Development slate

Apocalypse yesterday

2024 · animated short film · audiovisual project

Animated post-apocalyptic quest to rescue a surviving book and knowledge from a world of waste.

Apocalypse yesterday — production still

Notes from the producer

I took this on as a development producer for Matija Zaharija's first serious animated short, and most of what I can show for it is the unromantic part of the job: two full HAVC applications, signed rights and directing contracts, a storyboard, an animatic, a first-scene rendition, and a soundtrack that at least lets you hear where it is going. The budget moved from 83,720.43 to 90,064.52 EUR between March and September 2024 because we took the first review seriously rather than personally.

I will not dress up where it stands. The money did not close, the Animafest 2026 window we aimed at has come and gone without a confirmed selection, and there is no press to point to. The contracts still carry real obligations, two 1,000-euro payments and a completion date at the end of 2026, so this is not finished and I am not pretending it is. What I can say is that a concept became a fundable, pitchable package that survived a rejection and an ESP application, which is the part of producing nobody sees.

- Matija Radeljak

Milestones

  • 2024-02 — First screenplay draft (v1)
  • 2024-03-05 — Transfer-of-rights contract signed (Aning Film / Matija Zaharija)
  • 2024-03-13 — Directing contract signed; HAVC creative package assembled
  • 2024-03-14 — First HAVC production-funding application filed (planned budget 83,720.43 EUR)
  • 2024-05-31 — HAVC artistic review by advisor Jelena Oroz
  • 2024-09-12 — Second HAVC application filed (revised budget 90,064.52 EUR)
  • 2025-01-04 — Follow-up HAVC review of the second-round application

Outcomes

  • Screenplay and storyboard — Multiple screenplay drafts and a full storyboard package exported 13 March 2024
  • Development materials — An animatic, a first-scene rendition and soundtrack passes produced during development
  • HAVC applications — Two complete production-funding applications filed with the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (14 March and 12 September 2024)
  • International outreach — European Short Pitch (NISI MASA) 2025 application for co-production and development
  • Funding and selection — No confirmed funding award or festival selection as of 2026; Animafest 2026 was a stated target only

Credits

  • Matija Zaharija — Writer, animator, composer and director
  • Aning Film d.o.o. — Production company
  • Matija Radeljak — Producer

Aning Film