Animafest Zagreb 2026 Best Animation School Award to RE:ANIMA educational program

RE:ANIMA is a European international educational program for graduate students.

World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb 2026 Selection Committee of the Student Film Competition, composed of Maida Srabović, David Lovrić, and Daniel Šuljić, awarded the Best Animation School Award to RE:ANIMA educational program.

"Amid strong competition and a record 997 submitted student films from universities and schools around the world, this year saw a somewhat atypical, but very well deserved winner of the Best Animation School Award stand out. Unlike previous years, when the recognition was given to a single institution, this year’s award in a true European spirit goes to a collaboration of several European schools, realized with the support of the European Union’s Erasmus+ program.

RE:ANIMA is a European international educational program for graduate students, composed of  Lusófona University (Portugal), LUCA School of Arts (Belgium), and Aalto University (Finland). The program is now in its fourth consecutive year, with the main premise that the creative process of animation must be guided by cultural awareness and critical reflection on the world around us.

The program encourages intercultural collaboration by bringing together students from around the world with the aim of fostering innovation, creativity, and artistic exploration in animation and narrative structures. Over the course of four semesters, students rotate through all three institutions, gaining knowledge and experience in different animation techniques, genres, and formats, while developing a deep understanding of animation as an art form and a powerful medium for communicating socially relevant themes.

Films emerging from the RE:ANIMA program share a common characteristic: a strong personal signature, both visually and in narrative approach. In other words, these films differ significantly from one another in style. Some deal with real events through the author’s perspective; some dive into the nonverbal realm, as if speaking directly from the subconscious, bypassing familiar symbols and signs. Others take elements of the familiar to construct satirical and surreal perspectives, while still others transcend classical cinematic framing, using comic-strip panels as image margins.

Whatever the approach, none of the authors rely on clichés, which means the viewer must pay close attention: the most important element may lie in the visual details, or perhaps in the subtlety of the story. All the authors seem to speak in their own distinct voice, which is commendable" the jury explained in its statement.