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Professional Partnerships

Our students regularly participate in activities where they collaborate with key industry organizations (associations of visual artists and writers, festivals, educational institutions, or production companies). Within the framework of these projects, they can showcase their work, attend professional training courses, learn directly from industry leaders through practice, and test their skills as workshop leaders, guiding various professional activities for younger age groups.

Collaborating partner: Transylvania Trust Foundation

The Transylvania Trust Foundation is a non-governmental organization founded in Cluj-Napoca in 1996, specializing in the protection and professional restoration of Transylvania's built heritage. One of the organization's ongoing programs is the summer camp hosted at Bánffy Castle in Bonțida, which included animation workshops in its program offerings over two different years.

Activities:

EcoArt Workshop 2.0 – Interdisciplinary, Participatory, Innovative Dialogue was an artistic and educational workshop organized by the Transylvania Trust Foundation within the CO-VISION project, in partnership with Sapientia University. The goal of the program was to bring participants—including university students—closer to endangered natural heritage and render it visible through contemporary artistic tools. During the two-day workshop, participants used interdisciplinary, camera-less photographic techniques (e.g., lumen print) in the surroundings of Bánffy Castle in Bonțida, exploring the theme of "Inner Silence." The professional program was led by Dr. Mira Marincaș (visual artist), Dr. Zoltán D. Szabó (biologist), Dr. Diana Drăgan-Chirilă, and Daria Langa (visual artists), who supported the creative work of the participants through lectures and practical sessions. The workshop thus brought together art, environmental awareness, and community creation.
Leading an animation workshop at the children's camp held at Bánffy Castle: June 24, 2024. A one-day animation workshop (morning + afternoon) for camp participants (grades 1–4 pupils), organized by Beanbag Animation Studio. Workshop leaders: Edvin Szilágyi, Anna Naphegyi, Blanka Pándi (3rd-year students).

Collaborating partner: Cluj Branch of the Union of Fine Artists of Romania (UAP) (the most important professional organization for visual artists active in the city [painters, sculptors, graphic artists, craft artists])

Additionally: Nophto Magazine, Firefighters' Tower Gallery

Exhibition featuring our students: From January 13 to February 2, 2026, our students participated in the group photo exhibition titled COAL, which focused on the significance of coal as both a material and a symbol: on one hand, as a fundamental energy source of modern industrial society, and on the other, as a phenomenon raising environmental and social questions. The exhibition reflected on these layers of meaning using contemporary photographic art, while students connected to the theme through their own works. The event offered them the opportunity to present their creations in a professional setting and before the general public, thereby strengthening their presence in the contemporary art scene and furthering their professional development.

Collaborating partner: ETV (Transylvanian Hungarian Television)

Romania's first national television channel specifically targeting the Hungarian community. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Târgu Mureș, the channel broadcasts news, cultural, public interest, and educational programs in Hungarian, aimed at informing the Transylvanian Hungarian community and preserving its cultural heritage.

Broadcast featuring our students: 48 Revolution Street (Forradalom utca 48) – Our Master's students assisted a school team in shooting a short film based on a topic specified by ETV, which was broadcast alongside a discussion during the March 15, 2024 program.

Collaborating partner: Transylvanian Hungarian Writers' League (E-MIL)

The Transylvanian Hungarian Writers' League is one of the most prominent professional and advocacy organizations in Transylvanian Hungarian literary life, headquartered in Cluj-Napoca.

The Lyrical Etude Series was a poetry film project realized between December 2023 and August 2025 in collaboration between the Transylvanian Hungarian Writers' League and the Media Department of Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, culminating in a screening and awards ceremony held at Cinema Arta during the Hungarian Days of Cluj. During the project, seven poems by Transylvanian Hungarian authors selected by the writers' organization served as the basis for a student poetry film competition, in which BA and MA students created works in various genres (experimental animation, documentary film, fiction etude), with the condition that the poems also appear in spoken form in the films. The program achieved outstanding professional success: for instance, Iszap (Mud), based on a poem by Vince Fekete, won the Best Experimental Film award at the 44th Hungarian Film Week, while Zárni a házat (Closing the House) directed by Kristóf Szántai (based on a poem by Ferenc Kenéz) was screened at multiple festivals and received awards. A special feature of the project was the incorporation of analog film techniques—such as film processing using a coffee-based developer (caffenol)—which opened up new creative directions for students and encouraged them toward experimental filmmaking over the long term.

Collaborating partner: Budapest Metropolitan University (METU)

As Hungary's largest private university, Budapest Metropolitan University places strong emphasis on practice-oriented education, where students can master the latest trends and techniques of visual arts—especially graphic design and animation—in an international environment supported by modern technology.

Our students' projects in collaboration with METU:

Sándor Kopátsy: Kopp! – A student competition for active students of Budapest Metropolitan University's Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries (pictorial representation, graphic design, photography, motion picture, cinematography, television production, animation, media design) and Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania's Cluj-Napoca Faculty (BA in photography, filmmaking, media, and MA in film studies). Our students were also awarded in this competition.
METUscope 2024 – Within the framework of the program, diploma works of graduating METU students, selected exam films, and short fiction films from the invited guest university—Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania's Cluj-Napoca Faculty—were screened. Over 2 days, across 4 screening rooms of Corvin Cinema, the lineup featured a total of 43 animation films, 20 short films, 26 media design projects, and 2 panel discussions. The list of screened films can be viewed here.

Collaborating partner: Beanbag Animation Studio

The studio, which produces animated films, mostly educational videos, was established in 2019 under the leadership of Réka Kassay, lecturer at Sapientia University. The organization focuses heavily on educational programs, especially leading animation workshops, in which university students actively participate.

Collaborating partner: Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF)

TIFF is Romania's first and largest feature film festival, which since its inception in 2002 has grown into one of the most important film events in Eastern Europe. Alongside the main festival in Cluj-Napoca, TIFF events have also been hosted in other cities across Transylvania since 2007. The festival places great emphasis on audiovisual education for younger audiences through various workshops. One such program is EducaTIFF, which since 2025 operates as a standalone festival under the name Mini TIFF.

Workshops featuring our students:

TIFF Oradea (September 27, 28, 29, 2023): Three stop-motion animation workshops for elementary school children in grades 1–4 (approx. 3x20 children in total), organized by Beanbag Animation Studio. Workshop leaders: Dr. Réka Kassay (coordinator), Edvin Szilágyi, Anna Naphegyi.
TIFF Timișoara (September 7-8, 2024): Two stop-motion animation workshops for elementary school children in grades 1–4, approx. 2x20 children in total, organized by Beanbag Animation Studio. Workshop leaders: Edvin Szilágyi, Anna Naphegyi, Blanka Pándi.
MiniTIFF Cluj-Napoca (October 8-9, 2025): Stop-motion animation workshop for elementary school children in grades 1–4 (approx. 15 children in total). Workshop leaders: Edvin Szilágyi, Anna Naphegyi.

Collaborating partner: Talentum Reformed School (Cluj-Napoca)

The Hungarian educational institution in Cluj-Napoca has been operating since 2000 under the maintenance of the Transylvanian Reformed Church District. The school has an active community life, with roots closely tied to the educational principles of Montessori pedagogy. In 2026, the focus of the "Different School Week" ("Școala altfel" / "Iskola másként") program was photography and filmmaking, providing the framework for the animation activities.

Workshops featuring our students:

March 2-3, 2026: Two sessions of two stop-motion animation workshops (morning and late morning on both days). Workshop leaders: Laura Bartha, Kamilla Buzási, Zsófia Ferencz, Tamás Surinás.
February 24-25, 2025: Stop-motion animation workshop. Workshop leaders: Edvin Szilágyi, Anna Naphegyi.

Additional animation workshops led by students (Edvin Szilágyi, Anna Naphegyi):

October 19, 2024 - Cinema Together, Victoria Cinema: Workshop following the screening of the film Wolfwalkers, approx. 15 participants.
February 24-25, 2025 - TIFF House: Stop-motion workshop, approx. 15 participants.
July 26-27, 2025 - Alba Iulia Music and Film Festival, Alba Iulia: Stop-motion workshop, 15 participants.

Collaborating partner: Holy Trinity Armenian-Hungarian Foundation of the Ciuc Region

The organization operates in Frumoasa (Csíkszépvíz), with the goal of preserving and promoting the local Armenian cultural heritage. The foundation manages the Armenian Memorial House in Frumoasa, which showcases the history, memorabilia, and traditions of the community through a renovated exhibition next to the Szekler Border Guard Memorial Center.

Creative camp featuring our students (September 12–17, 2023): A small group of our students participated in a camp focused on Armenian heritage, organized by Róbert Lakatos and led by Mira Marincaș. During the camp, students worked in small groups to produce short films and other audiovisual works, centering on gaining practical experience, creative experimentation, and collaborative artistic work. The program was complemented by professional guidance, consultations, and community events, allowing participants not only to develop their technical and artistic skills but also to gain insight into the entire filmmaking process.

Collaborating partner: MindFormers Festival

MindFormers is an innovative multi-arts and science festival in Sfântu Gheorghe built on reflection, dialogue, and new perspectives. MindFormers is futuretainment—a meeting point of future, entertainment, thought, and experience. It is a knowledge forum where world affairs can be discussed not in an alienated or distant manner, but as they affect us directly. A festival of the future that, alongside loud stages, relies on powerful thoughts.

At this event, room was also given to our Bachelor's and Master's students to lead individual workshops between August 28 and 30, 2025.

Collaborating partner: Alexandre Trauner ART/Film Festival (ATAFF)

ATAFF is an annual international film festival in Szolnok (Hungary) focusing on production design, the relationship between fine arts and cinema, as well as scientific films.

Our students, led by second-year Master's student Henrietta Eröss, attended the festival, where, in addition to screening the local and global film selection, they participated in masterclasses, panel discussions, and thematic lectures.

Collaborating partner: Double Rise Festival

One of Transylvania's most unique multi-arts and music festivals, held annually in the Trastrău Basin (Rimetea), at the foot of Piatra Secuiului (Székelykő).

Films by our students were screened at multiple editions of the festival in the small hall of the Kriza János Cultural Center.

Collaborating partner: Young Filmmakers' Workshop

The Young Filmmakers' Workshop is a self-study circle and creative community operating within the Media Department of Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania's Cluj-Napoca Faculty.

As part of the Contemporary Film Festival organized by the Workshop, Jürgen Brüning, a member of the advisory committee for the Berlinale Panorama section, held a masterclass which was attended by our students.