05/05/2025 - The festival will explore science fiction in animation, pairing genre-defining films with an industry platform for cinema, gaming, and XR professionals

The 24th edition of International Festival of Animated Films, Anifilm, taking place from 6-11 May in Liberec, Czech Republic, will be for the first time in its history focus on the theme of science fiction. Anchored by this thematic pivot, Anifilm presents a programme that cuts across generations and techniques, from restored cult classics to contemporary experimental storytelling. René Laloux’s surreal masterpieces Fantastic Planet, Time Masters, and Gandahar will screen alongside genre-defining works such as Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell and Piotr Kamler’s Chronopolis. The thematic programme will include American indie sci-fi animation and works from the Eastern Bloc, alongside classics by Václav Mergl and Jiří Trnka, while also showcasing the genre's contemporary relevance through series like Scavengers Reign and films such as Jérémie Périn’s Mars Express [+see also:
film review
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interview: Jérémie Périn
film profile] and Tibor Bánóczki’s and Sarolta Szabó’s White Plastic Sky [+see also:
film review
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interview: Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó
film profile].

The international feature-length competition is split between works for adults and those for children and young adults. The adult section will screen Memoir of a Snail by Oscar-winning Australian director Adam Elliot, The Most Precious of Cargoes [+see also:
film review
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interview: Michel Hazanavicius
film profile] by Michel Hazanavicius alongside Shades of Iraq by Léonard Cohen, Boys Go to Jupiter by US artist Julian Glander, and the Quay Brothers’ Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass [+see also:
film review
interview: Quay Brothers
film profile]. The young adults competition includes Flow [+see also:
film review
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interview: Gints Zilbalodis
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile], the Oscar-crowned Latvian feature by Gints Zilbalodis, alongside Yōko Kuno’s and Nobuhiro Yamashita’s Ghost Cat Anzu [+see also:
film review
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film profile], Vincent Paronnaud’s and Alexis Ducord’s Into the Wonderwoods [+see also:
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interview: Vincent Paronnaud and Alexi…
film profile], and Claude Barras’ Sauvages [+see also:
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interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile]. Representing Czech animation is Kristina Dufková’s puppet film Living Large [+see also:
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interview: Kristina Dufková
film profile].

The VR competition includes seven projects, including Boris Labbé’s Ito meikyū, following his win in Venice last year, which will be competing against Lithuanian immersive film Play Life by Žilvinas Naujokas, Vilius Petrauskas, Mantas Pronckus, Donatas Ulvydas and Algis Kriščiūnas, based on the paintings by Lithuanian modern artist Algis Kriščiūnas, Gwenael François’ interactive film Oto’s Planet and Vincent Rooijers’ and Simone Fougnier’s virtual audiovisual journey through time and space The Art of Change.

Anifilm’s engagement with gaming continues with its international game competition, which spans experimental indie productions and ambitious narrative-driven titles. Czech and Slovak productions such as the clicker strategy across different historical periods, Microcivilization, the narrative adventure Playing Kafka, and an RPG set in a fictional district of medieval Upper Hungary, Felvidek, will compete alongside global entries including Judero and Oddada.

The festival’s industry programme offers a slate of workshops, masterclasses, and pitches. The third edition of the Czech Horizon Grant Pitch, distributing CZK 1 million (€40,138,50) to support Czech auteur short animation. The Game Pitch Arena will award €10,000 to selected local indie game projects supporting the next generation of interactive creators. The industry strand includes Creatoola Animarket, the industry networking event for animation offering international film professionals a unique opportunity for one-on-one meetings with experts in animation, VFX, game development, and VR/AR, and CEE Animation Market in collaboration with CEE Animation.

The festival’s full programme is available here.