CRAFT International Animation Festival 2026: Winners

The self-described "queer Utopia" film, 'More than Happy' by Singaporean Wei Keong Tan  (see about his previous film at Zippy Frames) won the professional craft award at the latest 2026 edition of CRAFT International Animation Festival, a collaboration between Animasi Club and Polish Animation Across Borders. The new annual festival includes both Southeast Asian and international stop-motion and traditional animation films in its program.

The winning film's dreamlike atmosphere is evident throughout. In the international competition, the Annecy-selected 'Decay' by Juan Camilo Gonzalez won the corresponding award: a film made with gunpowder, and tells a chronicle from China to Bogota. 

Check all the festival winners:

SOUTHEAST ASIA COMPETITION OF ALL TECHNIQUES IN ANIMATION

Professional Craft Award
MORE THAN HAPPY (Singapore 2025), Director: Wei Keong Tan

Jury Statement: A beautiful, mesmerizing exploration of the gentle nuance of human connection told with elegance and grace through its visuals, music and thoughtful moments of spoken expression.

Special Jury Mention (Professional)
ANEKA KUE (Indonesia 2025), Director: Zarni Nugraha Saputra

Jury Statement: The jury awards a special mention for the film's touching and sensitive portrayal of love, loss, and grief through a child's eyes.

Strong Craft Basis Award (Student)
SO I PRAY (Indonesia 2025), Director: Amy Rahmadhita, Re:Anima European Joint Master in Animation (Luca School of Arts, Aalto University, Lusofona University)

Jury Statement: For its exceptional artistic maturity and deeply moving exploration of fear, mortality and faith.

Special Jury Mention (Student)
SORRY (Indonesia 2025), Director: Sharon Laurencia, Dian Nuswantoro University

Jury Statement: For its powerfully honest and at times painful depiction of familial tension, grief and regret brought to vivid life.

Audience Award
OUR FATHER HOUR (Indonesia 2025), Director: Aziz Hammad Kusteja, Indonesia Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta

Special Mention: Social Issues

RIBBON (Indonesia 2025), Director: Bobby Karunia Alam, Politeknik Negeri Batam

Jury Statement: For the film's courageous and sensitive exploration of social stigma, mental health and the bond between mother and daughter.

Special Mention in 3D Animation
DROWNED IN INTERNET (Indonesia 2025), Director: Naufal Zhorif Aryawan, Dian Nuswantoro University

Jury Statement: For its excellent 3D craftsmanship, creating an engaging and immersive internet world.

Special Mention in Storytelling
RUMINATION (France, Malaysia 2025), Director: Syed Munawir

Jury Statement: With its bittersweet blend of humour and sorrow, RUMINATION tenderly unveils the protagonist's inner world.

Polish Audience's Pick
MORE THAN HAPPY (Singapore 2025), Director: Wei Keong Tan

So I Pray

SHORTS FOR KIDS COMPETITION OF STOP-MOTION & TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES

Best Short Animation for Kids
ALLER & RETOUR (Italy 2025), Director: Lucia Bulgheroni, Michele Greco

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF STOP-MOTION & TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES IN ANIMATION

Professional Craft Award

DECAY (Colombia 2025), Director: Juan Camilo González

Jury Statement: A powerful and deeply moving exploration of grief transforming gunpowder in animation into a medium of expressing personal pain.

Special Jury Mention (Professional)

RADIX (Germany 2025), Director: Anne Breymann
Jury Statement: The film shows the complex problem of how society communicates by using the simple creatures' interaction gestures.

Strong Craft Basis Award (Student)
WINTER IN MARCH (Armenia, Belgium, Estonia, France 2025), Director: Natalia Mirzoyan, Estonian Art Academy

Jury Statement: The filmmaker uses the thread material in this animation brilliantly.

Special Jury Mention (Student)
ME AND YOU AND SMOKE (United Kingdom 2025), Director: Rachel Shiloach, National Film and Television School

Jury Statement: A remarkable visual achievement with a fresh, highly individual narrative approach. Its masterful emotional rhythm creates a fascinating dialogue between inner feelings and external realities.

Audience Award & Innovative Approach
VIRGIN FANDANGO (Canada 2026), Director: Marcy Page

Jury Statement: This visual interpretation of the iconic figures through unusual material in this film has evoked our point of view.

Special Mention: Stop Motion Technique
BRAIN SPACE (United Kingdom 2025), Director: Laura Tofarides

Jury Statement: For an excellent use of the cinematic apparatus in animation while moving over various milieu.

Special Mention: Global Issue
A ROSE (Italy 2026), Director: Simone Massi

Jury Statement: A powerful visual manifesto, driven by bold brushwork and compelling storytelling. Its expressive imagery amplifies the social context and emotional impact of the film.

Special Mention: Environmental Issue
VENEZIA DIORAMA (Belgium 2026), Director: Nicolas Piret

Jury Statement: The film delivers the environmental issue through detailed layers of manual drawing.

Special Mention: Traditional 2D Animation
STAMPFER DREAMS (Austria 2024), Director: Thomas Renoldner. 

Jury Statement: A unique & revelatory history of animation presented in an innovative manner.

Special Mention: Combining Traditional Techniques
SEQUENCIAL (France, Italy, Poland, Portugal 2025), Director: Bruno Caetano

Jury Statement: An imaginative look at the life & journey of an animator through stop motion & cel animation.

Special Mention: Best Cinematography
SILENT CINEMA (North Macedonia 2025), Director: Krste Gospodinovski

Jury Statement: For an innovative & cinematic long take that is a subtle criticism on the arrival of sound.

Decay

View Our Comprehensive Coverage of CRAFT International Animation Festival

The 6th CRAFT International Animation Festival took place between 23 and 28 October 2026 in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia.

(Press Release)