The year 2000 brought MONSTRA to the city of Lisbon, one of its first film festivals. It started with the 21st Century and brought a new approach to Animated Film and a dialog between Animation and all art forms.

It was the first of its kind to encourage a cross-over between creators, interactive and generative artistic languages and audiences, offering new perspectives on a language that is as multidisciplinary as it is unknown.

MONSTRA has shown and continues to show Animation as an Art of dialogues and encounters. Encompassing, transdisciplinary, unique and essential. Initially as a large-scale film showcase, where its transversality, training, exhibitions and literacy of children was already well established, MONSTRA  expanded by introducing its competitive section in 2007.

The invited country of 2000 takes MONSTRA to a long tour through Brazil in 2001, the first step of a national and international expansion of MONSTRA à Solta. 

Its combined presence in more than 100 Portuguese cities and towns, and more than 300 cities across the five continents, as well as the 3,000 or so films submitted to its competitions each year from more than 100 countries, are just some of the national and international recognition of MONSTRA’s work in the promotion and diffusion of the art of animated cinema.

More than 400 films are screened annually at the festival, in over a hundred sessions. With this come, as well, around half a hundred masterclasses, workshops, trainings, meetings and transversalities. Exhibitions with an average attendance of 10,000 people, bringing the art of high-profile talents such as Tim Burton, Aardman Studios, LAIKA Studios, José Miguel Ribeiro, Regina Pessoa…

MONSTRINHA brings animation cinema to more than 30,000 children every year in a unique moment of animation literacy. Together, with a growing adult audience and a panel of around two hundred guests from all over the world, MONSTRA is currently the film festival, in Portugal, with the largest and widest audience.

MONSTRA is also increasingly becoming an essential place for people and arts to meet. A space for dialog, exchange, creativity and ideas, which expands beyond the silver screen with exhibitions, meetings, conferences, masterclasses, workshops for adults and children, as well as in cross-sectional and transdisciplinary dialogues that link and connect animation to all areas of art and knowledge.

Fernando Galrito e Miguel Pires de Matos
(Artistic Directors)