Manchester Animation Festival (MAF) is devoted entirely to animation and runs for five days each November at HOME in Manchester and other venues in the city centre. Its first edition took place in 2015. The international film competition covers short, student, commissioned and immersive work (VR, AR and 360° films) under 30 minutes, and a separate international competition is held for feature films. MAF is on the Academy's list of qualifying festivals for the Short Films awards through its Short Film award. The Industry Excellence Awards recognise individual people for scriptwriting, storyboarding, character design and character animation on commissioned productions.
Screenings sit alongside masterclasses, talks, workshops and a family day, while the Animation Nation Forum is a business-to-business conference for the animation industry held next to the festival. The 2026 edition runs in Manchester on 8–12 November 2026, with selected short film programmes and recorded events online in the UK from 13 to 30 November 2026.
Awards and prizes
Film awards: Short Film, Feature Film, British Short Film, Student Film, Commissioned Film, Immersive Film, Short Film for Children, and an Audience Award voted by festival delegates. Films in the official selection are judged during the festival by juries of industry professionals, independent of the organisers.
The winner of the Short Film award is eligible for consideration in the Short Films competition of the Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with Academy rules.
Industry Excellence Awards go to individual people for scriptwriting, storyboarding, character design and character animation on commissioned productions.
Festival rules
Films are submitted via FilmFreeway, to one category only: Short Film (films not made by a student or a person under 16), Student Film (undergraduate and postgraduate students), Commissioned Film (educational or scientific films, music videos, advertising or promotional work, with the rights owner's permission) or Immersive Film (VR, interactive or not, AR or 360° films). Films must be under 30 minutes; all animation techniques are eligible. For the 2026 edition, films must have been completed after 18 July 2025; films already shown at other festivals can be entered. Feature film submissions are discussed directly with the festival team.
Films with non-English dialogue need on-screen English subtitles. The preferred screening format is DCP. Selected films may screen in or out of competition, in venues or online behind a paywall; an accepted film cannot be withdrawn, and screening fees are waived.
Industry Excellence Award nominations are made through the festival website, for one person's work on one project commissioned by a third party or broadcaster (two people may share a scriptwriting nomination). The rights holder and the nominee must agree to the nomination. Student films and independent projects without a third-party commissioner are not eligible.
