Manchester Animation Festival returns 8-12 November 2026!

MAF call for entries for 2026 is now open! We’re on the hunt for spectacular shorts, stupendous student films, clever commissioned films, incredible immersive films and fabulous features. Submit today and your film might make it to the screen at MAF 2026.

Manchester Animation Festival hosts awards in many categories, each designed and manufactured by legendary animation model makers Mackinnon and Saunders. Our short film award is an Academy Award Qualifier and all British films screened at MAF are submitted to BAFTA for consideration for the British Animated Short category.

The Early Bird submission deadline is 3 March 2026. For more information, rules and submission details, refer to our FilmFreeway. Here is the schedule for submissions:

March 3, 2026

Early Bird Deadline

June 23, 2026

Regular Deadline

July 31, 2026

Late Deadline

September 11, 2026

Notification Date

November 8 – 13, 2026

Event Date

SUBMIT YOUR FILM

https://filmfreeway.com/ManchesterAnimationFestival#:~:text=SHORT%20FILMS%3A,before%20the%2028%20August%202026.