What is Synfig?
Synfig is a free/libre vector-based 2D animation tool designed for producing feature-film quality animations.



Feature-film quality and free? How come?
Initially it was a closed source project, streamlined to automate the tweening process, lead by Robert B. Quattlebaum. People usually get paid for working on closed source software, so they can devote a lot of time to their work. However, after some time Robert figured out that he won't be able to make the product successful on the market and released the source code in November 2005. You can read detailed history of the project in its wiki.

So who works on Synfig now?
A small team of passionate developers from all over the world.

So is it just for making movies? Not Flash animation?
Yes indeed. Developers actually wouldn't mind having Flash export implemented, but their focus is on other features.

Any movies already done in Synfig?
There is a large anime project in works. It is called Morevna project and is lead by Konstantin Dmitriev. Just like Blender movies — Elephants Dream, Bug Buck Bunny and ongoing Durian project — Morevna project reveals weak sides of the tool and thus helps improving Synfig in a number of ways, from functionality to usability.