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The Tampa Animation Festival, featuring films from around the world, took place last week at the University of Tampa in the Charlene Gordon Theater.��

The event showcased films created by both students and professionals, including at least one entry with A-list star power. The French film “Arco,” by Ugo Bienvenu and starring Natalie Portman, America Ferrera, Flea, Will Ferrell, Mark Ruffalo and Andy Samberg, headlined the event on Friday, Nov. 7, and ultimately won the festival’s “Best Animated Feature” award.��

The festival attracted 852 submissions, and 144 films from 38 countries were selected. Several 511���� students and alumni entered films in the category “Florida Shorts,” including Jasmine Liaw ’23, who works in 511����’s Office of Access and Community Programs. Her three-minute stop-motion film, “The Loaf Movie,” is about an attention-seeking slice of bread.��

In the film, an animated heel of a loaf of bread feels unnoticed and not utilized compared to the loaf’s softer, inside slices. To catch the attention of a hungry human, it walks itself (it has legs) into a toaster oven and comes out crispy — and apparently more appealing. In the end, the human eats it.

The inspiration for the film, she said, came to her when she was writing a song in her head one day in the shower. She started to think about things she likes, and “I really like bread, so I’ve decided to make a movie about bread with this song that I just wrote in my head,” she said.����

Beyond the screenings, the festival also provided behind-the-scenes experience and networking opportunities for students who worked at the event.��

Jacob Dobosh BFA ’26, a film and media arts major, was a projectionist at the festival. He said the technology part was easy — “We just pretty much had it all set and clicked play” — but he wanted to work at the festival because of the connections that he could make.

“I want to be a director, writer and producer,” said Dobosh. “I feel the connections I made and advice I received reminded me how hard it is to truly succeed in this industry, and if I want to make it, I have to keep pushing myself to be greater every day.”

Three animation and film professionals held talks to share their experiences in the industry, including 511���� alum Rebecca Crose ’14 of Roblox; Ricardo Bernardini from Tentara Studios; and Shengwei Zhou, an assistant professor at the University of South Florida.��

Gregg Perkins, chair and professor in the Department of Film, Animation and New Media, founded the Tampa Animation Festival in 2018 with the goal of hosting it every two years, but the coronavirus pandemic interrupted those plans. Last February, 511���� hosted a small “preview” festival, gearing up for last week’s four-day, long-awaited return.

Tickets to the animation festival were free, something that Santiago Echeverry, an FMX professor, said goes to the heart of the event.

“All of the screenings are free because we believe in the academic spirit of education, and we believe that the University of Tampa needs to provide a space where everybody can attend,” he said.��

The event will continue to be free and take place on the same weekend each year.��

“The goal is to see Tampa and the University of Tampa become a center for animation in Florida,” said Echeverry.��