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Georges Sifianos, born in Greece, is a filmmaker, visual artist, and Doctor of Philosophy. In 1995, he founded the Department of Animation Studies at the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD) in Paris, where he taught for more than twenty years, contributing to the education of several generations of filmmakers. Many of his former students are now internationally recognized figures in animation.
During the same period, he gave courses and lectures at universities and academic institutions across Europe, India, Korea, Japan, and China.
He contributed to the founding and/or administration of major professional and institutional organizations, including CARTOON, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and NEF Animation. He has also served on numerous international festival juries.
His research interests focus on the aesthetics of animated film, in relation to perception and mental imagery, as well as ecology and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
From 2008 to 2018, he concentrated his research on the analysis of movement as observed on the Parthenon frieze. His major discovery lies in demonstrating that the principle of animation was employed with remarkable mastery in this emblematic relief of Antiquity, in order to formalize the philosophical conception of the period concerning dialectics, social organization, democracy, and the musical relationships structuring the cosmos. This original study, The Symphony of the Parthenon Frieze, constitutes his principal research work.
He is the author of The Aesthetics of Animated Film, which received the McLaren–Lambart Award from the Society for Animation Studies in 2014 (Best Academic Book), as well as the Hemingway Grant in 2015. He has also contributed to numerous collective volumes, exhibition catalogues, and specialized journals.
In 2025, he received the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Animation Studies at Animafest Zagreb, as well as the Great Greek Masters distinction at AnimaSyros.
His films have been awarded multiple times at international festivals. His most recent film, The Blind Writer, has received approximately twenty international awards, including Best Animation, Award of Excellence, Best International Short Film, Experimental Prize, People’s Choice Award, the Min Tanaka Award, and the Giulio Giannini Award.
Filmography:
- SMILE (1974), animated short film, 2 min
- ODEUR DE VILLE (Scent of city) (1994), animated short film, 8 min 30 s
- TUTU (2001), animated short film, co-directed with Pascal Dalet, 26 min
- C’EST MÔA (2007), animated short film, 12 min
- THE BLIND WRITER (2021), animated short film, 9 min 50 s
- WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (2026), animated short film, 11 min 45 s
as well as the feature-length documentary co-directed with Stathis Katsaros:
- PETROCHEMICALS: THE CATHEDRALS OF THE DESERT (1981), 80 min
