{"id":9702,"date":"2026-04-06T17:17:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T13:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anima.az\/?p=9702"},"modified":"2026-04-07T00:37:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:37:34","slug":"official-competition-program-of-the-9th-animafilm-international-animation-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/2026\/04\/official-competition-program-of-the-9th-animafilm-international-animation-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Official Competition Program of the 9th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='epvc-post-count' style='padding-bottom: 20px;'><span class='epvc-label'> Bax\u0131\u015f say\u0131:<\/span> <span class=\"epvc-count\"> 39<\/span><\/div><p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>The 9th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival announces its official competition program!<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">On May 13-17, 2026, the <strong>9th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival<\/strong> will take place in the capital city of Baku \u2013 at the <strong>Nizami Cinema Center<\/strong> and the <strong>Surakhani ship-museum<\/strong>. It is organized by the <strong>Azerbaijan Animation Association<\/strong> and <strong>&#8220;ANIMAFILM&#8221; LLC<\/strong>, with the support of the <strong>Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan<\/strong>. International interest in ANIMAFILM, Azerbaijan&#8217;s first and only animation festival, has reached a record high this year:\u00a0<b>437 animated films <\/b>from over\u00a0<b>60 countries<\/b>\u00a0have been submitted for participation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Following a comprehensive review and evaluation process, the festival&#8217;s\u00a0<b>selection committee<\/b>\u00a0has determined the list of films that will compete in various categories. According to the committee&#8217;s decision, a total of\u00a0<b>34 films<\/b>\u00a0representing\u00a0<b>21 different countries<\/b>\u00a0have been included in this year&#8217;s official selection program. The selected films stand out for their visual richness, the innovative animation techniques utilized, and the depth of the global and local themes they address.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The full program of the upcoming festival will soon be announced to the public on ANIMAFILM&#8217;s official website and social media accounts. You can already buy your tickets\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=%23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><b style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 25px;\">Best Short Animated Film (GRAND PRIX)<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Because Today is Saturday<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Alice E\u00e7a Guimar\u00e3es (Portugal)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Facade<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Elise Kruusel (Estonia)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Emechiche, The Rebirth of White-Headed<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Juan Camilo Gonz\u00e1lez (Argentina, Colombia)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Grotesque<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Directors: Valeria Blanco Ortiz, Mariana S\u00e1nchez Rodr\u00edguez (Mexico)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Living with a Visionary<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Stephen P. Neary (USA)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Nephila<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Kristian Zaharinov Zahariev (Bulgaria)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>On Saint Nicholas&#8217; Eve<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Emy Mirel Ivasca (Romania)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Small Hours<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Oscar Wyndham Lewis (UK)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>The Bears&#8217; River<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Ana\u00efs Mauzat (Belgium)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><b>Best Short Animated Film for Children<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Aller &amp; Retour<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Lucia Bulgherni (Italy)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Beetles<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Piotr Chmielewski (Poland)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Catch that Fish!<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Directors: Julia Ragot, Gabrielle Montan\u00e9, and others (France)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Cloud Fish<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Noe Garcia (Belgium, France)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>For You<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Himari Chatani (USA)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>I Fly When No One\u2019s Watching<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Hana Takubo (Japan)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Line 12<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Directors: Sarah Schulz, Christopher Schmier (Germany)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>The Empty Panel<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Thibault Chollet (France)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>The Magic Garden<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Directors: Carlon Hardt, Naira Carneiro (Brazil)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>The Sky Was Candy<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Anh T\u00fa Nguyen (Germany)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Vanishing Fireflies<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: JP Corton (Philippines)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><b>Best Animated TV Series<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Anselmo Wannabe &#8211; s.01 ep.01 &#8211; L&#8217;Architetto<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Massimo Ottoni (Italy)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Any Malu&#8217;s (Unfiltered) World &#8211; The Unboxing Nightmare<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Michele Massagli (Brazil)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Beelus&#8217;s Yum Yum Time Season 2 &#8211; EP01<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Directors: Shu-Hua Hsu, Fu-Sheng Lee (Taiwan)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Brave Animated Series 2 &#8211; Episode 3<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Tzu-Ting Yang (Taiwan)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>How smart are crows?<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Irida Zhonga (Greece, Netherlands, USA)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Konigiri-Kun Itadakimasu <\/b><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>\u30fc <\/b><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Let&#8217;s Eat!<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Mari Miyazawa (Japan)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Pai Pai &#8211; Ep06: Typhoon\u2019s Coming<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Hugo Huang (Taiwan)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><b>Best Azerbaijani Short Animated Film<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Between Two Stones<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Ilkin Zafarli<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Closer to Myself, Away from the Ego<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Aygun Bakhshi<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>&#8220;The Scented Adventure&#8221; of Molla Nasreddin<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Firangiz Gurbanova<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Money Talks<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Firangiz Baghirova<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Swan Loyalty <\/b>\u2013 Director: Rugayya Rahimly<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Save Nature!<\/b> \u2013 Director: Seila Aliyeva<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>The Thorny Bush<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Director: Nasib Fatullayev<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\">\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Festival Director\u00a0<b>Rashid Aghamaliyev<\/b>\u00a0expressed his thoughts on this year&#8217;s official program and the interest in the festival as follows:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><p><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><i>&#8220;The submission of nearly 450 films from over 60 countries this year is clear evidence of the ANIMAFILM festival&#8217;s position on the global animation map and its growing international prestige. We invite everyone to be a part of this magical world on May 13-17.&#8221;<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"western\" lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">As part of the festival, there will not only be screenings of local and foreign films, but also the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/2026\/04\/pitching-extended\/\"><b>2nd ANIMAFILM International Pitching Competition<\/b><\/a>, which drives industry development, alongside masterclasses with foreign experts, professional meetings, and various discussion panels. The festival successfully continues its mission this year to introduce representatives of the local animation industry to international practices.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,36,30,33,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-animafilm-en","category-azrbaycan-animasiyasi-en","category-maliyy-furstlri-musabiqlr-en","category-dunya-animasiyasi-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9702"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9702"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9722,"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9702\/revisions\/9722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anima.az\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}