Authors

Tomas Tamosaitis

Concept Author / Director / Creative Producer

I’m a producer and filmmaker. I work on the development and production of various animation, film, and transmedia projects. As a kid I was very active, always questioning all the things, rebelling everything, especially the school and its system, and not really fitting into the so-called “normal”. With time the world rejected me, and I closed myself. I became afraid of the others and the others were afraid of me. I had a tough time trying to find the way to conciliate the world around me and to open myself again. Today, with my work I have a possibility to show what does it feel to be a troubled teenager and contribute to evoking reconsideration of social phobias so to reduce the discrimination of those who appear to deviate from perceived norms.

Sara Božanić

Creative Producer

I’m a designer, strategist, educator, thinker. I’m the CEO of the Institute for Transmedia Design and I am Jew. I was born into a Jewish family. Most of my ancestors vanished in Auschwitz except my grandmother, who was the only survivor in her family. Consequently, Holocaust and concentration camps have been taboo words in my family and so was the Jewish heritage. I guess that's how my grandmother coped with her stigma. On the other hand I’ve been wearing the Star of David proudly, aligning myself with my family’s heritage. I think the most important thing is not to hide but to show how we feel and who we are. Only that way we can be freed from stigmas.

Skirmanta Jakaite

Artist / Animator

I am an animator, character designer, illustrator, and animation director. I work in 2D drawing animation technique. I think of myself as an introvert. As a little girl, I found it very difficult to find friends or to fit in. I even had to stop going to kindergarten because it was too stressful for both me and my teachers, and for my parents as well. Very often, I felt like an alien, alone and different. But I found a perfect hide-away in books and make-believe stories that I used to create. Later, I was surprised to find out that stories are best suited not to hide in, but to connect with others and make friendships. Through animation, I discovered that there is a place for everyone - however strange, different, weird, or boringly normal that person is. We just have to be honest to ourselves.

Dalibor Kazija

Web Designer

I’m a designer and illustrator with experience in different fields and media. Tough from the outside, soft from the inside. As a child I have always felt alienated. Genes and family drama turned me into an introvert, an endless critic with a sometimes negative viewpoint of the world and myself. Not being me just to fit in, bullying others because of being bullied, avoiding socialising, low self esteem... Today my areas of exploration include visual communication design, illustration, art, music, animation etc. Those childhood shortcomings turned out to be superpowers because critical thinking, alternative viewpoints and socially themed projects are essential for a better society.

Petra Bertalanič

Content Designer

I work as a transmedia producer and translator. Most of the time, I create stories in different languages and communicate those across mediums and cultures, thus building bridges between them – and the people. I believe stories are the most powerful manifestation tool; sometimes allowing us to escape our lives and create worlds we want to live in; but much more than that - to help us build faith in both ourselves and others. As a teenager, I loved to “live” in worlds I’d made up for myself, but in so doing, I’d find myself alone and misunderstood. For only when being honest with ourselves and others are we be able to show who we truly are and what we feel. And only that way will others get to know us, understand, and accept us. Tell your story out loud!

Robert Ferencek

Web Developer

Robert is a web developer and a programmer. Some call him a geek. He turns our ideas into web pages. Robert has worked with numerous clients in different fields and projects in Slovenia and Europe. He also played a leading role in setting up several scalable cloud server infrastructures for different companies using enterprise type cloud providers. Although he writes pages and pages of complicated code, using different languages, he’s sparing with words when it comes to talking about himself. Rather, he uses his electric guitar to turn his stories into the sounds of rock, hard rock, and metal music - either on stage as guitarist in a metal band or in his studio making solo soundtracks. I guess that’s his way of communicating with us outside his world full of code.