Comfama 2026: Growth and Results

Comfama 2026: Growth and Results

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From the 12th to the 15th, the third edition of the Comfama Animation Festival and Market took place in the community of El Retiro, located near Medellín in the department of Antioquia. On this occasion, the event’s visual identity and promo were created by Dinamita Animación. You can watch the short film on Comfama’s social media channels.

As we announced in our article at the beginning of the year, Pixelatl collaborated this year in the development and execution of the market. In this article, we briefly recap some of the most important aspects of this collaboration which, according to participant evaluations, has already yielded some results but, above all, has outlined strategic paths to promote the development of companies in the region.

1. Research

The working methodology we used was first drafted and tested in 2018 during another collaboration (CITA) we carried out that year, and which we have since applied in other events (both our own and those of partners). Naturally, everything was adapted to the regional context and the current moment of the industry, also taking advantage of recent learnings from organizing our festival, the biennial summit, and other events and activities we organize or collaborate on.

The work began last year, first with promotional actions during the Pixelatl festival, as well as with research among companies in Antioquia to understand their capacities, conditions, and expectations.

In October and early November, we designed the research instrument that was applied during November and early December to a total of 55 companies from Antioquia. Additionally, in order to invite company representatives to participate, a masterclass was held.

From the analysis of the collected data, we not only obtained information about the executive profiles most suitable for the event, but we were also able to design a medium-term roadmap to strengthen companies in the region within the context of the major transformations taking place in the global industry.

2. Invitations and Matchmaking

With the analyzed and refined information, the attendee curation process began: we defined the ideal executive profiles according to interests, but also considering the capabilities and growth potential of the companies, allowing us to strategically select guests and ensure useful meetings for everyone.

Once the ideal guest profiles were defined, we searched within Pixelatl’s network of partners for those who best fit each profile and began contacting them. As always, we also conducted outreach to key industry players who had not previously collaborated with us but matched some of the desired profiles.

We also used this opportunity to learn from the people we contacted about their perspectives on the global state of the industry and its future outlook, as this information supports all our initiatives. After understanding what they were seeking at that moment and confirming that their participation made sense, we invited them to meet the Antioquia companies and take part in the market.

Simultaneously, as companies confirmed their participation, we conducted a detailed analysis of each one: trajectory, completed projects, services, and production capacity, and began designing the meeting agenda. Throughout this process, we also collaborated on several preparatory training sessions so participants could better understand festival dynamics and how to prepare to take advantage of meetings and networking spaces.

3. The Pitch

Alongside the business-meeting initiatives, we worked with the ELPAUER team on the process of inviting companies to present projects, organizing a couple of training workshops, selecting the best proposals, and helping them prepare for the Pitch activity held during the festival.

We detailed this entire process in another article (you can review it here). A call like this is always exciting because along the way we discover new talents and new voices, with artistic and personal searches that are often powerful and always very interesting.

4. The Event

As happens at all events of this kind, it is impossible to attend every activity and comment on all of them. However, we can provide a general overview of the experience and highlight some of what we found most meaningful or noteworthy.

First, we would like to mention the panel featuring Daniel Vélez, current CEO of Bombillo Amarillo, who attended representing GEMA, an association of Colombian companies; Julián Sánchez, director of Dinamita Animación representing ASIFA Colombia on the panel; as well as Verónica Echeverri from ProColombia. During the panel, significant data from various studies conducted by each participant on the state of the industry in the country were presented: companies, international contracts, growth, service catalogs, among others. It was a meaningful conversation that helped contextualize capacities and possibilities while identifying paths to move forward.

Among other talks we attended, it was wonderful to listen to the making-of presentation of the event’s promo and visual identity, led by Dinamita, which included artists from three different countries coordinated by Dinamita and resulted in a simple story about the blending of values and encounters that enable transformation of the environment. Speaking of Dinamita, they also presented progress on Omega Máximo, a project they have been developing independently but which shows strong global potential due to its themes and visual approach.

Meanwhile, the so-called business roundtables (B2B meetings between companies and executives), according to an evaluation instrument applied at the end of the event, showed significant improvement in results and expectations (something that could already be anticipated simply by increasing the number of participating companies and executives).

In addition to conferences and business meetings, the festival also included a service expo, an interactive hall where video game companies showcased their most recent work, activities for children, animated short film programs (including a “Best of Pixelatl” showcase featuring a selection of shorts from our festival), a couple of fun parties, and a program of cultural activities open to the public: from screenings of internationally acclaimed animated feature films to stage performances and evening concerts.

The community of El Retiro, where the festival takes place, fully embraced the activities, and in general there was an atmosphere of joy and camaraderie among all attendees. The Comfama Animation Festival and Market is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and meaningful events in our industry, and we are very proud to have contributed our small grain of sand to help strengthen it for the benefit of companies in Antioquia and Colombia.