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/ Media contact Aptech Limited Srinidhi Iyer, Corporate Communications [email protected] (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with NRDPL and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI