The Andalusian Institute of Youth (IAJ), under the Department of Equality and Social Policies of the Andalusian Government, has awarded the Young Andalusian Prize in the category of Promotion of Andalusia Abroad to the entrepreneur Rafa Vera, thanks to his career and his company Verjim Animation Studio, based in Rota (Cádiz).
The award ceremony took place two weeks ago in the Degree Room of the Engineering and Technology Building of the University of Jaén. These awards aim to distinguish and give public recognition to the work carried out by young people, groups, entities or institutions composed mostly of people under 35 years of age who carry out a job or activity that has a positive impact on the Andalusian youth group.
In previous editions, music figures such as Pablo Alborán or Antonio José, communicators such as Manu Sánchez and sportsmen like Sergio Ramos have been awarded.
The jury has especially valued the great career of Rafa Vera in a sector with little tradition in the region as the animation film, taking the Andalusia brand around the world.
Rafa Vera’s Career
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Audiovisual Communication from the University of Seville and a Superior Technician in Audiovisual Performances. He obtained a Talentia Scholarship from the Junta de Andalucía to study the Classical Animation Film program at the Vancouver Film School, in Vancouver (Canada). In 2012 he was selected in the New International Talents section at the CTNx Animation Expo in Los Angeles, sharing presentations with artists from Walt Disney Animation Studios and others selected from around the world. In 2016, he founded Verjim Animation Studio in Rota (Cádiz), a company with which he has participated in various international productions such as the television series ‘Geronimo Stilton’ or the feature film ‘Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles’. That same year he was selected as Young Talent of European Animation at the Cartoon Springboard in Halle, Germany. Thanks to his business project, he has also won the “Rota’s Young Entrepeneur 2018” Prize and the “Andalucía Entrepeneurship Prize 2018” as one of the 3 best companies in Cádiz that year.
