A
platform bringing emerging creators and industry leaders together for a
high-impact showcase of storytelling, technology, and next-gen career pathways
Mumbai,
December 26, 2025: MAAC (Maya Academy of Advanced
Creativity), one of India’s leading pioneers in high-end 3D Animation, VFX,
Game Design, Digital Design, and Digital Content Creation has concluded the 24FPS
Creators Fest and 22nd edition of International Animation Awards
2025 at the Jio World Centre, BKC, Mumbai. This year’s edition was the most
dynamic and impactful in the brand’s 25-year history, bringing together one of
India’s largest communities of young creators, industry veterans, studio heads,
and global M&E experts.
24FPS
Creator Fest was designed as an immersive platform that offered deep insights
into emerging opportunities across sectors and next-gen technologies. With over
6000 submissions from India and abroad, the awards celebrated work that
demonstrated originality, technical excellence, and global-ready storytelling.
Over the years, the 24FPS International Animation Awards has attracted entries
from more than 100 countries, including Vietnam, the United Kingdom, France,
South Africa, and multiple eastern European countries and more, reinforcing
MAAC’s growing creative influence.
The
fest opened with a compelling keynote address by Mr. Ashish Kulkarni,
Founder, Punnaryug ArtVision Pvt. Ltd., who highlighted the rapidly
evolving AVGC-XR landscape and the global opportunities transforming the
creative ecosystem.
This
year’s fest featured curated knowledge sessions, including a segment on
decoding “Creators. Cameras. Content. The Future of the Video Value Chain”,
featuring Ms. Shweta Mahadik, Content Creator, Mr. Gaurav Markan, Sr
Manager Marketing – Product, B2B Business & Strategic Alliances- Image
Communication Business, Canon India, and Mr. Kiran Deohans, experienced
Director of Photography and member of ISC, moderated by Dr. Rajeev
Rastogi, Founder & Managing Director, WhiteApple LLP.
Further
elevating the event’s thought leadership, a high-engagement panel discussion
titled “New Era of Storytelling with GenAI” brought together Mr.
Chetan Hansraj, Head of Department – AI and VFX, Balaji Telefilms Ltd.; Mr.
Nishith Dayal, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Technologist, Eleventh Door
Studio; and Mr. Vishal Yoman, Founder & CEO, Kalpanik Films. The
session, moderated by Mr. Samit Shetty, Lead Solutions Engineer-Media &
Entertainment at Autodesk, emphasised the importance of integrating AI
literacy into creative education to prepare talent for global-standard
production environments. MAAC has integrated GenAI-powered across all its
career courses to ensure their learners are adept at working with in human-AI
environments.
A
significant highlight was the panel titled “Players to Creators: Career
Pathways in XR & Gaming Industry,” which featured a powerhouse assembly
of leaders from Maharashtra’s gaming ecosystem. Moderated by Mr. Anand Jha,
CEO of NILEE GAMES, the session included insights from Ms. Laxmi
Khanolkar (CEO of Apar Games), Ms. Ranbeer Singh Hora (Managing Director
of GodSpeed Games), and Mr. Deepak Ail (CEO of Dot9 Games). These
industry veterans provided a strategic roadmap for aspiring creators,
emphasizing the transition from consumers to architects of the burgeoning XR
and gaming sectors.
Parallel
to the main stage, the “Creative Mandapam” track delivered high-impact
masterclasses led by world-class studios, including 88 Pictures, CineVisualFX,
and Framestore India. These sessions offered attendees a rare look into the
technical mastery behind global hits, such as the VFX of Deadpool &
Wolverine, and the nuances of acting and phonetics in animation.
Notably,
24FPS Creator Fest took a definitive stand in representing the “C” (Comics) in
the AVGC-XR spectrum. By hosting a dedicated panel on visual design for
sequential storytelling—featuring experts from Mugafi and Indusverse—the
fest ensured that the art of comic creation received its rightful place
alongside animation and gaming.
Diving
deep into the ecosystem of India’s creator economy, Mr. Ashish Kulkarni
moderated a panel discussion on the topic, ‘India Rising: The New Age of IP
Creation’, featuring Mr. Sanjeev Waeerkar, Director, Ice Candy, Mr.
Milind Shinde, Founder & CEO, 88 Pictures, Mr. Vaibhav Kumaresh,
Founder Director, Vaibhav Studios and Mr. Akshat Rathee, Co-founder,
NODWIN Gaming.
The
awards ceremony that unfolded in the evening honoured outstanding student and
professional projects across Best Animation Short-film (2D/3D), Best Visual
Effects Feature Film, Best Animated Short Film, Best Unreal Cinematic Film and
Best VFX shot, among a host of other categories. A distinguished jury
comprising leading studio heads, creative directors, and industry veterans
evaluated the entries against rigorous artistic and technical benchmarks.
In
the “Movers and Shakers” category, the audience was captivated with Mr. Rahul
Chahar who was awarded the ‘GenZ Youth Inspiration Award’; Ms.
Shweta Mahadik as the ‘Creative Innovator of the Year Award 2025’;
Ms. Reenu Debnath won the ‘Breakthrough start of the year 2025’;
Devika Khade for ‘Comedy Creator of the Year 2025 – Female’; Harsh
Rane for ‘Comedy Creator of the Year 2025- Male’; Hamza Syed
for ‘Game Changer Creator of the Year 2025’; Arbaz Patel for ‘Reality
Icon of the Year - 2025’ and Zaid Darbar as ‘Music Creator of the
Year-2025’.
The
evening saw a host of entertaining performance by leading Indian dance crew ‘MJ5’,
singer Juilee Joglekar, and comedian Joel D’souza who helped in
making this evening memorable for the audience. Furthermore, MAAC felicitated
40 alumni who are under the age of 40, i.e., 40 Under 40, recognising
their exemplary work for the AVGC-XR ecosystem.
The
strong participation at 24FPS Creator Fest reaffirmed the rapid evolution of
India’s AVGC-XR sector, with creators showcasing expertise in, Animation &
VFX Short films, Live action short format content, new age film making using
real-time engines, AI-driven design, immersive media, and digital-first
production workflows.
On
the occasion of completing 25 years, MAAC has also introduced two new learning
tracks for its upcoming students—namely Career X and Creator X. These are not
just new courses; they are future-ready academic pathways designed to bridge
the gap between industry and academia, and power the next generation of
creative professionals.
Speaking
on the successful culmination of the event, Mr. Sandip Weling, Chief
Business Officer – Global Retail at Aptech Limited and Brand Custodian, MAAC,
said: “24FPS Creator Fest this year has once again spotlighted the talent,
and creativity of MAAC students. The sessions, industry conversations, and
compelling storytelling showcased today reflect a generation fully prepared to
redefine the global AVGC-XR landscape. MAAC remains committed to empowering
this talent through world-class training, meaningful exposure, crucial skills,
and future-ready opportunities that strengthen India’s creative economy.”
As
one of India’s most respected platforms in the Media & Entertainment
education ecosystem, 24FPS continues to nurture and empower the next generation
of creative professionals in the rapidly expanding media & entertainment
sector. MAAC aims to strengthen this legacy through deeper academic–industry
collaborations, creator-first initiatives, and stronger audience engagement in
the years ahead.
About
MAAC:
Maya Academy of
Advanced Creativity (MAAC) is India’s leading training institute for high-end
3D Animation and Visual Effects. Founded in 2001 & a major brand of Aptech
Ltd, MAAC has trained over lakhs of students, worldwide. It has in total over
130 centres globally with cutting-edge infrastructure in over 65+ cities.
MAAC offers industry
relevant career courses on 3D Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Digital
Design, Filmmaking, Broadcast, VR & AR. MAAC courses are
thoughtfully designed to provide students thorough insights about the dynamics
of the industry. It provides real-life training environment to students, backed
by excellent faculty, world-class infrastructure, and the latest technical
tools.
MAAC students are
placed across all domains of the Media & Entertainment industry in India
& overseas. With our job-ready courses, MAAC students are placed in leading
production houses and studios such as DNEG,Amazon, Red Chillies VFX, Accenture,
Green Gold Animation, NY VFXwaala, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM),
Framestore, PhantomFX, BotVFX, 88 Pictures, Resonance Digital and Folks VFX,
amongst others.
For further information
please visit- http://www.maacindia.com/