Manchester Animation Festival

It’s that glorious time of year again when we reveal the #MAF2025 programme! Expect exclusive previews, behind-the-scenes teasers & plenty of cool opportunities to learn from the industry’s most exciting studios & talented pros. We’re the UK’s only Oscar® & BAFTA-qualifying animation festival & we’re excited to bring you a super ambitious & diverse celebration of animation in all its forms to @HOMEmcr & venues across the city this November. Plus how cool is our new look for our 2025 fest from the brilliant @stephramplin ! So what do we have in store? Let’s take a look at the highlights… 🌟We’ll be celebrating the legacy of Irish animation faves @CartoonSaloon with our Fellowship Award. 🌟@ILMVFX join us for a death star-sized retrospective celebrating their 50yrs of ground breaking contributions to animation & visual effects. 🌟Speaking of things that are known throughout the galaxy, @DisneyAnimation will give you an exclusive look into the making of Zootropolis 2 & @Netflix will take you behind the scenes of In Your Dreams. 🌟@MagicLightPics give you an inside look at The Scarecrows’ Wedding, adapted from Julia Donaldson & Axel Sheffler’s beloved book. 🌟BBC Studios Kids & Family lift the curtain on new project Rafi the Wishing Wizard. 🌟Japanese director @Mugicaan joins us for a preview of his new film The Last Blossom. 🌟Watch the Natalie Portman-produced colourful time-travel tale Arco before anyone else at our UK premiere. 🌟We’ve exclusive previews of the first ever stop motion film produced in Mexico I Am Frankelda, @Annecy Festival’s Cristal winner Little Amelie Or The Character of Rain, politically charged romance thriller The Square & the cosmically chaotic @lesbianspaceprincessfilm . 🌟Catch a stunning 4K remaster of 1985’s underground classic Angel’s Egg. 🌟We’ve got events from @AdultSwimEurope , BlackFrame, @aardmananimations , @animatedwomenuk & many more! 🌟And let’s not forget our Animation Nation Forum, MAF Marketplace & fun Family Day! And if that wasn’t exciting enough, #MAF2025 tickets & passes are NOW on sale! Follow our LIB to explore the full line-up & grab your tickets and passes. 9 - 13 Nov In Venue 14 - 30 Nov Online

YAY! THE COMPETITION IS NOW OPEN FOR 2026 👾 Inspired by these works of animated art? Enter the Young Animator of the Year 2026 competition, supported by @bluezoo , @mcranimation , @accessvfx and stop motion categories kindly sponsored by @hueanimation Get your work seen by industry professionals, nominated films are screened at Manchester Animation Festival, win awesome prizes 🔥 We can’t wait to see what you can do! Enter now at younganimator.uk

🎬 YOUNG ANIMATOR OF THE YEAR UK COMPETITION NOW OPEN FOR 2026 🎬 Want to get your hands on this awesome trophy? Create something special, get industry eyes on your work, and win incredible prizes! Who can enter: 11 to 22-year-olds living in the UK What can you enter: A 3D, 2D, or stop motion film animated and directed by YOU Competition closes: September 1st 2026 🌟 PLUS A NEW CATEGORY FOR 2026! Group projects now accepted! The YAY UK competition is supported by @blue_zoo @mcranimation @accessvfx and the stop motion categories are kindly sponsored by @hueanimation Want to know more? Visit / #animation #yayuk #animator #younganimatoroftheyear #animatorsofinstagram

Back in November we announced that Forevergreen had won the prestigious ‘Best Short Film For Children Award’ at the @mcranimation Manchester Animation Festival. And one of the cool things with winning is that sometimes you receive an amazing physical award! We wanted to share what just arrived this last week and we could not be more thrilled. Thank you to all who were behind this beauty! And thanks to the Manchester Animation Festival for this incredible honor. #ForevergreenFilm #manchesteranimationfestival

We're on the lookout for stunning short films, superb student films, fabulous feature films, incredible immersive films and candescent (yeah it is hard finding a word that means 'brilliant' beginning with 'C') commissioned films for MAF 2026! If you'd like to enter our Academy Award© and BAFTA qualifying festival head to FilmFreeway to submit your work. Link in bio #animation #callforentries #CFE #animationfestival #animationevent #filmevent #filmmanchester #manchesteranimation #MAF2026 #filmfestival #film #shortfilm #cinema #filmmaking #indiefilm #filmmaker #movies #director #movie #festival #featurefilm #studentfilm #immersivefilm #commercialfilm #commissionedfilm #musicvideo #advertisement #childrensfilm #filmfreeway

Our annual Industry Excellence Awards shine a spotlight on the animation heroes working day in and day out within the animation industry, filling our lives with amazing animated work. If you are, or know an amazing writer, storyboard artist, character designer or character animator who has created commercial work on features, TV series, adverts or music videos or anything else commissioned this year please submit a nomination and perhaps the spotlight will shine on that work at the UK's biggest celebration of animation this November. Nominate yourself or a colleague for free via the link in our bio.

A few pages from our landmark report into the Greater Manchester animation sector. You can download the entire report (link in bio) to get the full picture of Manchester animation.

The most gorgeous award in animation? We like to think so! Crafted by the marvellous @mackandsaund our iconic bee trophies are returning for 2026 and our call for entries for our international film competition is now open! Deadline - July 31, 2026 The UK's only BAFTA and Academy Award© qualifying animation festival returns 8-12 November 2026. Submit your film via @filmfreeway using the link in our bio. #animation #callforentries #CFE #animationfestival #animationevent #filmevent #filmmanchester #manchesteranimation #MAF2026 #filmfestival #film #shortfilm #cinema #filmmaking #indiefilm #filmmaker #movies #director #movie #festival #featurefilm #studentfilm #immersivefilm #commercialfilm #commissionedfilm #musicvideo #advertisement #childrensfilm #filmfreeway

Working in partnership with @mcrfilmfestival we present a special preview of the new film by Sylvain Chomet - the genius behind The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist about French playwright, filmmaker, and inventor Marcel Pagnol. Come to MFF and we will see you this Sunday 29 March 2026, 12:20am Odeon Screen 11, Manchester Great Northern. Find a link to tickets in our bio

Massive congratulations to Maggie Kang @nutmags and Chris Appelhans, winners of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. KPop Demon Hunters didn't just scoop the award for animated feature, but also for Best Song for Golden. Head to the MAF YouTube channel to see our Making Of KPop Demon Hunters With Maggie Kang & Chris Appelhans now. #Oscars #academyawards #oscars2026 #kpopdemonhunters #animation

Working in partnership with @mcrfilmfestival we present a special preview of the new film by Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist) about French playwright, filmmaker, and inventor Marcel Pagnol. At 61, Pagnol appears very close to giving up on his career, so a younger Marcel comes to the rescue. When asked to write a memoir, Pagnol simply can’t do it – not without the help of hope and optimism personified in the figure of young Marcel. Pagnol is viewed as a man at ease with the times, embracing the medium of cinema when his theatre colleagues were too sceptical to try. Set against the backdrop of Paris’ Belle Epoque, the rise of fascism, and the Second World War. Be among the first to see this film in the UK at Manchester Film Festival on the 29 March and be sure to check out the rest of the programme. Link in bio.

It's official KPop Demon Hunters is getting a sequel! Prepare for more music, mythology, fashion, and fandom colliding. Don't forget you can now watch the KPop Demon Hunters directors Maggie Kang @nutmags and Chris Appelhans in conversation with fest director Steve Henderson @dr_s_henderson free on our YouTube channel. Do we talk sequels? You bet we talk sequels!