Festival Description:

Animasyros International Animation Festival is the largest festival and Animation market of its kind in Greece and one of the 20 most important globally. It started in 2008, and it is held annually on the island of Syros, the capital of the Cyclades, in the neoclassical town of Ermoupoli, and in other locations on the island.

The festival includes screenings, tributes to international animation festivals, artists and studios, media literacy activities for children, youngsters, adults, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens, parties, and tons of parallel events. The ANIMASYROS Agora is the festival’s animation market, which has steadily grown into a key international hub for creative professional networking. The Agora fosters collaborations among animation professionals through pitching sessions, presentations, and masterclasses led by distinguished figures from the global animation industry.

Εvents are free to the public and take place at the imposing Apollo Theatre, the Hermoupolis Cultural Centre, the University of the Aegean premises, the central Miaouli Square, and various locations across the island of Syros.

2026 AnimaSyros International Animation Festival + Agora Coverage

ANIMASYROS 2026, Greece’s largest international animation festival, returns to Syros from 21–27 September for its 19th edition, presenting more than 280 films from 50 countries. At the heart of the programme are seven competition sections, with 111 films spanning the International, Student, K.ID.S, AnimaPride, Greek, TV & Commissioned Films and Feature Film competitions. The festival opens officially on 23 September at the Apollon Theatre with the Greek premiere of Decorado by award-winning Spanish filmmaker Alberto Vázquez, while the feature-film programme also includes Sylvain Chomet’s A Magnificent Life, Irene Iborra’s Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake, Dog of God by Lauris and Raitis Ābele and Martin Lund’s Unstoppable. A new out-of-competition section, Animation Revisited, brings landmark animated films back to the big screen, beginning with René Laloux’s Fantastic Planet. 

A major strand of this year’s festival is its programme of international tributes. Ireland is the 2026 Country in Focus, with a broad selection showcasing contemporary Irish animation, while further programmes spotlight animation from Lebanon and Armenia, emerging German filmmakers and more than four decades of work from the Royal College of Art’s Animation Department. The “Freedom 250” tribute celebrates American animation through screenings including Toy Story, Dinosaur, Zootopia and Fantasia. The festival’s central theme, “200 Years of Hermoupolis,” marks the bicentenary of the naming and founding of Syros’s capital, while a special retrospective celebrates acclaimed Canadian sound designer Olivier Calvert and his contribution to contemporary animation.

Alongside the screenings, ANIMASYROS’ Agora brings together filmmakers and animation professionals from Greece and abroad through pitching sessions, masterclasses, discussions and industry meetings. Among the participating international figures are Joanna Quinn, Maya Merigeau, José Luis Ágreda and Olivier Calvert, with sessions addressing subjects ranging from art direction, sound and music to animated documentary, distribution and European film financing. The festival concludes with its Awards Ceremony on Saturday 26 September at the Apollon Theatre

AnimaSyros International Animation Festival + Agora Call for Entries 

The main thematic focus of ANIMASYROS 2026 is dedicated to “200 Years of Hermoupolis,” marking the anniversary of the Syros capital naming and founding in 1826.

This year’s focus country of ANIMASYROS is Ireland, in recognition of the Irish animation scene which combines a strong and long-standing tradition with impressive contemporary momentum and has emerged in recent years as one of the most creative and dynamic in Europe.

Eligibility criteria

• The festival welcomes only ANIMATED films from all over the globe.
• The first public screening of submitted films must have occurred strictly AFTER the 1st of January 2025.
• The limit between shorts and features is set at 45min. (anything <45mins is considered short, everything >45mins is a feature).
  
  

Awards

• Best Feature (Audience Award)
• Best Short Film (Professional)
• Best Student Short Film
• The TV & Commissioned Film
• Best Greek Film
• Best K.ID.S Film
• Best Animapride Film (LGBTQI+ Film)
• Best Pitch for an Agora Project

• Regulations and submissions via FilmFreeway
• Deadline: 1 June 2026

Browse AnimaSyros Festival Coverage Archive