Animaevka-2026 International Festival received a record number of applications – almost 2 thousand from 99 countries

Mogilev is preparing to become the animation capital of Belarus and the world. From September 30 to October 2, the XXIX International Animated Film Festival “Animaevka-2026” will be held here, writes sb.by.

Deputy Head of the Cinematography Department of the Ministry of Culture Anastasia Korotchikova said:

- This year, the festival, founded in 1998, will be held for the 29th time. Over the years, it has become much more than just a film forum. It has become a large-scale platform for the dialogue of cultures, a space where, through the universal world of the magical language of animation, we find common values, meanings and points of contact.

The geography of the festival, according to Anastasia Korotchikova, is only expanding:

- This confirms that the Animaevka Festival has become a real cultural brand of our country. He gained his recognition not only here, but far beyond. In 2024, we received 317 applications from 47 countries, in 2025 this figure increased to 715 applications from 48 countries, this year the festival broke all records: 1962 applications were submitted from 99 countries. This proves that creativity has no boundaries.

This year, 11 new countries joined the festival. Among them are Kenya, Palestine, Congo, Gabon and others.

Famous director, animator, composer, member of the expert commission of the festival Igor Volchek said:

- The level of paintings, in my opinion, has grown - thanks to technology and artificial intelligence. It helps in production, but you need to set the task very precisely - backlash is not allowed. The hand of the artist, his living line, nothing can replace. Young people were very pleased with their work. No wonder there are two nominations at the festival - "Best debut" and "L student work". I had the opportunity to work on the selection committee of the largest animation festival in Hiroshima, where we reviewed 2,200 works. I thought that was an incredible number! We watched a hundred movies a day, working from morning to night. We watched and discussed. But it turned out that there was not much less work on Animaevka: experts watched 1962 films from 99 countries.

Igor Volchek stressed that the tasks of rental animation going in cinemas and festival animation are completely different:

- Festivals track where animation moves as an art, how its stylistics and aesthetics develop. The evaluation criterion is always the same: what did the author want to say and did he succeed? Technology and presentation change, but the themes are the same. Shakespeare and human passions are still trending.

The international jury will be attended by recognized masters from Belarus, Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Serbia. For the first time, the nomination “Best Animator” appeared. Various creative meetings and master classes are planned at the festival. The best works of the festival will be shown in the framework of the project “Echo of Animaevka”. International festival of animated films "Animaevka" starts on September 30 in Mogilev