As part of our Wee Wonders Scotland project, we were thrilled to offer a series of fantastic Animation Director Masterclasses—bringing some of the most exciting voices in animation straight to your screen.
The Masterclasses took place online, free, and open to all, making it easier than ever to learn from world-class animators and directors, wherever participants were joining from. Whether filmmakers, aspiring animators, or simply curious about the craft, audiences had a rare opportunity to hear directly from the people behind some truly remarkable work.
Each masterclass offered a unique glimpse into the creative process—exploring storytelling, technique, and the ideas that bring animated worlds to life. Audiences enjoyed insight, inspiration, and plenty of behind-the-scenes magic.
The Line-Up
Thursday 23rd April (7pm)
Chris Lavis (Canada)
The Girl Who Cried Pearls (2025)
Academy Award-winning animator and director Chris Lavis opens the series, whose work spans stop-motion, film, and immersive storytelling.
Thursday 30th April (7pm)
Péter Vácz (Hungary)
Dog Ear (2025)
Award-winning director Péter Vácz joins us from Budapest, known for his distinctive films and international success across festivals worldwide.
Thursday 7th May (7pm)
Alexandra Ramires & Laura Gonçalves (Portugal)
Percebes (2024)
This acclaimed directing duo bring their collaborative practice and internationally recognised work to the series.
Thursday 14th May (7pm)
Daria Kopiec (Poland)
The Pool or Death of a Goldfish (2025)
Film and theatre director Daria Kopiec shares her work, which spans animation, live-action, and stage.
Thursday 21st May (7pm)
Adeola Lawal (Ireland)
Spooky (2025)
Storyboard artist and director Adeola Lawal joins us, with experience across major international productions.
About the Artists
Chris Lavis
An Academy Award-winning animator and director. His first film with longtime collaborator Maciek Szczerbowski, Madame Tutli-Putli (NFB, 2007), received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short. The duo went on to adapt Maurice Sendak’s Higgelty-Piggelty Pop!, produced by Spike Jonze and starring Meryl Streep. Their work has been celebrated internationally, including retrospectives at the Cinémathèque Québécoise and the Annecy International Animation Festival. In 2019, they created Gymnasia, an innovative blend of virtual reality and stop-motion animation, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Immersive Experience. Their latest film, The Girl Who Cried Pearls (2025), opened Annecy, won Best Canadian Short at TIFF, and received the 2026 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Péter Vácz
An award-winning animation director from Budapest, Hungary. He graduated from Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in 2012 with his short film Rabbit and Deer, which has won over 125 festival awards in more than 60 countries, including the Junior Jury Award at Annecy. Since then, he has directed acclaimed stop-motion music videos for the British rock band James (All I’m Saying, 2014, and Dear John, 2016), as well as the live-action short Pillowface (2018) and several animated poem adaptations. His latest animated short, Dog Ear (2025), continues his personal and innovative storytelling and has already won 26 festival awards since its premiere in Annecy. Péter is also a passionate educator, leading workshops and masterclasses worldwide, and has served as teacher and artistic director of the Illyés Animation Academy since 2015. In 2023, he became president and founding member of the Hungarian Association of Animation Artists (AA1).
Alexandra Ramires | Laura Gonçalves
Alexandra and Laura began working in animation in 2009 after graduating with degrees in Fine Arts in Lisbon, and their paths have run parallel ever since. They have been part of the technical teams on several films, have directed both together and separately, and have recently begun producing. Both believe strongly in the power of collaboration and are two of the six founding members of BAP Animation Studio, a cooperative of animation creators that has been their creative base since 2013. Together, they directed Drop by Drop (2017) and Percebes (2024). Individually, Alexandra directed Elo / Tie (2020), while Laura directed Three Weeks in December (2012) and The Garbage Man (2022). Their work has a strong festival track record and has received national and international recognition.
Daria Kopiec
A film and theatre director. She is a graduate of the Directing Department of the Theatre Academy in Warsaw and the Film School in Łódź, specialising in animation and special effects. She was a trainee at La Cambre in Brussels, a member of the Polish Filmmakers Association, and a participant in the Berlinale Talent Campus 2017. She has created internationally acclaimed animated films including Cosmos (2016), which screened in the Annecy main competition, and Your Own Bullshit (2019), which received a jury special mention at SXSW. Alongside her film work, she has gained recognition in theatre, including her play The Daughters of Lear and the television theatre production The Rita G. Affair (2018), which won the Grand Prix at the TEATROTEKA FEST festival. She has recently completed the plasticine animation The Pool or Death of a Goldfish and is finishing the live-action short It’s All Because of Her.
