Location Zagreb, Croatia Language International | Founded 1972 | |
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World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb (Croatian: Svjetski festival animiranog filma), also known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA), the event was established in 1972. Animafest is the second oldest animation festival in the World, after the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, (established in 1960).
The idea to create the event came about because of the worldwide acclaim of animated shorts produced by authors belonging to the Zagreb School of Animated Films in the 1950s and 1960s. Zagreb’s candidacy for holding a permanent animated film festival was accepted at the 1969 ASIFA meeting in London.
Festival awards include prizes given in the Short film Competition, Feature film Competition, Student Film Competition, Children Films, Site-specific competition and Croatian competition. Its Prize for "Best First Production Apart from Educational Institutions" is named in honour of Zlatko Grgić. The Lifetime Achievement Award, which is unique for animation film festivals, was established in 1986. An award for outstanding contribution to the theory of animation was added in 2002.
Grand Prize winners
From 1972 to 2004 Animafest was a biennial event focused on animated short films, held every even year with the exception of 1976. Between 2005 and 2015 a feature film festival edition was introduced and held every odd year in between the short film editions. In 2015 the shorts and feature selections were merged into one event, scheduled to be held every year.