What AniMela does

AniMela is India's first international festival dedicated to Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics, and XR (AVGC-XR), operated by the Aniverse & Visual Arts Foundation (AVAF), a nonprofit organization founded in 2023 and headquartered in Mumbai. The festival serves India's AVGC-XR creator ecosystem—independent animators, studios, students, and XR developers—by aggregating 3,000+ attendees annually across screenings, masterclasses, workshops, mentor sessions, and an international competition. Its core product is a curated, event-based platform rather than a software offering; the South Asia Competition, International MIFA Campus, and Namaste MIFA India Partner Pitch function as the festival's signature programming tracks, with workshop registration priced at INR 2,500.

The festival's institutional anchor is a partnership with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival/MIFA, which provides Indian creators a structured pathway into the global animation market via MIFA Pitches and curated mentorship. Revenue is generated through ticket sales, sponsorship packages, and workshop/program registration; the organization discloses no audited revenue or funding rounds. Government endorsement from India's Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, venue migration to Whistling Woods International for the 2026 edition (third edition), and the 2025 appointment of filmmaker Kiran Rao to the Board of Advisors indicate ongoing institutional scale-up.

Strategically, AniMela is positioning itself as India's official bridge between domestic AVGC-XR talent and international markets, with a stated product-surface expansion into Location-Based VR (LBVR) and a regional expansion of the South Asia Competition to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The operation remains small (11 employees), and the underlying business is event-cycle dependent rather than software-scale.

Name

AniMela

Legal name

Aniverse & Visual Arts Foundation (AVAF)

Website

https://animela.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AniMela is India's first international AVGC-XR (Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics, XR) festival, operated by nonprofit Aniverse & Visual Arts Foundation, serving 3,000+ creators, students, and studios with screenings, workshops, pitch programs, and competitions tied to Annecy/MIFA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animation & Entertainment Festival Events

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Animated Series Production (TV/Streaming) (MPADACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses (MPACALAD), VR/AR/XR Game Studios (MPAFAAAE), Animation Services for VFX (Creature/Character, Crowd, Simulation Support) (MPADAHAF)

Keywords

• Animation film festival
• VFX industry events
• Gaming industry conference
• XR immersive experiences
• Comics exhibition

Headquarters

HQ city

Mumbai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Festival Operations: AniMela generates revenue through ticket sales for festival attendance, sponsorship packages from corporate partners, and registration fees for the International MIFA Campus workshop program. The festival serves as a platform connecting creators with industry professionals, studios, distributors, and investors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AniMela is India's first international festival dedicated to Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics, and XR (AVGC-XR), organized by the Aniverse & Visual Arts Foundation (AVAF). The core offering is an annual multi-day festival featuring film screenings, curated programming, workshops, masterclasses, mentorship programs, industry networking, and pitch sessions for animation professionals, students, and enthusiasts. The festival includes sub-programs like the International MIFA Campus (IMC) for emerging Indian animation talent and the Namaste MIFA India Partner Pitch for connecting Indian creators with global studios and distributors at Annecy MIFA in France.

Product overview

AniMela is India's first international festival dedicated to Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics, and XR (AVGC-XR). The organization operates a single unified festival event that serves as both a platform and showcase, bringing together creators, industry leaders, and enthusiasts. The festival encompasses multiple integrated program components: the main festival event featuring film screenings and competitions, the International MIFA Campus workshop for nurturing talent, the Namaste MIFA pitch program connecting Indian creators with global markets at Annecy, the South Asia Film Competition, VR & Immersive Experiences Zone, Knowledge Sharing Sessions with masterclasses and workshops, Professional Networking Platform, Gaming Zone, Festival Jury Program, and Artists' Showcase/Indie Comix Corner. AniMela has held four editions (Launch 2023, Festival 2024, Festival 2025, and upcoming Festival 2026) and is organized by the Aniverse & Visual Arts Foundation (AVAF).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• International MIFA Campus: A dedicated platform to discover and nurture the next generation of Indian animation talent in partnership with Annecy Festival.
• Namaste MIFA

Products and services

• AniMela Festival India's first international festival dedicated to Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics, and XR (AVGC-XR), bringing together creators, industry leaders, and enthusiasts through film screenings, workshops, masterclasses, networking events, pitch sessions, and experiential zones over 3-4 days annually.
• International MIFA Campus (IMC) A workshop program in partnership with the Annecy International Animation Film Market (MIFA) that discovers and nurtures Indian animation talent. Selects 5 projects annually for mentorship, project development, and pitch preparation, with registration fee of INR 2,500 inclusive of taxes.
• Namaste MIFA India Partner Pitch India's Partner Pitch initiative that showcases selected Indian animation projects at the Annecy International Animation Film Market (MIFA), connecting Indian talent with global studios, distributors, and investors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 Indian projects benefited from International MIFA Campus mentorship across 2024 and 2025 editions
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, major and minor.

• Annecy International Animation Film Festival / MIFAflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial partnership bringing International MIFA Campus to India. Annecy Festival provides mentorship programs, international expertise, and platform for Indian talent to access global animation market through Namaste MIFA pitch sessions.
• Whistling Woods InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for AniMela 2026 festival. Whistling Woods International, India's premier film and creative arts institute, provides state-of-the-art facilities for festival programming.
• IDC School of Design, IIT BombaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for AniMela 2025 and venue for International MIFA Campus workshops. IDC provides facilities and access to student talent for festival programming.
• French Embassy in IndiacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGovernment partner providing support for France-India cultural exchange in animation, supporting the International MIFA Campus program and French animation showcases.
• Institut Français IndiacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFrench Institute providing support for International MIFA Campus, French animation content curation, and VR/XR programming including Catalogue XR.
• Assemblage EntertainmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presenter of Namaste MIFA India Partner Pitch events at Annecy MIFA, helping introduce Indian talent to global studios, distributors, and investors.
• Zebu Animation StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presenter of Namaste MIFA India Partner Pitch events, supporting Indian animation creators in accessing international markets.
• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of IndiamajorGTM or Marketing PartnerGovernment partner providing institutional support for India's AVGC-XR industry promotion through the festival platform.
• VarietyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEntertainment industry publication providing press coverage and visibility for festival and participant projects.
• Animation XpressminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnimation industry publication providing news coverage and feature stories about festival and Indian animation talent.
• Australian Consulate MumbaiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerConsular representation supporting Australia-India animation co-production initiatives and cultural exchange.
• DesibelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupport partner for International MIFA Campus program providing funding and resources for Indian animation talent development.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ottawa International Animation Festival: One of the longest-running international animation festivals (since 1976), featuring competitive screenings, masterclasses, and industry programming. Mirrors AniMela's combination of curated animation showcase plus talent development for animators.
• Comic Con India: Multi-city Indian pop-culture convention covering comics, animation, gaming, cosplay and creator commerce. Direct overlap with AniMela's Comics and indie creator programming; broader audience focus and consumer-ticket revenue model contrast with AniMela's industry-festival positioning.
• VIEW Conference: Italy's leading conference on computer graphics, animation, VFX, VR/AR and gaming. Comparable to AniMela's programming scope (especially the VR & Immersive Experiences Zone) and its mix of industry professionals, masterclasses, and student outreach.
• Annecy International Animation Film Festival: The world's premier animation festival held annually in Annecy, France. It is AniMela's flagship strategic partner and the benchmark model — both events curate animated features/shorts, host professional markets (MIFA), and run talent development programs. Annecy is the dominant global counterpart that AniMela mirrors in the Indian market.
• IndiaJoy: India's largest gaming, animation and entertainment expo, held in Hyderabad. Most direct Indian competitor covering overlapping AVGC-XR verticals; while IndiaJoy is more trade/consumer-show oriented and AniMela is more festival-oriented, both chase the same Indian creator and sponsor base.
• FMX (Film and Media Exchange): Stuttgart-based annual conference and exhibition for animation, VFX, games and immersive media. Directly comparable to AniMela's AVGC-XR focus, with a similar mix of industry screenings, masterclasses, recruiting, and a co-location with Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film.

Broad incumbents

• SIGGRAPH: The premier global conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, covering animation, VFX, gaming, XR and emerging tech. Comparable to AniMela's AVGC-XR positioning but at significantly larger scale and broader industry scope; SIGGRAPH Asia serves as a more geographically-overlapping benchmark.

Regional players

• MAMI Mumbai Film Festival: Mumbai's flagship international film festival (run by MAMI). Shares geographic, sponsor pool and venue ecosystem with AniMela but is broader in scope (live-action, documentary) and lacks AniMela's animation/AVGC-XR specialization — comparable as a regional incumbent for Indian festival sponsorship and audiences.
• Dharamshala International Film Festival: Curated Indian indie film festival with strong industry programming and masterclasses. Shares AniMela's festival-as-curation philosophy and several overlapping team members (Monica Wahi, Aakanksha Jadhav), but operates in a non-animation niche.

Emerging players

• NASSCOM Xperience: NASSCOM's flagship Indian conference on emerging technologies including animation, gaming, VFX and extended reality. Targets the same Indian AVGC-XR enterprise and creator base as AniMela but with a more B2B/tech-buyer emphasis versus AniMela's festival/creator focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/animelaindia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@AnimelaIndia
• Facebookfacebook.com/animelaindia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/animelaindia
• Instagraminstagram.com/animelaindia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AniMela