Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2025(TAAF2025) calls for feature and short animated films with high potential and strong messages from all over the world. Our aim is to screen high-quality animated films superior in originality, provide opportunities to inspire audience as well as creators, cultivate new talents, and contribute in the development and promotion of animation cultures and industry.

• Festival Period: March 7 (Fri) – 10 (Mon), 2025
• Venue: Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Categories

1. Feature Animation (60 min. or longer)
2. Short Animation (less than 30 min. )

*Any animated films longer than 30 min. but less than 60 min. shall be applied to the category of Feature Animation first. The TAAF office will contact the applicant later to notify which category is appropriate for the film.

Requirements:

• The film must have been completed on, or after, January 1, 2023 (regardless of country of origin, and whether it is professional, amateur or student work).
• The film that has been theatrically released, paid video streaming, broadcast, or distributed for profit in Japan for a certain period prior to March 6(Thu), 2025 is not eligible for the Competition (such film would qualify under the “Anime of the Year” category). Screening at film festivals and previews are not considered “for-profit” herein.
• The film that has been nominated to TAAF in the past will not be accepted.
• No submission fee is required.
• The application deadlines are as follows;
  • Short Animation: October 31 (Thu), 2024
  • Feature Animation: November 10 (Sun), 2024
• Once submissions have closed, the Preliminary Selection Committee will select the nominees for the final judging. The result of the selection process will be communicated to successful applicants, and the list of nominated films will be posted on the TAAF official website.
• The screening material should be either of the following:
  Apple ProRes (1920 x 1080 pix.) or DCP(for Feature Animation)
• The nominated films will be publicly screened at designated theaters during the festival period in Tokyo, during which time final judging will be conducted by the Competition Jury.
• The screening schedule will be announced after the preliminary selection on the TAAF official website.
• The following prizes are awarded to excellent films:
  Grand Prize (both for Feature and Short, a cash award of 500,000 yen)
  Award of Excellence (both for Feature and Short, a cash award of 100,000 yen)
  Best Student Film (entries in Short Animation, a cash award of 100,000 yen)
  and other prizes (if applicable).

Please read this outline and regulations carefully before your application.
We look forward to your application for TAAF2025.

CONTACT

Tokyo Anime Award Festival Office
(The Association of Japanese Animations)
E-mail: info@animefestival.jp

Winners of TAAF2024

TAAF2024 Feature Animation Competition Jury

Hiroyuki OkiuraAnimator / Director

Born in 1966. Okiura went freelance after working at Anime R. Character design and an animation
director for “Run, Melos!”, a director for “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade”, “A Letter to Momo”.

Chizuru MiyawakiAnimator / Director

Graduated from Visual Communication Design II, KYOTO SAGA ART COLLEGE. Miyawaki started her career as an animator. Currently, she directs, writes and designs original characters and visual concepts. Her main works include “Gin Tama” series, “BINAN KOUKOU CHIKYUBOUEIBU” series, “KOKYU NO KARASU” and “Monthly Moh Scientific”.

Jae Hong KimAnimator / Director

Born in 1971. After graduating from CalArts, Jae Hong Kim became an animator for feature animation including “The Iron Giant”, “Sinbad”, and “Osmosis Jones”. After then, he switched to TV storyboarding/Directing and worked at WB, DreamWorks, Disney, Sony… for numerous projects. He directed “Lost in OZ” from Amazon had 3 wins and 5 nominations for Daytime Emmy Awards in 2017. Currently, he is working for a Netflix project.

Kajsa NæssDirector

After 25 years as an innovative short animation director, Kajsa Næss was ready for her feature film debut with “Titina” in 2022. “Titina” has travelled the world and won several prizes since its international premiere at Animation is Film Festival in 2022. The film won the Award of Excellence at TAAF2023. Næss is known for her playful, humorous and humanistic films. Her award-winning shorts have featured in prestigious festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, Annecy, and Tribeca. In addition to her many film awards, Næss has been granted the Norwegian Ministry of Culture’s Human Rights Award. Her dozen credits include “It Was Mine”(2015), “It’s Up To You”(2013), “Deconstruction Workers”(2008), “Leonid Shower”(2004) and “Mother Said”(1999). Kajsa founded the Oscar winning studio Mikrofilm together with producer Lise Fearnley in 1996.

TAAF2024 Short Animation Competition Jury

Atsuko KogumaAnimation Artist

Koguma joined the animation industry after working as a graphic designer. She studied under Masaaki Mori then has been working freelance since 1999. Currently, she mainly plans, directs, and produces animation for TV-CM and video titles as well as actively working on doll making and illustrations. Besides business works, she conducts activities such as workshops and lectures for children, etc. to popularize and promote animation arts. An executive director of Japan Animation Association.

Hirokazu MinegishiStop Motion Animator

Born in Tochigi in 1955. After graduating from Tokyo Designer Gakuin College’s Animation Dept., Minegishi studied under Kihachiro Kawamoto, the representative puppet animation creator in Japan. He became in charge of the animation for the NHK character “Domo” series, Netflix series, “Rilakkuma and Kaoru”, etc. He also worked on animation for many TV commercials including “Zespri Kiwi” (Zespri International(Japan)K.K.) and “Honey Kumquat Cough Drop” (NOBEL Confectionery Co.,Ltd.). He is attached to Robins of dwarf.

Davide BenvenutiAssociate Professor, ADM School of Art Design and Media Singapore

Davide Benvenuti holds a master’s degree in architecture from Florence University, Italy. He started his career in animation in the 1990s, where, among many projects, he animated for Enzo D’Alo’s feature film “How the Toys Saved Christmas”. From 1995, his career moved overseas: as a Senior Animator for Disney Animation Australia Sydney (1995 – 2006), Davide worked for many award-winning direct DVD titles and feature films. In Los Angeles, he animated in the feature films “Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas” and “Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron” (Academy Award Nominee) DreamWorks SGK USA. For Ubisoft Singapore, he was involved in many video games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Davide holds the associate professor of Digital Animation position at Nanyang Technological University ADM (Singapore) and is currently directing his second short film, “Summer Tale”. He is also involved in multidisciplinary projects visualising science, medicine, and technology.

Nienke DeutzDirector

Nienke Deutz is a director and animator based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. After studying Fine Arts in Maastricht and obtaining a masters degree in animation at the School of Arts in Ghent, she now operates in both the Dutch and Belgian animation scenes. Exploring the narrative and visual possibilities animated film has to offer, she looks to combine various animation techniques and ways of storytelling. Her work tends to revolve around human experiences, a recurring theme is the feeling of being out of place or time. Her debut film “Bloeistraat 11” won over 30 awards including the Cristal for best short film at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Her latest film “The Miracle” is currently touring festivals. In the summer of 2023 she founded Tinsel studio together with filmmakers Alice Saey and Wiep Teeuwisse, a collective that directs and produces independent animation films.