THE 8TH ANIMAFILM INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL HAS CLOSED
The 8th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival, held in Baku on September 3-7, 2025, has concluded its work.
The 8th ANIMAFILM Festival was held with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Cinema Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the organization of the Azerbaijan Animation Association and “PERI FILM” LLC.
More than 1,000 spectators watched more than 60 films from 25 countries at the International Festival, the main theme of which was “Cats”. Part of the proceeds from ticket sales at the festival will be donated to local initiatives related to the welfare of cats.
The festival consisted of 4 programs - Competition, Out of Competition, Observer and Professional programs.
This year, the festival's competition program included 317 films from 62 countries in 4 international and 1 local category. A 7-member selection committee evaluated all the films and found 39 films from 20 countries eligible to participate in the competition. Of these, 10 films competed in local and 29 films in international categories. The films were evaluated by both an international jury of 5 members and the audience.
The 8th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival opened on September 3. The main event of the festival opening was the screening of the animated film “Tales from the Magic Garden”, produced by the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and France. More than 30 events were held during the following days of the festival.
The non-competitive program featured the animation collection “2025 OSCAR Selections”, the full-length animated film “Akira” (1988), the animation collection “Skwigly x ANIMAFILM: All About Cats”, the short animated film “Nargız” (2024), and films by “Nine Senses Animation Studio” (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, “Zombie”) and animated films made by children (“Black and White”, “Tears of Ice”).
The 1st ANIMAFILM Pitching Competition was held as part of the professional program.
The professional program also included a number of master classes and creative meetings - “Stop-motion Master Class with Ayan Novruz”, “Flip-book Master Class with Mehriban Aliyeva”, “Become a Hero of Ken Sheykh’s Animated Film!”, “Lecture by Mohamed Ghazala on the 90th Anniversary of African Animation”, “Making of: Bum-Bum” and “Create a Story for Animation Master Class with Matthew Lyon”.
As part of the observer program, the festival hosted the first-ever presentation of Azerbaijani computer games “Game Showcase”. As part of the observer program, breakfasts with film authors were also organized in various cafes, and “Skwigly Quiz” interactive games and parties were held.
On September 7, the closing ceremony of the 8th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival was held at the Nizami Cinema Center. Speaking at the event, the festival director, director, producer, and chairman of the Azerbaijan Animation Association Rashid Aghamaliyev provided detailed information about the event. Rashad Azizov, Director General of the Cinema Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ARKA), stressed the importance of increasing the number of animated films and establishing international cooperation.
At the award ceremony, jury members Aaron Wood (England), Muhamed Ghazala (Egypt), Anastasia Verlinska (Ukraine), Ulviyya Akhundova, Farid Rasulov (Azerbaijan), judges of the 1st ANIMAFILM Pitching Competition Shahin Aliyev and Nazrin Aghamaliyeva, and festival team member Aydan Kazimova announced the winners.
Winners of the 8th ANIMAFILM International Animation Festival:
Best Animated Short Film – GRAND PRIX: TV oder Die Ruhestörung an der Waldbergstrasse, Frederic Siegel / Switzerland
Best Animated Short Film for Children: Forevergreen, Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears / USA
Best Animated Short Film about Cats: A Walk into the Afterlife, Jiyun Jeong / Luxembourg
Best Student Animated Short Film: Fountain, Hazhir As’adi / Iran
Best Azerbaijani Animated Short Film - Culture Nairli and ARKA Travel Award to Annecy Festival: Soyuz: Graviton (Emil Shiran)
Special Jury Prize: 9 million colors, Bára Anna / Czech Republic, Germany, Norway
Special Jury Prize: Ah! Mother… (Oh! Mother, Mother…, Khatuna Tatuashvili / Georgia)
Audience Choice Award: Ah! Mother… (Oh! Mother, Mother…, Khatuna Tatuashvili / Georgia)
Winner of the 1st ANIMAFILM Pitching Competition - Prize of the Culture Nairli and ARKA for a trip to the Annecy Festival - Dynamic Box Studio Award (500 AZN): Komble (TV series, Mehriban Aliyeva, Petre Tomadze)
Winner of the 1st ANIMAFILM Pitching Competition - Prize of the ANIMAFILM Studio (500 AZN): Ski (short film, director Polina Knyazeva, producer Firangiz Bagirova)
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