People in Malta will get a chance to meet up and exchange ideas with some of the best digital artists in the world this September, who will travel to the island to address a major global retreat. 

The oddly-named Trojan Hose Was a Unicorn describes itself as a “festival for the fearless, the passionate, the restless and the eager to learn” – a chance for aficionados of animation, video game design, concept art and digital illustration to network with some of the best in the business and perhaps even land a dream job.  Its main annual event has for the past five years always taken place in Portugal but will, as of this summer, relocate to Malta – at Fort St Elmo and the Mediterranean Conference Centre. 

“We were looking for a new home that could provide accommodations to house our ever-growing Tribe,” the THU said. “Additionally, Malta has embraced the digital creative community, has the necessary technical infrastructure and an incredible history like few places on the planet. Here we feel that, not only our tribe can grow but that we can also contribute to further Malta’s digital animation especially in the film, games and marketing industry.” 

Photo: The Guardian 

This is no regular festival. Some 1,500 are expected to come to Malta to speak to, learn from and network with 90 so-called ‘Knights’ (ie. world-renowned artists in the entertainment industry) for six days starting from 24th September. Some of the more prominent ‘Knights’ include: 

– Elaine Bogan: DreamWorks story artist who directed the ‘DreamWorks Dragons’ series and is currently working on Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Tales of Arcadia’ trilogy.

– Geoffrey Baumann: Recently supervised the production on Marvel Studio’s ‘Black Panther’. Previously worked on lead and supervisory production roles on films such as ‘The Day After Tomorrow’, ‘Flags of our Fathers’, ‘Doctor Strange’, and ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

– Giovanni Nakpil: Expert at designing creatures in sci-fi and horror films, including for ‘Star Trek’ and ‘The Avengers’.

– Ian McCaig: World-renowned conceptual artist who has worked for Lucasfilm as one of the main designers on the three Star Wars prequels, as well as on global hits such as ‘Terminator II’, ‘Dracula’, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. 

– Kevin Dart: Founder and creative director of Chromosphere, a boutique design and animation studio behind films such as ‘June’ and ‘Forms in Nature’. Previously worked as an art director and designer for ‘Steven Universe’, ‘Big Hero Six’, ‘Inside Out’, ‘Cosmos’, ‘Her’, and ‘The Powderpuff Girls’. 

– Shannon Tindle: Emmy award-winning artist and 7-time Annie Award nominee who worked as a designer, story artist, writer and director on projects such was ‘Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends’, ‘The Croods’ and ‘Coraline’. Her recent film ‘Kudo and the Two Strings’ was nominated for two Oscars and won the BAFTA for Best Animated Feature. 

Demand for this retreat is high and tickets start from €450.

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]