Leading animation festival in Brazil will expand to 10 days this November with the debut of ANIMAGE Conecta and its first feature film competition; submissions now being accepted.
ANIMAGE - International Animation Festival of Pernambuco will hold its largest edition to date November 20-29 in Recife, Brazil, expanding to 10 days for its 16th anniversary with the launch of ANIMAGE Conecta, an international animation market, and the debut of its first Feature Film Competition alongside its traditional short film competition.
Submissions are free and being accepted through June 30 on FilmFreeway.com. Awards will be given in 11 categories; the 2026 competitive screenings will include recent Brazilian and international short and feature-length films chosen by the festival’s curatorial team, with R$ 32,000 in prizes distributed across categories including Best Short Film, Best Feature Film, Best Brazilian Short Film, and Best Children’s Short Film, as well as the ANIMAGE Trophy in other technical and artistic categories. The competition lineup will be announced July 30.
Held in Recife, known internationally as the location for Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Oscar-nominated film The Secret Agent, the festival takes place at venues throughout the city, from movie theaters to public squares, with the historic Cinema São Luiz serving as its main venue.
The new ANIMAGE Conecta will run November 20-23, dedicated to fostering new talent, training, networking, and business growth. The program will include workshops, pitch sessions, meetups, conferences, masterclasses, debates, panels, roundtables, and interviews, many of which will be streamed online. National and international guests will be announced shortly.
“ANIMAGE Conecta was created to strengthen international collaboration and create new opportunities for animation professionals from Brazil and around the world,” said Antonio Gutierrez, known as Gutie, director and founder of ANIMAGE.
Special screenings of short and feature films will include retrospectives, themed screenings, and unreleased works. The Parque Screening will bring outdoor short film screenings to the outskirts of the city, reinforcing the festival’s educational and inclusive mission, while online screenings will broaden the program’s national reach. All festival activities, including screenings and market events, remain free of charge.
Founded in 2008, ANIMAGE is Brazil’s leading animation festival and one of the most important in Latin America. The festival is known for its variety, support for unique productions, and use of different styles and techniques, making it a platform for experimental and independent films, well-respected works, and new talent. Over the years, it has hosted global animation figures including Emma de Swaeff and Marc Roels, Alê Abreu, Bruno Collet, Kaspar Jancis, Rosana Urbes, Andrea Martignoni, Phill Mulloy, Regina Pessoa, Jonatan Schwenk, and Sébastien Laudenbach.
The ANIMAGE Festival 2026 is sponsored by Petrobras, conceived and produced by Rec-Beat Produções and Leão Produções, and presented by the Ministry of Culture and the Federal Government of Brazil through the Federal Culture Incentive Law.
Source: The ANIMAGE Festival
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
