TAF | Thessaloniki Animation Festival 2026

Festival Description: Thessaloniki Animation Festival promotes the art of animation through its annual gathering where it presents the best animation films and organizes Workshops & Master Classes introduced by renowned national and international professionals from various disciplines. Founded in 2015 and based in the heart of Thessaloniki, TAF aims to encourage, add art and promote all aspects of creativity by hosting local as well as international events and activities for kids and adults alike.

2026 Call for Entries

The submission of all animated film entries must be in English or have English dubbing or subtitles. Duration must not exceed 20min. All films submitted must be produced in the last 2 years.

Competing Categories for Short Animation Films:

• Animation Short Film
• Student Animation Short Film
• Animation Film about Human Rights
• Kids Short Animation Film
• Balkan Animation Film

Awards:

• 1st Place: Golden Octopus Award
• 2nd Place: Silver Octopus Award
• 3rd Place: Bronze Octopus Award
• Special Awards :
  -Storytelling Award
  -Student Film Award
  -Best Balkan Film Award
  -"Select Respect" Award
  -Audience Award

The Festival is organized by AddArt.

• Read the regulations and submit your film at Filmfreeway
• Deadline: 7 August 2026

2022 Festival Coverage

The program includes special features, speeches by renowned professionals and artists of the industry, and, of course, the screenings of the movies that will take place at the international and national animation competitions. Unique movies of various themes and aesthetics will be screened, which stood out from thousands of submissions! The competitive part is interspersed by three categories: “Halloween Special”, “Human Rights Animated” and the established category “0-99” with non-dialogue movies, appropriate for children of every age!

TAF, like every year, honors one national festival with a special screening. For 2022 TAF united its powers with the International TrickFilm- Festival of Stuttgart, ITFS, one of the biggest and most important animation festivals which presents the special screening entitled “Best of Trickstar Nature Award”: 13 exceptional movies that talk about climate protection, biodiversity, the environment and sustainability with an informative, insightful, and humoristic way.

Some of the guests of TAF8 2022 are the following: 

• Dan Hornick. Art Director, known for James Cameron’s Avatar films, Star Trek: Insurrection, 9, The Addams Family, and more.
• Greek animator and illustrator Alekos Papadatos is known for the No. 1 New York Times Best Seller “Logicomix”, the movies “Tzitzikas and Mermigkas” and “Dimokratia”, the series “Babar” etc.
• Award-winning Greek-Canadian screenwriter Stephie Theodora, who has worked for companies such as Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros, etc.

There will also be a presentation of the project “My Superhero Husband” awarded by Disney, by Alex Tagali and Mikaela Kakaridi-Deligianni. In addition, the international project “Heroes In Training” by Chiltern Media and No9, will also be presented.

Last but not least, during the festival, for the 3rd consecutive year the Balkan Animation Forum (BAF) will be held, where the creators from the Balkans will have the chance to present their projects before a panel of judges, consisting of producers and distributors from all over the world, who will appoint three winners and give out the respective awards.

 The award ceremonies of BAF and TAF will take place on Sunday, the 23rd of October at 21:00. The winners will be announced for the categories Golden, Silver & Bronze “Octopus”, “Storytelling”, “Student”, “Best animated film for kids”, likewise the award for “best Greek movies”. Furthermore, the organization network Select Respect will award the best film regarding human rights, with the award of the same name, while the BAF judging panel will announce the three winning pitches. Lastly, from the awards, the “Audience Award” couldn’t be missing, which gives the opportunity to all of you to become the judge and award the movie you liked most.

For all the TAF friends who aren’t in Thessaloniki, from the 25th to the 30th of October the competitive part of the festival, but also the recorded masterclasses, will be available online 

2019 Festival Coverage:

• Festival Awards

2018 Festival Coverage

• Selection results
• Full festival programme