ANIMAFILM, the 1st Baku International Animation Festival was hold in October 19th-21st, 2018. 480 films and 15 screenplays from 63 different countries around the world were presented to the 2 international and 1 local contests of the festival. Selection panel, which consisted of 3 people, namely Rashid Aghamaliyev, Miroslava Janičatová and Khanim Muxtarova selected 20 films and 5 scripts for the competition program in advance. 2 independent international jury examined and assessed competition’s results. Jury of the animation films competition led by the famous animation master and artist, Elchin Hami Axindov (Azerbaijan) was also consisted of several foreign animation experts. The winners of competition were announced on the third day of the competition, during the closing ceremony in 21 October, 2018. The winners were awarded with “Golden Boat” certificate. The winner of the competition “The Best Short Animated Film” was Louise Bagnoll from Ireland, for her animated film “Late Afternoon”. Louse Bagnoll is known for the films “Donkey” (2009), “Loose Ends” (2012), and “Late afternoon” (2017). Currently, Louise is the creative director of “Cartoon Saloon” studio in Ireland. “Late Afternoon” won several similar awards from other international festivals, such as Ireland film festival Festa (2017), Ireland Film Festival London (2018).

Good day! We thank you for your interest in ANIMAFILM Festival. The festival will be held in different venues in Baku from 19th to 21st of October. Access to all festival events is free. Places are limited! We kindly ask you to fill in the registration forms starting from now, as there are limited number of seats available at the festival venues.

The selection panel of the ANIMAFILM First Baku International Animation Festival announces the list of animated films and screenplays that will be included in the competition program. The selection panel has decided to remove the categories “The best animated social video” and “The best animation advertising” from the competition program due to not receiving adequate number of the films for the competition. The winner of the category of “The best original screenplay for a short animated film” will be selected by the international jury and will be announced in October 19th, 2018 – the Opening ceremony of the festival. The winning screenplay will be published in the festival catalogue and the author will have the opportunity to introduce his screenplay to the public. The winners for the categories, “The best short animation film” and “The best Azerbaijani short animated film” will also be selected by the international jury. The winning films will be announced on the closing ceremony of the festival (October 21, 2018) and will be screened for the audience.

ANIMAFILM team is sincerely grateful to all participants who submitted their animated films and screenplays for the competition program. The Selection Panel has received an impressive 480 animated films and 15 screenplays from 35 different countries. The Selection Panel will review the submissions and inform all participants about the results by October 1. On October 1, 2018, The Selection Panel will announce the list of films and screenplays chosen for participation in the contest program on the official festival website, www.animafilm.az.

There are less than two months left before the first ANIMAFILM Baku International Animation Festival! Here the Organizing Committee reveals the details of the upcoming events. The uniqueness of Azerbaijan’s first International Animation Festival lies in its inclusion of national animation traditions of neighboring countries, such as Georgia, Iran and Russia. Still, the main theme of the festival will be Azerbaijani animation itself, new and unknown to the world. Apart of the traditional competition categories, such as Best Short Animated Film and Best Animated Advertising, ANIMAFILM gives participants a unique opportunity to compete in the categories of Best Animated Social Video and Best Original Screenplay for a Short Animated Film. “We are especially proud of the Screenplays competition,” says Rashid Aghamaliyev, the festival founder. “This competition will allow us to discover young talent and help them attract attention to their projects in the early stage of pre-production. The winner’s screenplay will be printed in the festival catalogue and the author will have the unique opportunity to read it to the audience. We hope that it will help screenwriters and author directors to attract the attention of potential producers and sponsors in the region and beyond.”

We are announcing the Jury Members of Animafilm, The 1st Baku International Animation Festival! Leading professionals from Azerbaijan, Russia, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, and Slovakia have been selected as juries at The First ANIMAFILM Baku International Animation Festival. Two jury panels (animated films and screenplay juries) will select the winner from the presented nominations, according to the criteria for supporting talents and efforts to enhance the appreciation of animation art. Moreover, the audience can contribute to the evaluation of animation films by participating in the public vote. “The Audience Award” will be presented to the winner approved by the majority vote. “The Golden Boat” special prize will be awarded for the contribution to the development of Azerbaijani Animation. The name of the renowned animation director still must be kept secret. Jury Members will also be actively engaged in Non-Competitive and Professional Sections of the Festival. Acclaimed Azerbaijani director, Elchin Hami Akhundov will teach a master class on paper dolls to children. Russian animation director, Djahangir Suleymanov will present his movies and will speak about the secrets of directing animated films. Ketevan Djanelidze and Mohamed Gazala will present the retrospectives of Georgian and Egyptian animation schools. Animafilm presents short biographies of the members of two Jury Panels

ANIMAFILM Baku International Animation Festival had an official visit to the biggest animation event of the year - Annecy International Animated Film Festival ANIMAFILM was presented at Annecy’s MIFA (The International Animation Film Market) from 11 to 15 June, 2018. MIFA, the largest commercial project in the field of animation in Europe, is the global platform for financing, sales and co-production deals, as well as education, recruitment and networking. More than 3,000 professionals participate in MIFA each year. Azerbaijani festival ANIMAFILM was represented at MIFA with the kind support of the CEE Animation (the former Visegrad Animation Forum), which contributes to the development of the animation art in Central and Eastern Europe.

ANIMAFILM is the first international festival of animation art to be held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, from 19 to 21 October 2018. The festival will show dozens of foreign and national animated films for children and adults for three days. The goal of the organizers is to create an annual event that will delight the local and foreign audience and professionals, as well as promoting the development of animation art in Azerbaijan. The theme of the first ANIMAFILM festival is "Azerbaijani Animation". In addition to the national competition, which will select the best Azerbaijani short animation film, the audience is offered a number of events dedicated to the history of Azerbaijani animation. The book "Azerbaijani Animation", joint work of local and foreign authors will be presented for the first time. Within the framework of the festival theme there will be an exhibition "ReAnimation", a retrospective of the best Azerbaijani animated films, with the participation of the authors themselves, as well as master classes of professionals.