This year’s edition of the Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films, set to take place in Liberec from May 6 to 11, will spotlight science fiction for the first time in the festival’s 24-year history. Alongside its established international competition, the event will also offer a wide-ranging look at both Czech and global animation, including features, shorts, games, virtual reality experiences, and more.
The main competition will present works in eight categories, ranging from feature-length films to student projects, video games, and VR. Czech animation is well-represented across the board: Kristina Dufková’s puppet-animated feature Living Large (Život k sežrání) will compete in the children and youth category, while Magdalena Hejzlarová’s Hun Tun, Jan Saska’s Hurikán, and Anastasiia Falileieva’s I Died in Irpin are among the Czech short films vying for awards. Anifilm winners in the short film categories will become eligible to compete for 2026 Academy Awards.
Czech student works are also present in record numbers, with five films selected for the international student competition. In addition, a broad selection of recent domestic work will be featured in the Czech Horizon section, which spans five categories and will be judged by the Czech Animation Council.
This year’s thematic focus on science fiction will cut across the program, encompassing screenings, exhibitions, and events aimed at audiences of all ages. Classic sci-fi animated films like René Laloux’s Fantastic Planet (animated in Czechoslovakia), Gandahar, and Time Masters will screen alongside Mamoru Oshii’s anime landmark Ghost in the Shell, Piotr Kamler’s Chronopolis, and lesser-known genre gems from Eastern Europe and the U.S.
The sci-fi retrospective will also explore the legacy of Czech sci-fi animators such as Václav Mergl and Jiří Trnka, while newer works like Mars Express, White Plastic Sky, and the series Scavengers Reign highlight how the genre continues to evolve.
The science fiction theme also informs this year’s festival identity, designed by Marek Berger, and will be visible throughout the program, including the late-night Midnight Animation slot and the children’s section Animo.
Among the notable international guests at this year’s Anifilm festival are Love, Death & Robots and Scavengers Reign collaborator Diego Polieri, Dresden Filmfest director Anne Gaschütz, and French film historian Xavier Kawa-Topor, co-author of a book on Fantastic Planet.
Czech director Diana Cam Van Nguyen (Love, Dad) will also serve as a juror, alongside representatives from Egypt, Slovakia, Poland, the U.S., Austria, and the UK. The juries will appear at screenings, panels, and workshops throughout the festival.
The international feature competition includes two Oscar-winning directors: Australia’s Adam Elliot with Memoir of a Snail and France’s Michel Hazanavicius with The Most Precious of Cargoes. Also competing are Julian Glander’s Boys Go to Jupiter, Flavours of Iraq by Léonard Cohen, and Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass from the Quay Brothers.
In the children and youth category, Czech film Living Large will compete with titles like the Oscar-winning Flow by Gints Zilbalodis, Ghost Cat Anzu from the Japanese manga, Claude Barras’ Savages, and The Magical Adventures of Angelo by Vincent Paronnaud and Alexis Ducord.
Anifilm 2025 also expands its focus on gaming, with competitions for independent and experimental games, student projects, and VR works. Czech and Slovak productions are again in the spotlight, with entries like Microcivilization, Playing Kafka, and Felvidek. Among the VR entries is Ito Meikyū, a new project by Boris Labbé, who won top XR honors in Venice last year.
Beyond film and games, Anifilm will offer concerts, exhibitions, and live performances throughout Liberec, with the town square hosting open-air screenings each night. Workshops for children and opportunities for all audiences to create their own animations will round out the festival’s interactive offerings.
Full program details and a daily schedule are available at the official Anifilm website.
Lead photo: The Quay Brothers’ Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass (2024)
