Pixelatl

El Chinelo recognizes excellence in animation, comics and video games. The statuette, sculpted by Rita Basulto, depicts the masked carnival dancer from central Mexico. Pixelatl also presents a career recognition and gives Chinelo prizes through separate creative-development and publishing competitions. For the completed-film competition in 2026, the three categories are International Animated Short, Experimental Animated Short and Student Animated Short from a Mexican school. Each winner receives the Chinelo 2026 statuette and a Market accreditation for the 2027 festival and market, stated value USD 950. The accreditation covers the activities, business meetings, networking, meals and parties included in that pass. Winners and juries are announced on 14 November 2026. The separate Eso que Nos Une animated GIF call offers a full-festival Creator pass and a selected-participant cocktail invitation to selected projects. It is distinct from the three Chinelo film categories.

PIXELATL 2026 — COMPLETED ANIMATED SHORT FILMS / EL CHINELO The 2026 call closes on 30 August 2026 at 23:59 Mexico time (UTC−6); it is closed. These conditions concern finished films in the festival selection, independently of Pixelatl's development, comics, games and industry-pitch calls. 1. Eligibility Films must be made and/or premiered between 1 January 2025 and 30 August 2026 and run for less than 29 minutes, including credits. Any subject and animation technique is eligible, including narrative and experimental animation. Hybrid live-action/animation films must contain frame-by-frame animation for more than 60% of their total running time. Films in a language other than English require English subtitles for the international jury. Only completed films may enter the International Animated Short, Experimental Animated Short or Student Animated Short (Mexican school) category. 2. Submission and fee Authors or producing studios submit the required information and viewing materials through FilmFreeway (filmfreeway.com/Pixelatl). Submission does not transfer rights. At least one film frame must be supplied under Still Photo. If selected, this image is used only to announce the film's selection on Pixelatl's social media, in the festival catalogue and on the festival/Pixelatl websites. Entry costs USD 5 (approximately MXN 90), paid through the submission platform. The Mexican-school student category is free; applicants must attach evidence of enrolment, such as a student card or institutional certificate, which may be supplied under Still Photo. The deadline is 30 August 2026 at 23:59, Mexico time (UTC−6). 3. Selection and screening permission A committee headed by the festival's artistic director chooses the official selection. The published deadline for announcement and email notification is 30 September 2026. Selected films form the official-selection programmes shown at Pixelatl on 10–14 November 2026. Submission authorizes up to three screenings of a selected film during Pixelatl 2026, without a screening fee, for promotional and noncommercial purposes. 4. Accreditation and participation support Every properly submitted film qualifies for one Creator 1-Day pass for its director or producer, subject to Pixelatl's right to withhold this benefit where the film fails the minimum quality standard or eligibility criteria. The pass covers one day in the main forum, including keynotes, all screenings, the Creative Fair (games showroom, VR experiences, Forum 2 talks, technology demonstrations, artist alley and drawing sessions), the closing party, and eligibility for recruitment and mentoring activities. Officially selected films receive a Creator General pass for Pixelatl 2026. It provides access to the Creative Fair, screening and workshop programmes, registration for up to 30 additional activities, mostly keynotes, masterclasses and panels in the main forum, and eligibility to apply for the Café con… sessions with principal guests. Representatives attending with selected shorts may also participate in a dedicated selected-filmmaker meet-up with festival guests and a Q&A after their screening programme. The film-call deadline to request accreditation is 15 October 2026; an unrequested benefit is forfeited. Benefits are neither cumulative nor transferable: a participant submitting several films or entering other Pixelatl calls receives only one pass, choosing the most useful, and cannot give it to another person. 5. Winners and prizes One winner in each category is announced at the awards ceremony on 14 November 2026; the category juries are disclosed that day. Each winning film receives the Chinelo 2026 statuette and a Market accreditation for Pixelatl's 2027 market and festival, stated value USD 950. The accreditation covers all festival activities, including business meetings, industry networking, meals and parties included in that pass. Jury decisions are final. 6. Acceptance, legal responsibility and contingencies Entry means acceptance of the complete rules. A category may have no award if it lacks enough films of sufficient quality. If an emergency prevents a physical festival, all passes described in this call remain valid for the online edition. Entrants guarantee that their project is original, infringes no third-party rights, including copyright, trademarks, privacy or publicity rights, contains no defamatory material and breaches no applicable law. If selected, they consent to publication of the film title, the author names registered on the forms and the supplied illustrative image through Pixelatl's publicity channels, including social media, solely for dissemination. Pixelatl is not obliged to credit every other contributor. Entrants bear responsibility for any third-party legal dispute and its consequences; Pixelatl disclaims liability. Pixelatl resolves unforeseen situations and announces its decisions through its social media and Pixelatl.com/elfestival.mx. Questions: info@pixelatl.com. FESTIVAL ATTENDANCE — CODE OF CONDUCT Participants must respect everyone, including guests' right not to chat, sign autographs, pose for photographs or answer questions. Following guests persistently, even without speaking to them, or insisting after a refusal constitutes harassment. Where unreleased or restricted material is presented, photography, video recording and disclosure of previews are prohibited. Follow staff, volunteer and security instructions, especially at entrances, exits and in safety or civil-protection situations. Maintain appropriate conduct and do not interrupt talks. Weapons or items that could serve as weapons, including cutters, and flammable materials are prohibited; illegal drugs are prohibited at every festival venue. Respect queues and the activities/access level included in the pass; attempts to mislead staff or bypass restrictions are forbidden. Breach of any rule results in withdrawal of the pass without refund. Pixelatl does not sell or profit from photographs taken during the festival. Attendance includes consent for noncommercial use of photos or videos in which the participant may appear on Pixelatl's social media, websites and galleries, festival video memories and promotional dossiers circulated to potential guests and sponsors. ATTENDANCE, RESERVATIONS AND WORKSHOPS A pass must be assigned to the attendee's registered email account, including a purchaser attending alone. Confirm the correct person before assignment: the assignment operation cannot be undone. One-day pass holders must choose their attendance day before registering for activities. All spaces have capacity limits. A pass does not guarantee a seat in a particular activity. Online passes do not provide physical access; upgrading a one-day Campus or Creator pass to Online removes its physical-access entitlement. Online availability of a talk can change if the speaker restricts material or declines transmission. Eligible online content is available live and on demand until 31 December. Professional workshops require an assigned pass, a portfolio/profile on elatlas.mx using the same account and a specific request for a place through the programme. Instructors review portfolios and decide admission criteria if applications exceed capacity. Selected applicants receive email notification and can check their account. Open workshops and Café con… places are allocated by daily draws, normally 5–10 places per activity depending on capacity, until full; applicants must request a place in the programme. Those already allocated one activity have a reduced chance in subsequent draws. If a workshop clashes with an existing conference reservation, cancel whichever reservation will not be used so somebody else can attend; contact info@pixelatl.com to cancel a workshop place. An official ID or the pass QR code identifies the attendee for accreditation/access. 2026 PASS CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS Campus and Creator cancellations must be requested by 2 November 2026, before badge printing; later requests are not refundable. Market-pass refund requests close on 20 October 2026. Send requests to info@pixelatl.com before the applicable deadline, identifying the account email and attaching the purchase-confirmation email or a screenshot from My Purchases showing the order number. After confirmation, the pass is revoked within 24–48 hours. Activity reservations are lost and cannot be transferred. PayPal purchases are refunded through PayPal, subject to its cancellation charge; processing may take longer near the event. Cash-payment refunds incur an MXN 56 bank commission and are processed from 16 November 2026, the week after the festival. The 2026 film-call accreditation deadline above is specific to that call. The general calls-information page separately gives 30 October for requesting promotional pass codes; this does not establish an extension of the film-call deadline. Development programmes such as Ideatoon and Shortway, and other creative calls, have their own eligibility, fees, deadlines and conditions and are not routes for submitting a finished film to the official selection. ESO QUE NOS UNE 2026 — SEPARATE ANIMATED GIF CALL This is an independent thematic animation call, not an additional category of the finished-short-film competition. Its deadline is 19 October 2026 at 23:59 Central Mexico time (20 October at 05:59 UTC). Selection is announced by 22 October. Eligibility and delivery: animators and creatives of any country or nationality may enter using any animation technique. The work must be an animated GIF lasting at least seven seconds, excluding the closing phrase, and address one of these themes from the 2026 manifesto: generosity against hatred; community for healing; celebration as resistance; storytelling as an encounter between different people; or joy to change the world. End with the selected manifesto phrase and #LaResistencia. The calls hub additionally specifies a 7–14-second piece in horizontal 16:9 format for festival screens. Submit the completed form and GIF at convocatoriaspixelatl.com/gifs before the deadline. Authorship and AI: the GIF must be the creators' own work. AI may assist only with secondary processes and must be declared in the entry form. Permitted examples are market/genre research, cultural/narrative/aesthetic reference searches, brainstorming, colour/style reference exploration, file conversion, text formatting, language/style corrections, translation and general refinement. Any other AI-assisted process must also be disclosed. The main concept, story/action, designs, artwork and animation must belong to the entrant or entering team. The selection committee may require drafts, concept boards, sketches or animation project files to verify authorship. Undeclared AI use, or a finding that AI use prevents the work from being considered the entrant's own creation, causes disqualification without refund. Selection, display and benefits: a committee chooses up to ten GIFs for the screens in the Expo or Plazoleta; its decision is final. The competition may be declared void if too few sufficiently good GIFs are entered. Properly registered entries receive a Campus 1-Day pass according to the main prize clause. Selected projects receive a Creator pass for the full festival and access to the selected-participant cocktail with festival guests. The one-day recipient chooses the attendance day and may upgrade by paying the price difference. Pass benefits are neither cumulative nor transferable; multiple submissions or participation in other Pixelatl calls yield only one pass, choosing the most useful. Pixelatl may withhold benefits from projects below the minimum quality standard. The PDF's closing background appendix instead calls the participation benefit a Creator 1-Day pass; the published document therefore contains inconsistent descriptions of that benefit, which should be confirmed with the organizer. Legal and general provisions: selected GIFs form part of Pixelatl 2026, and entrants accept their exhibition on the designated festival screens and Pixelatl's websites and social channels. The process is confidential, but creators are responsible for registering their work with their national copyright authority before submission to protect their rights. Participation accepts all conditions; breach causes immediate disqualification. Pixelatl resolves unforeseen situations and communicates through ideatoon.com and email. Questions: info@pixelatl.com.