“Fest Anča 2025 Drops Record-Breaking Animation Lineup — And It’s More Bonkers Than Ever!”
Move over, Hollywood — Slovakia’s animated wonderland is back and bigger than ever. The 18th Fest Anča International Animation Festival is gearing up to unleash a kaleidoscope of color, creativity, and chaos in Žilina from June 24–29, 2025. And if you’re not already circling the date on your calendar, here’s why you absolutely should.
This year, Fest Anča didn’t just dip its toes in the animation pool — it did a full cannonball. A jaw-dropping 1,800 short films from 83 countries flooded the submission box, amounting to 203 hours (that’s eight and a half days!) of animated eye candy. After months of marathon viewing sessions, the selection committee — animation buffs Jakub Spevák, Ema Nemčovičová, and Peter Gašparík — trimmed the madness down to a lean, mean 218-film lineup.
But only 36 films made it into the coveted main competition, and that includes 13 standout student projects. Expect big names like Yoriko Mizushiri, Sasha Svirsky, Koji Yamamura, and Amanda Therese Bonaiuto, plus up-and-coming animators who are here to prove they’ve got the chops.
And here’s where things get spicy: Winners of Best Animated Short and Best Slovak Animated Short at Fest Anča are catapulted straight into Oscar qualification territory. Yep, this isn’t just a quirky Eastern European fest — it’s an Academy Awards launchpad.
This year’s theme? “Our Bodies.” Expect everything from thoughtful deconstructions of human form to visuals that question if we can exist outside our bodies — or if we’re just glorified bags of resistance with eyes. (Existential, much?) While this theme won’t steer the entire lineup, it’ll definitely pop up in curated sections, retrospectives, and feature screenings throughout the week.
Animation techniques are just as varied as the stories being told. From pinscreen animation and 3D scanning, to stop-motion graffiti and other tactile delights, there’s something for every kind of animation nerd. Highlights include hard-hitting social commentaries like I Died in Irpin, a Czech-Slovak-Ukrainian documentary that reconstructs the events of February 24, 2022, with haunting poignance.
Slovakia’s own are bringing the heat, too. The Slovak film competition features eight gems, many from institutions like the Slovak Academy of Performing Arts and FAMU in Prague. Notably, filmmaker Matúš Vizár returns with Free the Chickens, a tale of four activists ready to ruffle feathers — literally and figuratively.
For the sonic souls, the music video competition is a banger. Think 15 animators, 15 styles, and one jaw-dropping video. Oh, and a Nosferatu-inspired piece? Count us in. Genres range from K-pop to trash metal, and everything in between.
Got kids (or just a big kid at heart)? The children’s competition features six charming shorts with stories that tickle both funny bones and tear ducts. One particularly delightful entry follows a poisonous mushroom with dreams of becoming a chef. Gordon Ramsay, watch your back.
Of course, the non-competitive sections aren’t just filler — they’re fire. Expect mind-bending gems like Glass House, which smartly blends AI with old-school animation to create something uniquely human (ironically). Or wander into Anča in Wonderland, where absurdity rules and logic is left at the door. Prefer something creepier? Anča in Mordor brings the fear, the discomfort, and… mold. Lots of mold.
And if your attention span’s shorter than a TikTok clip, the Extremely Short Section of Extremely Short Films has you covered — each film clocks in under two minutes.
Supported by the Audiovisual Fund, LITA Fund, and SPP Foundation, Fest Anča 2025 isn’t just an animation festival — it’s a full-blown creative rebellion. With bold storytelling, unfiltered voices, and visuals that’ll rattle your eyeballs, this year’s edition promises to be unforgettable.
So pack your sketchbook, grab your weirdest ideas, and get ready to animate your soul. Žilina awaits. ✨
