CEE Animation Forum 20265: 33 Selected Animation Projects

33 animated projects from 16 countries were selected for this year's CEE Animation Forum ( 10 to 12 November 2026, Pilsen, Czechia). The European and international pitching forum and industry networking event has embraced animation projects in development in four categories: 7 feature animation projects, 10 series and TV specials, 10 short animation films, and 6 student short animation films.

Themes (especially in feature animation) that combine mystery and fantasy are to be found, whereas politics and representational issues are present in almost all categories (from oppression to bodily image).

For the first time this year, CEE Animation Forum will host the Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award, worth €50,000, in partnership with the Council of Europe, home of Eurimages.

Projects were chosen from more than 160 submissions.  Central and Eastern European country representation accounts for around 66% of the lineup. Czechia (7), France (7), Poland (5), Hungary (4) and Bulgaria (3) lead.

I'm especially proud that series and TV specials form a large part of this year's selection. That choice reflects our conviction: the wealth of high-quality serial storytelling deserves to be seen, financed and defended. It matters all the more at a moment when, in several countries across Central and Eastern Europe, independent journalism and public broadcasting, the institutions that have long given ambitious animation a home, are under real pressure.  - Marta Jallageas, Managing Director of the CEE Animation Forum.

More than half (18 out of 33) target young adult and adult audiences, 8 projects are aimed at tweens and teens and 6 at preschoolers and children.  Hand-drawn animation was the most frequently used technique, appearing in 18 projects, often combined with 2D vector animation (17 projects) and 3D animation (6 projects). 

The full lineup of 2026 CEE Animation Selected Projects:

FEATURE FILMS

Back to Tomioka, d. Francois Marc Baillet, p. Foliascope, WJT, France, Poland
Bibopalula. Adventure in the Atlantic, d. Laura Mahía, p. Undodez, Spain
Dancing Bears, d. Anna Błaszczyk, p. Animoon, Poland
Father´s Letters, d. Alexey Evstigneev, p. moderato, France
Lyra & Armin, d. BLIESBRO, p. a_BAHN, Luxembourg
Paradise on Earth, d. Martin Duda, p. Eallin production, Czechia
The Ghost of the Riverbend, d. Bálint Gelley, p. CUB Animation, Hungary

The Ghost of the Riverbend

SERIES & TV Specials

Buddy, d. Nejc Gazvoda, Anja Jager, p. Gliser, Slovenia 
Chouk and Pop, sc. Anne Herbauts, p. Darjeeling Production, France (TV special)
Didi and the Magical Garden, sc. Anna Matuszewska, p. Filmograf, Poland 
Finding Home, d. Maria Stanisheva, p. Animadocs, Iliade et Films, Bulgaria, France 
Flo The Seal, d. Mateusz Jarmulski, Anna Blaszczyk, p. Animoon, Poland
In the Workfield, d. Toma Alexandru, p. CU VANA SRL, Romania 
Little Big Ones, d. Lucie Štampfestová, p. Maurfilm, Czechia
Lussekatt, d. Roxane Campoy, p. Les Films de l'Arlequin, France (TV special)
Mould, d. Philippe Kastner, p. BATCH film, Czechia
Pebbi, d. Sofiya Horoch, p. Pirogy Studios, Czechia

Little Big Ones

 SHORT FILMS

Cucurbitaceae, d. Zoé Borbé, p. Camera-etc, Belgium
Dolphin Kicks, d. Iva Tokmakchieva, p. Compote Collective, Bulgaria
Family Recipe, d. Lou-Anne Gérard, p. Frigo Films, France
Fireflies Get Lost in the Woods, d. Dario Lauritano, p. Panta srl, Italy
Half Open Half Pose, d. Fábián Balogh, p. Boddah, Hungary
Inner Glow, d. Emilija Juzeliūnaitė, p. WHY Films, Lithuania
I Sea, d. Karolina Specht, p. BluBlu Studios, Poland
Starving Pig, d. Laura Martinović, Adriatic Animation, Croatia
The Button, d. Lucie Sunková, Maurfilm, Czechia
Trois-Fois-Rien, d. Titouan Tillier, p. Frigo Films, France

Inner Glow

STUDENT SHORT FILMS

At least the Weather is Nice, d. Petra Lili Szilágyi, p. MOME Anim - Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Hungary 
Echo of Silence, d. Anya Ryzhkova, p. Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany 
How to Become a Landlord, d. Abigél Dérczy, p. MOME Anim - Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Hungary
Ita Turns 30, d. Živa Divjak, p. FAMU Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czechia
Redefining Island, d. Julie Černá, p. Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (UMPRUM), Czechia
Tiramisu, d. Aleksa Trayanova & Kalina Dimitrova, p. New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria

Redefining Island 

The full details of all selected projects are available on the CEE Animation Forum website. CEE Animation Forum 2026 will take place in Pilsen from November 10–12, 2026

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