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Cinnamon Entertainment is an award-winning animation studio and indie game developer based in Ghent, Belgium. We aim to support unique and empowering projects and initiatives by emerging talents from underrepresented communities who dare to question, challenge and inspire.

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SARAH D’HANENS is a producer whose work spans across documentary, animation, multimedia and visual arts, interactive games and VR productions. Among the award-winning documentaries she has been involved with are RaMell Ross’ 2019 Academy Awards® and Emmy® Awards nominated HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING and his IDA-nominated short EASTER SNAP; Yance Ford's 2018 Academy Awards® nominated and Emmy® Awards winning STRONG ISLAND; Victor Kossakovsky’s 2020 Oscar® shortlisted AQUARELA; Göran Hugo Olsson’s THAT SUMMER; James Longley’s ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT; Nicole Mackinlay Hahn’s BURKINA, PRINCESS YENNENGA; Johan Grimonprez’ SHADOW WORLD, DOUBLE TAKE, I MAY HAVE LOST FOREVER MY UMBRELLA, …BECAUSE SUPERGLUE IS FOREVER!, HITCHCOCK DIDN’T HAVE A BELLY BUTTON and WHAT I WILL, and Eva Küpper's WHAT’S IN A NAME. Among the feature films are Lucrecia Martel’s ZAMA; Deepak Rauniyar’s WHITE SUN, Hilal Baydarov’s IN BETWEEN DYING and CRANE LANTERN. Forthcoming are Tala Hadid’s POSEIDON’S SON, William Kentridge’s SELF-PORTRAIT AS A COFFEE POT, multimedia artist Georden West’s boundary-pushing, transdisciplinary, hybrid film PLAYLAND, Oscar nominated director Ljubomir Stefanov’s HOUSE OF EARTH, Isabel Herguera’s animation feature debut SULTANA’S DREAM, Maja Novakovic’s docu-fiction AT THE DOOR OF THE HOUSE WHO WILL COME KNOCKING, Anne Verbeure’s ORLANDO, Adina Azar Khan’s ENTRE TERRE ET MER and Sabine Theunissen's animated short docu-fiction WHITE BOX JACKET. She is currently developing Sine Özbilge & Imge Özbilge’s new multidisciplinary projects DURYAB and CATHEX, Jacky De Groen’s new short BLOOD FROM A STONE, Georden West’s COLORADO CLOUD CHASING SOCIETY, Eva Küpper’s THE QUEEN OF SPEED, Sarah Lauwers’ LIEVE TROUWE WERKELIJKHEID, Anne Verbeure’s THE GOLDEN DONKEY and BURNED OUT, Maï Calon’s TREE, Robin Leveroos’ VR game PLANTLIFE, Joren Vandenbroucke’s PATANIA, and THE MORNING THEY CAME FOR US, a multiplatform VR project based on the life story of Sarah's grandmother, who was a Polish forced laborer during World War II.

Sarah studied literature and archaeology at Ghent University, holds an elective college undergraduate course degree in Animation, a University of Antwerp Storytelling in Virtual Reality ECTS Certificate and graduated with an MFA in Visual Arts / Media Art from the School of Arts | University College Ghent (KASK). She’s an independent Associate Producer for the Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award winning production company Louverture Films (New York), is part of the Berlinale Talents alumni- and Women in Games (WIGI) communities and an active member of WIA (Women in Animation), the European Animation Association (EAA) and the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood). She is a licensed Divemaster with a zealous passion for the conservation of our oceans and pro-actively supports local initiatives and global efforts that create positive change for a more inclusive, fair and sustainable world.

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BAREND WEYENS graduated as an actor from De Kleine Academie in Brussels, the Media Academie in Utrecht and the Emerson College in East Sussex. Barend studied film at the School of Arts | University College Ghent (KASK), graduating with the short film THE PIANO, HER SHOES AND HIS LOVER, for which he was awarded the 2006 Flanders Audiovisual Fund | VAF Wild Card. Alongside his many creative endeavors, Barend has been teaching Multimedia Production Techniques and Audiovisual Design at the Artevelde University College of Ghent.

After founding Unscene and Cinnamon Entertainment in 2002, Weyens went on to produce the award-winning animated short films MEMEE by Evelyn Verschoore, ONE FOR THE ROAD by Lander Ceuppens, NATASHA by Roman Klochkov and NORMAN by Robbe Vervaeke with his then producing-partner Leen Derveaux. Among the most recent animated shorts are SPERMACETI by Jacky De Groen, FIGHTING PABLO by Robbe Vervaeke and WHY by Luc Degryse. In early 2024, Barend left the company as its co-owner and co-executive but he’ll remain active as an invaluable creative advisor and supporter of the production label.  

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