The Prime the Animation! festival organised by the Universitat Politècnica de València and the Vice Rectorate for Art Science Technology Society UPV, in collaboration with the Cañada Blanch Foundation and La Filmoteca Valenciana IVC, will take place this year in its 13th edition from October 21 to 25, 2025.
With a dedicated focus on discovering and promoting new international talent, Prime the Animation! opens the registration period for animated short films aimed at new talents and debut films. The entry period will end on June 1, 2025 on the Filmfreeway platform.
Every year, the festival receives around 1300 short films from different countries, of which approximately 75 are selected to be part of the official competition section. This outstanding selection reflects the festival’s commitment to showcasing new creators and diversity in the field of animation. The awards include Best International Animated Short Film, Best Experimental Animated Short Film “Miquel Guillem”, Best National Animated Short Film, Audience Award for Animated Short Film, and Best Poster Award.
This year the festival aims to involve animation schools and universities in Spain, with a sample of animated bumpers to screen the selected ones during the dates of Prime the Animation! and through the festival’s networks to show the perspectives of future professionals.
This next edition of Prime the Animation! has the support of Creative Europe, thanks to being a participating partner in the new network of animation festivals FAN, Cinanima (Portugal), Imaginaria (Italy), Animasyros (Greece) and Animafest Cyprus (Cyprus).
The main objectives of this network are the creation of a collaborative model between the partner festivals, which aims to create and diversify new audiences, thus creating an exchange of best practices and experiences among its members and contributing dynamically to the dissemination of European animation cinema worldwide; the promotion of auteur animation, highlighting young talent; the diversification and broadening of audiences; film production in schools and elsewhere; the promotion of analysis, study and reflection, as well as the creation of debates, the exchange of ideas and practices among animation film trainers. Environmental sustainability, inclusion, non-discrimination, diversity and representativeness are transversal values in the implementation of the entire project.
For further information, visit the website: primetheanimation.upv.es
