Animest 2026: Nature takes over the big screen!
Between October 2 and 11, the Animest International Animation Film Festival returns to the big screens of Bucharest with its 21st edition. This year's festival theme invites you to explore the profound connections between humans and the environment, bringing NATURE to the forefront—from the mysteries of ancient forests to the fragile balance of ecosystems and the green invasion of urban space.
What does it mean to truly look at the natural world? To let yourself be overwhelmed by its force, to understand its hidden rhythms, or to take responsibility for its protection? In the age of digital and virtual realities, do we still know how to listen to the organic pulse of the planet that hosts us? These are just a few of the perspectives that Animest.21 proposes for exploration through a vast program of screenings, special events, meetings with guests from all over the world, and programs dedicated to the artists. You will discover spectacular feature films, multi-award-winning movies from major international festivals, as well as numerous short-films that explore nature from unexpected angles, featuring vibrant landscapes, fantastic creatures, and an important ecological message.
Don't miss Animest.21! The Ten Stops and Full Trip passes are available now, offering unlimited access to the festival experience.
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The Animest International Animation Film Festival is the largest and longest-running festival in Romania dedicated exclusively to animated film. Founded in 2006, the festival brings hundreds of films from all over the world to the big screen, across multiple competition categories, retrospectives, and programs dedicated to famous animation schools, animation festivals, and major industry names. Every year in October, Bucharest hosts film directors, producers, students, curators, and journalists, who take part in discussions with the audience, hold workshops and masterclasses, and present their new animated film projects.
The winners of the Animest Trophy and the Romanian competition automatically become eligible for the Academy Awards®, with Animest being the only festival in Romania holding this status.
The ticket guarantees one hour of VR experiences from the festival's selection, chosen at the venue. A LONG GOODBYE, Belgium 2025 - Kate Voet, Victor Maes - 25’ FALLAX, Iceland, United Kingdom 2025 - Owen Hindley - 23’ IF YOU SEE A CAT, Japan 2026- Atsushi Wada - 37’ LESBIAN SIMULATOR, The Netherlands 2025- Iris van der Meule - 40’ LESS THAN 5GR OF SAFFRON, France 2025 - Négar Motevalymeidanshah - 7’ RETSU (THE LINE), Japan 2026 - Naho Kamimura - 30’ SENSE OF NOWHERE, Taiwan 2025 - Hsin Hsuan Yeh - 30’ THE BIG CUBE, Finland, China, Belgium, Portugal 2025 - Menghui Huang - 6’45 THE SAD STORY OF THE LITTLE MOUSE WHO WANTED TO BECOME SOMEBODY, France, Germany, Belgium 2025 - Nicolas Bourniquel - 29’
The ticket guarantees one hour of VR experiences from the festival's selection, chosen at the venue. A LONG GOODBYE, Belgium 2025 - Kate Voet, Victor Maes - 25’ FALLAX, Iceland, United Kingdom 2025 - Owen Hindley - 23’ IF YOU SEE A CAT, Japan 2026- Atsushi Wada - 37’ LESBIAN SIMULATOR, The Netherlands 2025- Iris van der Meule - 40’ LESS THAN 5GR OF SAFFRON, France 2025 - Négar Motevalymeidanshah - 7’ RETSU (THE LINE), Japan 2026 - Naho Kamimura - 30’ SENSE OF NOWHERE, Taiwan 2025 - Hsin Hsuan Yeh - 30’ THE BIG CUBE, Finland, China, Belgium, Portugal 2025 - Menghui Huang - 6’45 THE SAD STORY OF THE LITTLE MOUSE WHO WANTED TO BECOME SOMEBODY, France, Germany, Belgium 2025 - Nicolas Bourniquel - 29’
The ticket guarantees one hour of VR experiences from the festival's selection, chosen at the venue. A LONG GOODBYE, Belgium 2025 - Kate Voet, Victor Maes - 25’ FALLAX, Iceland, United Kingdom 2025 - Owen Hindley - 23’ IF YOU SEE A CAT, Japan 2026- Atsushi Wada - 37’ LESBIAN SIMULATOR, The Netherlands 2025- Iris van der Meule - 40’ LESS THAN 5GR OF SAFFRON, France 2025 - Négar Motevalymeidanshah - 7’ RETSU (THE LINE), Japan 2026 - Naho Kamimura - 30’ SENSE OF NOWHERE, Taiwan 2025 - Hsin Hsuan Yeh - 30’ THE BIG CUBE, Finland, China, Belgium, Portugal 2025 - Menghui Huang - 6’45 THE SAD STORY OF THE LITTLE MOUSE WHO WANTED TO BECOME SOMEBODY, France, Germany, Belgium 2025 - Nicolas Bourniquel - 29’
SCREAM! IT'S GROWING! – France 2026, 3:28, dir. Anna Murie Daughters of the Late Colonel – United Kingdom, Germany 2026, 8:57, dir. Elisabeth Hobbs Gently – Czech Republic 2026, 8:49, dir. Jamaica Kindlová Eri – France, Japan 2026, 12:08, dir....See more details
Serato Animato is a non-profit, underground and nomadic screening project dedicated to weird, raw and independent animation from around the world. No rules, no borders, just visual experimentation. For Animest, Serato Animato presents a strange journey through life, death, mutation and madness, where nature becomes something unexpected, unsettling and beautifully weird.
O călătorie vizuală prin mintea unui bărbat pierdut în zona crepusculară, îndrumat de o pisică ce îi servește drept conștiință. O poveste suprarealistă, onirică, ce urmărește călătoria interioară a lui Fred, suspendat între realitate, vis și zona crepusculară....See more details
The ticket guarantees one hour of VR experiences from the festival's selection, chosen at the venue. A LONG GOODBYE, Belgium 2025 - Kate Voet, Victor Maes - 25’ FALLAX, Iceland, United Kingdom 2025 - Owen Hindley - 23’ IF YOU SEE A CAT, Japan 2026- Atsushi Wada - 37’ LESBIAN SIMULATOR, The Netherlands 2025- Iris van der Meule - 40’ LESS THAN 5GR OF SAFFRON, France 2025 - Négar Motevalymeidanshah - 7’ RETSU (THE LINE), Japan 2026 - Naho Kamimura - 30’ SENSE OF NOWHERE, Taiwan 2025 - Hsin Hsuan Yeh - 30’ THE BIG CUBE, Finland, China, Belgium, Portugal 2025 - Menghui Huang - 6’45 THE SAD STORY OF THE LITTLE MOUSE WHO WANTED TO BECOME SOMEBODY, France, Germany, Belgium 2025 - Nicolas Bourniquel - 29’
Human 5000 – France 2025, 6:00, dir. Guy Charnaux Our Walls – Czech Rep. 2025, 7:35, dir. Živa Divjak Fly Train – Hong Kong 2025, 3:44, dir. Ria Riwen Zhang Hungry Hollow – USA 2025, 5:00, dir. Sarah Ruyle Doug + Me – UK 2026, 5:44, dir. Cecile Fountain-Jardim I Was So Afraid Of You Running Away – Turkey 2025, 4:00, dir....See more details
Short Films DUEL - JINJER, Ukraine 2025 - Oleksii Zatserkovnyi - 5’ RYAN, Canada 2004 - Chris Landreth - 14’ MISALIGNED, Poland, Latvia, 2022 - Martha Magnuska - 7’ MY TIGER, France 2022 - Jean Jean Arnoux - 14’ THE VILLAGE, UK 1993 - Mark Baker - 15’ HYPERSENSITIVE, Canada 2025 - Martine Frossard - 7’ I AM TOM MOODY, UK 2012 - Ainslie Henderson - 7’ THE MAGIC GARDEN, Brazil 2025 - Naira Carneiro, Carlon Hardt - 6’ A FAMILY PORTRAIT, UK 2009 - Joseph Pierce - 5’ HUMAN NATURE, The Netherlands 2019 - Sverre Fredriksen, Zaou Vaughan - 2’
Un îngrijitor singuratic dintr-un studio de film pe cale de dispariție își găsește alinare într-o poveste de dragoste virtuală, până când iluzia se spulberă. O echipă de filmare vine să turneze un film despre o invazie extraterestră, iar el alege să dispară odată cu studioul.