Ana Despot

Ana Despot was born in Zagreb, where she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, majoring in Animated Film. Previously, she earned a Master’s degree in English and French Language and Literature from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. She has translated several novels and film scripts, professionally designed visual identities for various art projects, and illustrated numerous children's magazines, textbooks, books, and picture books. She has participated in several group exhibitions and led several children's art workshops. She has illustrated eight picture books, one of which she also wrote. She has created two animated films and one animated music video for HRT.

In 2021, she made her first animated film, The Egg (Jaje), which had its world premiere at the Pula Film Festival. In 2024, as her graduation thesis, she created the animated film Stribor’s Forest (Šuma Striborova), based on the story by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, for which she also wrote and illustrated a picture book of the same name in collaboration with Mozaik knjiga. The film had its world premiere at Animafest in Zagreb, opened the Vukovar Film Festival, and won the award for Best Animated Film at the Star Film Fest in Sisak and a special recognition at the Tabor Film Festival.

For the visual art design of singer Gina Damjanović’s album "U mojim tajnim notama," she earned a nomination for the Porin Award in 2024.

In 2025, she designed and painted portraits of the winners of the Cesarica music award for hits of the month and hit of the year, and exhibited her works at Lauba during the formal award celebration. Currently, in collaboration with Zagreb Film, she is working on her next animated film; she is the coordinator and selector for animated film at the Vukovar Film Festival, and also teaches animation as an external associate at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb.

She is involved in directing, animation, illustration and, in a word, creation. Music is also a great love of hers; she plays the piano and sings. Most of all, she loves creating unusual worlds, interesting characters, and incredible beings, evoking a childlike nostalgia in herself and others.