Sportsville is being developed as more than a single animated series. The work focuses on its characters, story engine, visual world and potential to grow into a larger and valuable children’s IP and was already recognized and supported by the Polish Film Institute in 2026 development financing as one of the few original projects, not based on the existing IP such as books and comic-books, which is part of the Animwood’s creative strategy.

Sportsville was presented at Young Horizons Industry by Executive Producer Matt Stelmaszczyk and creator, Head Writer, showrunner and producer Rafał Blecharz.

Matt Stelmaszczyk has been producing 2D animation since 2013, with experience in children’s series, production management and creative supervision. His credits include the Polish Film Institute-supported series Historie spod podłogi, as well as animation production for the Amazon Prime documentary series DODA. He also worked on Porcelain War, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2025 and an Academy Award nominee.

Rafał Blecharz is an animation director, writer, producer and co-owner of Animwood. Since 2015, he has worked across 2D animation and narrative projects and received multiple awards for his motion design work including Crafty, Polish Graphic Design Awards and KTR and directed projects for Netflix and Amazon Prime among others. He is an author of short stories published in multiple Polish literary magazines.

Young Horizons gave Sportsville an important opportunity to test the project with an international audience and connect with potential partners while it is still in development. The next stage is to continue developing the series, strengthening its creative and production foundations and exploring opportunities for international collaboration.

A big thank you to everyone at Young Horizons for the conversations, feedback and support — and to everyone who took the time to discover Sportsville with us.

The development of Sportsville is co-financed with the support of the Polish Film Institute.

Photos: W. Chrubasik, M. Gorczyński

If you are developing an animated series, original IP or children’s project and are looking for an experienced European animation studio, get in touch with Animwood.

newbusiness@animwood.com