“For our friends and visitors wondering about our former BLEND festival. We felt it needed a new angle, so we welcome In Motion instead of BLEND,” the Playgrounds team explains in a manifesto dedicated to all those who have supported and attended this festival, to which we also travelled last year and whose review you can read here. A festival in which creative minds from different artistic disciplines and places all over the world meet, turning the platform into a creative hub defined by inspiring talks, panels led by experts in digital arts, and a great opportunity to network and undertake very valuable collaborations.

Now it’s time to talk about In Motion, their renewed proposal that will bring us to the heart of European animation and media production. “New adventures. New spaces that capture and ooze exactly what we are aiming for. That is Playgrounds In Motion. A travelling festival, focusing on different themes in every new location,” said the festival organizers, who are determined to continue to explore more, discover more, enjoy new spaces and connect with new audiences. The first edition of In Motion was held at the beginning of September in London, and it was an absolute success. Their next event, In Motion Rotterdam, promises to do the same on October 5 and 6.

Of course, we’ll be there, so stay tuned because we’ll be bringing exciting surprises very soon. But we won’t be alone. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, aka the Daniels, directors of Everything, Everywhere All At Once, the masterpiece that got hold of seven Academy Awards (including Best Director and Best Picture), will also take the stage of the incredible Maassilo in Rotterdam to share their experiences, thoughts, and tips, together with Patrick O’Keefe, production designer at Sony Pictures and art department lead of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; and the award-winning British animator and Summer Camp Island creator, Julia Pott.

The complete schedule also includes names such as Kirsten Lepore, the director particularly known for Oscar-nominated Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, British artist and filmmaker Tom CJ Brown, David Wilson, Mikey Please, Lisette Appeldorn, UglyStupidHonest –the pet project of image maker Chris Hoffmann–, From Form, Studio Mals and Taraneh Karimi. At In Motion Rotterdam, we will also enjoy the special premiere of Festus Toll’s essay The Black Pete Files. If you want to learn more and get your ticket, click here!