Ravenera

by Teodor Ralev
New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria

Jury Motivation by Stephan Shtereff

The film is awarded for its exceptional visual expression and masterful command of animation technique. The film captivates with a unique artistic vision and an impressive ability to tell a story through moving images that remain in the viewer’s memory.

Synopsis

In a dark messy burrow, a reclusive raven lives shut off from the outside world - until a spirited nightingale, an opera singer, moves into the floor above, disrupting his carefully kept peace. Their encounter moves the raven's heart, awakening creativity where there was once only silence. Through the metaphor of an unexpected muse, the story explores the tension between silence and song, chaos and creation. The raven, once isolated, finds new meaning in life through melody, sparked by the presence of the nightingale. Ravenera is a poetic tale about inspiration, the unexpected arrival of creativity, and the deeply personal, often ironic journey of artistic awakening.

Director's biography

Teodor Ralev began his studies in the Animation Cinema program at New Bulgarian University in 2018. In 2020, he worked as lead animator on the short animated film "8848", directed by Stefan Voyvodov. During this project, he acquired key skills in cutout animation under the camera, which he later applied in the production of "Oceania", also directed by Voyvodov. Oceania received the Special Jury Prize at the 17th World Festival of Animated Film in Varna and was selected for the CEE Animation Talents 2022 lineup.

In the spring of 2022, he took part in a two-week production of a series of stop-motion commercials for Travel Oregon as an assistant animator, under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Zlatin Radev. He later collaborated with Radev again as an assistant animator on a music video for Porter Robinson.

He completed his degree in April 2025, successfully defending his graduation film Ravenera — a short cutout stop motion animation film.

For the period 2024 - 2025, Teodor worked as a compositing artist at Chase a Cloud Studio, contributing to various projects including The Paper Bear (dir. Arix Zalace, 2025) and Avengers' Holiday Crisis: Hydra's Frosty Ambush.

Credits

Film by Teodor Ralev

Specifications

Original title: Гарванера
Running time: 10'
Film type: Animation
Country: Bulgaria
Completion date: April 2025