers of animation, video games, and new technologies that sells out every year in just a few weeks. During the first week of October, hundreds of people attend one of the leading events in this sector at both the national and European levels.

The 17th edition of Weird Market is primarily sponsored by Creative Europe MEDIA, the Valencia City Council, Valencia Innovation Capital, and the participation of Acción Cultural Española through the Program for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE). It is also supported by RTVE, HP, Tangram Solutions, Movistar Plus+, the Valencian Institute of Culture attached to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Universities and Employment, BCN Game Fest, DIBOOS, AVEPA, Animat, and Valencia Game City among others.