Anifilm 2025

Why we support the project

• admired all over the world, Czech animation is one of the best examples of flourishing Czech talent
• Anifilm has long represented and promoted Czech talent on the global stage
• it is a unique platform for sharing animation expertise and experience in Central and East Europe and is thus an indispensable platform for establishing international collaborations
• the festival captures the attention of and spurs creativity in children through its rapidly expanding children’s section
• the Czech Horizon Grant, awarded three times now with support from the PPF Foundation, provides funding for the production of professional Czech animated shorts
• for the second time, we have expanded our support to include the Liberec Game Pitch Arena project, which is part of Anifilm and gives innovative game development studios the chance to obtain funding  

About the project

Anifilm’s exciting history stretches back more than twenty years. The animated film festival follows and showcases current trends, methods, technologies and animation techniques. It supports in-progress or brand-new animation projects, their creators, producers and distributors. It provides a space for positive confrontation and networking between film professionals from all over the world. It is intended for filmmakers, students, teachers, film theorists and all animation fans, including children. At the same time, it represents and promotes the Czech Republic and Czech talent in a global context.

Most of the festival’s history is linked to the South Bohemian town of Třeboň. Anifilm relocated to Liberec in 2020, which enabled it to continue to grow and establish new collaborations. Last year, the festival was attended by over 36,000 visitors and around 1,000 guests, and its scope and broad programme have been maintained in part thanks to support from the PPF Foundation.

We have decided to cooperate with Anifilm again this year, thus once more helping the festival to prepare a high-quality international programme with the participation of Czech and international film professionals, featuring lectures, workshops and an international film competition.

Thanks to the foundation’s support, selected guests, filmmakers and children can participate in the events free of charge. Other festival visitors pay minimal fees and admission prices. The provided funding therefore goes both to supporting professionals and to educating audiences, including children, who can improve their artistic and animation skills by taking part in animation workshops, for example.

This year, the festival will take place from 6–11 May. For the second time, the winner or winners of the public competition for the Czech Horizon Grant, supported by the PPF Foundation, will be announced at the festival. The aim of the competition is to enable outstanding Czech animation filmmakers to pursue a career in animation after they finish their studies. The eight films that came through the pre-selection process will be presented by their creators to the jury at the festival. The total value of the grant is CZK 1,000,000, but the jury can divide the amount among several projects. This grant complements the PPF Foundation Award for the Best Czech Short and Feature Film, one of the categories of the festival’s Czech Horizon section.

For the second time, the festival will also feature the Liberec Game Pitch Arena, a pitching event for game projects that is a unique opportunity for developers, both those from the Czech Republic and Slovakia and their counterparts from abroad. The pitchers’ goal is to sufficiently impress someone from the panel of publishers and investors with their idea and business plan that they enter into negotiations about releasing and supporting their game. What’s more, studios have the chance to receive financial support from us to facilitate the development of their projects.