Animafest Zagreb - World Festival of Animated Film

Overview

Animafest Zagreb is one of the four FIAPF-accredited competitive animation festivals in the world, alongside Annecy, Ottawa, and Hiroshima. The 36th edition runs June 8 to 13, 2026, in Zagreb, Croatia. The festival holds FIAPF Competitive Specialised accreditation, the highest international recognition for animation festivals.

The 35th edition (June 2 to 7, 2025) awarded the Grand Prix for Short Film to Dull Spots of Greenish Colours by Sasha Svirsky (Germany) and the Grand Prix for Feature Film to Memoir of a Snail by Adam Elliot (Australia). The 2025 short film jury comprised Osman Cerfon, Spela Cadez, Erwin Gomez, Sarina Nihei, and Ivana Volda. The feature film jury comprised Miljana Dragicevic, Carolina Lopez Caballero, and Martin Vandas.

For animation filmmakers: Animafest is free to submit, has no marketplace (unlike Annecy's MIFA), and focuses entirely on artistic competition and retrospectives. The festival's auteur tradition makes it particularly receptive to formally adventurous, personal, and experimental animation. Films completed after January 1, 2025 are eligible for the 2026 edition. There is no entry fee.

Submission Details

Submissions are made through the Animafest website. There is no entry fee for any category.

Eligibility:

• Films completed after January 1, 2025
• Over 50% of the production must be animated (the festival reserves the right to determine whether an entry qualifies as animation)
• All animation techniques accepted, including combinations with live action and documentary
• Films entered for the previous edition are not eligible

Short films (maximum 40 minutes) - deadline February 1, 2026:

• Short Film Competition
• Student Film Competition (films produced at an educational institution: art schools and film schools)
• Films for Children and Youth Competition
• Croatian Film Competition (majority producer is Croatian and/or films by Croatian directors)

Feature films (minimum 40 minutes) - deadline March 15, 2026:

• Feature Film Competition

VR projects: Deadline March 15, 2026

Required submission materials:

• Online entry form (separate form per film)
• Preview screener via online link with password (recommended: Vimeo)
• Director's photograph
• 3 still images from the film (minimum 300 dpi)
• Dialogue list in English
• Films with dialogue or narration in languages other than English must have English subtitles
• Films in English are recommended to have English subtitles on the screener
• Preview screener must be available for download until April 1, 2026

Selection announcement: No later than May 1, 2026, on the festival website. All applicants receive notification of selection results. Selected directors are contacted by festival management for hospitality arrangements.

Important: The festival does not pay screening fees for works selected for competition or panorama programs.

Key Sections

• Grand Competition - Short Film - animated shorts up to 40 minutes competing for the Grand Prix (EUR 2,500 cash award)
• Grand Competition - Feature Film - animated features 40+ minutes competing for the Grand Prix (EUR 2,500 cash award)
• Student Film Competition - animated films produced at educational institutions, competing for the Dusan Vukotic Award (EUR 1,000)
• Croatian Film Competition - films by Croatian directors or with a Croatian majority producer, competing for Best Croatian Film (EUR 1,000, sponsored by the Croatian Film Directors' Guild)
• Films for Children and Youth Competition - animated films for young audiences
• VR Competition - virtual reality animated works
• World Panorama - non-competitive showcase of global animation
• Retrospectives and Tributes - programs celebrating animation history and individual filmmakers

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Short Film Filmmakers

The Grand Competition Short Film is the category that can establish an animation career. The Grand Prix carries a EUR 2,500 cash award and international recognition. The 2025 winner, Dull Spots of Greenish Colours by Sasha Svirsky, had previously won the ASIFA Austria award at Vienna Shorts and screened at Locarno. The competition is judged by a five-member international jury, with each jury member also awarding a special mention.

For Student Filmmakers

The Student Film Competition is free to enter and judged by a separate jury. The Dusan Vukotic Award for Best Student Film carries a EUR 1,000 cash award. The 2025 winner was Mother's Child by Naomi Noir (Netherlands). Student films must be produced at an educational institution (art schools or film schools).

For Feature Filmmakers

The Feature Film Competition runs in even-numbered years (historically), but since the festival switched to annual programming in 2005, both short and feature competitions run each year. The 2025 feature winner, Memoir of a Snail by Adam Elliot, is an Australian stop-motion film that also received an Oscar nomination. A three-member international jury judges the feature competition.

For Croatian Filmmakers

The Croatian Film Competition has its own category and EUR 1,000 cash prize. The 2025 winner was Psychonauts by Niko Radas. A separate award for Best Croatian Minority Co-production is also presented (2025: Floating by Jelena Milunovic, Serbia/Croatia/Germany). The Zlatko Grgic Award for Best First Film Production (outside educational institutions) carries a EUR 1,500 cash award.

No Market

Unlike Annecy (which runs MIFA, the world's largest animation market), Animafest has no marketplace. Filmmakers attend for competition, retrospectives, and networking, not for deal-making. If you need market access, Annecy is the better destination. If you want pure artistic competition and recognition, Animafest is the more focused option.

Awards

Grand Competition - Short Film:

• Grand Prix (Best Short Film) - EUR 2,500 cash award
• Golden Zagreb Award (creativity and innovative artistic achievement) - EUR 2,000
• Zlatko Grgic Award (best first film production outside educational institutions) - EUR 1,500
• Mr. M Audience Award (short film)
• Special awards by individual jury members

Grand Competition - Feature Film:

• Grand Prix (Best Feature Film) - EUR 2,500 cash award
• Mr. M Audience Award (feature film)
• Special Mention by the feature film jury

Student Film Competition:

• Dusan Vukotic Award (Best Student Film) - EUR 1,000

Croatian Film Competition:

• Best Croatian Film - EUR 1,000 (sponsored by the Croatian Film Directors' Guild)
• Best Croatian Minority Co-production

Films for Children and Youth Competition:

• Best Film for Children
• Best Film for Youth

Festival History

Animafest Zagreb was founded in 1972, launched thanks to the global reputation of the Zagreb School of Animation and a decision by ASIFA (the International Animated Film Association), with Zagreb Film production company as the original organizer. The Zagreb School of Animation, which emerged in the late 1950s, produced short films that won Oscar nominations and influenced generations of animators globally with their distinctive minimalist style and political engagement.

Until 2005, the festival was held biennially, with even years devoted to short films and odd years to feature films. In 2005, the festival switched to an annual format with both competitions running each year. In 2007, the private production company Hulahop took over festival organization from Zagreb Film and Zagreb Concert Management, with the aim of balancing contemporary animation trends with the festival's heritage.

The festival's artistic director makes all final selection decisions in collaboration with selected professionals who preview each submitted work. The 35th edition in 2025 demonstrated the festival's continued commitment to socially and politically engaged animation, with award-winning films addressing media impact, loneliness, memory, and the human experience.

See Also

For the Annecy International Animation Festival (the other major FIAPF-accredited European animation festival with a market), see Annecy International Animation Festival. To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. To estimate your probability of acceptance based on festival tier and film characteristics, use the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For animation filmmaking, see Visual Effects and Animation. For frame rate decisions for animation, use the Frame Rate Calculator.