Ligia Soare (Romania) has been working in the world of festivals as programmer and coordinator for the past eighteen years. She is part of the founding team of Animest, the Bucharest International Animation Film Festival, the only Oscar-qualifying film festival in Romania.

In terms of programming, Ligia mainly focuses on films and connected activities for young audiences, as well as means of including audiovisual education in school. She is also interested in the international mobility of film professionals, and in their visibility in the cultural events that they attend. As regards promotion of European films and innovative ways of building audiences, Ligia is involved in the projects of AFN, the Animation Festival Network, an alliance of festivals with similar goals and visions, of which Animest is a founding member. Her recent interest in accessible cultural events is turning Animest into an inclusive film festival, and the cinema of the French Institute in Bucharest into the first cinema in Romania offering a regular programme of accessibilised films.

Ligia also works with cultural organizations, film festivals, producers and distributors, as an accomplished audiovisual translator of films and screenplays, and as a screen translation trainer.