Hiroshima Animation Season 2026

Event Description:

The competitions of Hiroshima Animation Season 2026 (hereinafter referred to as "the Festival") will be held as the main program of the Media Arts Division of the 3rd Hiroshima Festival, with the aim of contributing to the development and promotion of the animation scene in the Pan-Pacific, Asia, and the world, and by extension, culture and the arts in general, and to foster the Culture of Peace.

2026 Call for Entries

The work submitted must be an animated film. There are no restrictions on the technique used or the length, but only films for a single screen are eligible (VR films are not eligible).
The submitted work must have been completed on or after April 1, 2024.

• Short Competition. Films with a running time of 30 min or less and produced in any country are eligible.
• Feature Competition. Films produced worldwide with a running time of more than 30 minutes are eligible
• Pan-Pacific and Asia Youth Competition
• Japanese Commissioned Film Competition. Commissioned works (commercials, music videos, TV specials, educational/promotional content, etc.,) produced in Japan are eligible. The competition accepts films of any length.

Important information

• Festival Regulations
• Deadline: Free: until 22 March 2026, With a Fee: 12 April 2026.
• Submit on FilmFreeway

2024 Call for Applicants:  H-Air: Hiroshima Artist in Residence (Archive)

As a part of the academy program of Hiroshima Animation Season 2024, the main event of the Media Arts Division of the 2nd Hiroshima Festival, the Hiroshima Artist-in-Residence is a residency program for people involved in the field of animation.

Applicants must be working on a new, unpublished project related to animation. Projects other than animation, such as novels, comics, and films, may be submitted as long as they are intended to be adapted as animation projects in the future. Applicants may also apply if they are conducting research or study to develop a project.

• Application period: December 1, 2023, 10:00 (JST) – January 31, 2024, 23:59 (JST)
• Available Invitee Positions: 3 artists/specialists
• Selection committee members: Nobuaki Doi, Koji Yamamura, Shizuka Miyazaki
• Invitation Period: 92 days from June 1 to August 31, 2024

• Residency regulations
• Application
• Deadline: 31 January 2024, 23:59 (JST)

(Archive): 2022 Coverage

A new animation festival Hiroshima Animation Season is pleased to announce that three artists have been selected for our residence program “Hiroshima Artist in Residence (H- AIR)”.

The invited artists this time are Mahboobeh Kalaee (Iran), Nata Metlukh (USA), and Sakura Koretsune (Japan). The three artists, who are internationally acclaimed with remarkable achievements, will stay in Hiroshima City for six months starting from May or June, depending on the availability of artist’s arrival to Hiroshima, and work on their new projects and interact with the Hiroshima citizens.

Mahboobeh Kalaee has won numerous awards, including the Best Film Award at the Fantoche International Animation Film Festival for a stop-motion film "The Fouth Wall" last year. The film was also awarded the Grand Prix of the Animation category at the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival which was recently announced, and she is attracting a great attention in Japan as well.

Nata Metlukh is a Ukrainian-born, U.S. based artist well known for GIF animations from her observations of people's everyday life, and she has over 27,000 followers on Instagram.
With her astute observation, "awkward," a film depicting common everyday awkward moments, was awarded the Best Short Film of the Year at PromoFest in Spain in 2020.

Sakura Koretsune is an artist who focuses on human activities, whaling, hunting culture, and the spiritual culture of the sea, and conducts fieldwork in Japan and abroad, creating works such as a little press and textile-based works. She participated in many exhibitions in Tohoku (''northeast'' region of Japan) and Hokkaido areas, including Yamagata Biennale and a solo exhibition at Rias Ark Museum of Art. She will be making a first animation in her hometown of Hiroshima, in the field area of the Seto Inland Sea.