Animafest Zagreb (Svjetski festival animiranog filma)

Animafest Zagreb

Svjetski festival animiranog filma

Also known as: World Festival of Animated Film
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Drawing on the Zagreb School of Animation, Animafest Zagreb presents independent animation across hand-drawn, stop-motion, computer-generated and experimental forms. Established in 1972, the World Festival of Animated Film combines international short and feature competitions with student and Croatian films, retrospectives, exhibitions and age-specific programmes for children and young people.

Organised by Hulahop in Zagreb, Croatia, the festival also connects animation practice with research through the Animafest Scanner symposium. Its Rise & Shine development and pitching lab, organised with Animateka and CEE Animation, supports first- and second-time professional filmmakers working on animated shorts. The dates for the 2027 edition are 7–12 June 2027.

Country

Croatia

Categories

Animation, Feature, Short, Student

Dates

7 June 2027 — 12 June 2027

Awards and prizes

Awards presented at the 2026 edition include the Grand Prix for short and feature films; the Golden Zagreb Award for creativity and innovative artistic achievement; the Zlatko Grgić Award for the best first film made outside an educational institution; the Dušan Vukotić Award for the best student film; Best Croatian Film; and Best Film for Children and Youth. The festival also presents the Mr. M Audience Awards for short and feature films, jury special awards and mentions, and the 2026 award for Best Video Game Art Direction. The 2026 Best Croatian Film award includes €1,000 from the Society of Croatian Film Authors and Producers.

Festival rules

2026 film submission conditions: Animated short and feature films completed after 1 January 2025 are eligible. Short films have a maximum running time of 40 minutes; feature films have a minimum running time of 40 minutes. Applications use the festival’s online entry forms. Short-film categories comprise Short Film, Student Film, Films for Children and Youth, and Croatian Film. Student entries are films produced in educational institutions. The Croatian competition accepts films with a Croatian majority producer and/or Croatian directors. Feature films enter the Feature Film Competition. The published deadlines are 1 February 2026 for short films and 15 March 2026 for features. The separate 2026 Video Game Art Direction Competition accepts video games publicly available after 1 January 2025 through an online application form, without a submission fee. Its published deadline is 1 March 2026.

Contacts

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