The Film Competition
The largest international animation festival in the Nordics
Viborg Animation Festival was founded in 2013 and is organized by The Animation Workshop in collaboration with Viborg UNESCO Creative City. The Animation Workshop is an internationally recognized animation school, ranked third-best in the world, and fosters a creative environment with a broad network of international teachers, students, and animation professionals from across the globe.
The film competition categories
At the heart of the festival lies the competition programme for animated short films, where high-quality international short films compete for the festival’s awards. VAF aims to unite film enthusiasts through exceptional artistic experiences, presenting a carefully curated programme of world-class animation across different categories.
How the winners are selected
All short films submitted to the competition undergo a rigorous selection process led by a professional pre-selection jury. Each film is reviewed by two independent experts, after which the strongest entries, spanning a wide range of genres, styles, and countries, are selected for the final festival programme.
The official jury, composed each year of international professionals with experience in animation, filmmaking, and directing, meets in Viborg to watch all competition films over three days, deliberate, and determine the winners.
The festival awards are presented at the VAF Awards ceremony, which celebrates the year’s best animated short films.
Submit your film
Submissions for the Viborg Animation Festival’s film competition are now open. Viborg Animation Festival is part of the Northern Animation Network (NAN), which also includes Fredrikstad Animation Festival, BLON Animation & Games Festival, and REX Animation Film Festival. A single submission allows your film to be considered by all four festivals, increasing its visibility and reaching a wider audience across the Nordic region. Submission period: February 1 – May 3, 2026.
VAF Awards 2026:
Official VAF Awards, decided by a professional, international jury:
- Best Short Film Award
- Best Experimental Award
- Zeitgeist Award
- Graduation Award
Additional awards presented during the ceremony:
- Children’s Choice Award, selected by a youth jury
- Audience Choice Award, voted for by the cinema audience
- Pitchin’ Award, for best idea in Danish animation for an adult audience, judged by a professional pitch jury
- New Danish Talent Award, awarded by Filmværksted Viborg
- ANIDOX:XR Award, for animated documentaries, awarded by ANIDOX
BAFTA-qualifying festival
Since 2024, Viborg Animation Festival has been a BAFTA-qualifying festival. This means that UK animated films selected for the VAF competition can be submitted for consideration for the British Short Animation Award. Eligibility requires that British creatives have played a significant creative role in the film.
About BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts celebrates excellence in film, TV, and games. BAFTA champions the industry by honoring world-class craft and supporting talent across all genres, including animation.
Previous winners
See a list of past winners of VAF’s competition programme.
Handpicked short films from around the world
In 2025, the festival received 622 submissions from 58 countries. Each film is carefully evaluated by several professionals before the final competition lineup is selected.
Film programme since 2016
The festival’s curated film programme has existed since 2016. The main award, Best Short Film Award, has been presented annually since 2019.
Want to watch this year’s competition films?
The nominated films will be screened at Nordisk Film Cinemas in Viborg during the festival week in September.
Festival director Karoline Nederby on stage at the VAF awards with film director and journalist, Søren Høy, host of the 2025 ceremony.
Director Carlos David Velandia receiving best experimental for “Este no es tu jardín”, judged by Claudia Munksgaard-Palmqvist (Denmark), Heta Jäälinoja (Finland), and Luca Toth (Hungary).
Two jury members at the VAF Awards: director Peter Hausner and animator and Academy member Sara Koppel.
Danish Talent Award presented by Filmværksted Viborg: winner “Service Bus” receives 25,000 DKK and a residency.