Animatou International Animation Film Festival 2026

Festival Description: Animatou is a festival, dedicated to bringing the best of Swiss and international animation to spectators of all ages and promoting awareness of art films rarely screened in commercial cinemas. Animatou was founded in 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland, to promote Swiss and international animation cinema. The Association is active all year round, proposing a wide range of events for all ages and all audiences. The highlight of the year comes in early October with the Geneva Animation Film Festival.

2026 Call for Entries

The Festival film programme is made up of two parts:

• The competitive sections bring together animated shorts released in the preceding two calendar years. The films are selected by a committee of animation cinema professionals.
• Out-of-competition programmes include screenings dedicated to Swiss premieres for feature films, series, student films, programmes dedicated to the country of honour, and various carte blanche or thematic programmes.

Eligibility criteria:

• Animated shorts released in 2025 and 2026 are eligible for the competitive programmes. An exception will be made for films that were submitted to Animatou’s previous edition, selected, and then withdrawn for reasons of exclusivity
• Films should not exceed the 50-minute mark.

Categories:

• International Competition: Animated shorts of all origins.
• Lab Competition: Experimental animated shorts of all origins.
• Doc'Anim Competition: Animated documentary shorts of all origins.
• Swiss Competition: Swiss animated shorts.
• Caramel & Pistachio Competitions: Selections of animated shorts from around the world, of all genres and styles, for toddlers and 
  young audiences (ages 3+ for Caramel, 5 or 6+ for Pistachio).
• Competitions for Schools
• Convergences Competition 

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• Festival regulations
• Submissions via ShortFilmDepot
• Deadline: 10 April 2026

2020 Festival Coverage

• Prize winners
• Selected Films

Festival Trailer: Animation: Léonie Courbat

2019 Festival Coverage

• 2019 Prize Winners

For the 2019 edition of the Animatou Festival, Poland – a country boasting pristine forests, dreamy natural landscapes, and, incidentally, a huge standing in animation – is this year’s country of honour.