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Open World Animation Festival (8)

Deadlines

15 Dec 2025
Call for entries

28 Feb 2026
Early deadline

31 May 2026
Standard deadline

31 Aug 2026
Late deadline

31 Aug 2026
Final deadline

7
mths

01 Oct 2026
Notification date

05 Nov 2026
08 Nov 2026

Address

707 N. 4th St. Suite 103, 18102, Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States

Festival description

Short film festival 30'<

Text projects

Festival requirements

Film festival

Fiction

Documentary

Animation

Fantastic

Terror

Experimental

Music Video

Other

Any Genre

Any Theme

Has submission fees

International Festival

Physical Location

December 2024

Production countries: Any

Shooting countries: Any

Director nationalities: Any

Debut Films

School projects

Short Films 30'<

AI Tools

Any language

Subtitles
English

Share on Social Networks

Facebook
Tweet

English

Festival description (Edition: 8)

Festival start: 05 November 2026 Festival end: 08 November 2026

www.OpenWorldAnimation.com
www.TheAlternativeGallery.com

Open World Animation Festival encourages creators to explore the frontiers of animation through both traditional & emerging mediums. Its mission is to help general audiences understand the artistry in animation and its diversity of subject matter. It aims to showcase many voices, styles, & perspectives. Anyone is welcome to take part!

For the 2026 Festival we are partnering with the Roxy Theatre as our official screening location! This 450-seat venue is one of only 600 surviving independent theaters in the Nation. The Roxy Theatre is equipped with DLP Cinema for a state of the art cinematic experience!

http://www.roxytheaternorthampton.com

Open World also features animation retrospectives, Virtual Reality set-ups, GIF displays, a cereal bar & more!

The festival began in 2016 as a series of independent animation screenings from around the world, curated in a 4-day celebration of the medium. Open World is organized by the Alternative Gallery, a non-profit community art space, and is run 100% by volunteers.

The Alternative Gallery is located in Allentown, PA within the Cigar Factory Artist studios, featuring; exhibit & performance spaces, over 40 artist studios, a printshop, wood shop, darkroom, film archive, makerspace, classrooms & more. The organization & festival are both run 100% through the efforts of dedicated volunteers.

Prizes and qualifications

Cash Prizes: 2,000$

- The Voyager Award (Best In Show)

- Best Animated Short

- The Immersive Award (VR)

- Best Music Video

- Best Student Film

Rules

SUBMISSION CRITERIA

Submissions Open December 8

Early Submissions Open: December 8
Early Submissions Close: February 28

Regular Submissions Open: March 1
Regular Submissions Close: May 31

Extended Submissions Open: June 1
Extended Submissions Close: August 31

Notification Date: October 3

COST

Early Submissions
$10
$8 - Gold
$5 - Students

Regular Submissions
$15
$12 - Gold
$10 - Students

Late Submissions
$20
$15 - Gold
$12 - Students

**ANY SUBMISSION THAT USES GENERATIVE AI WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED**

FILM LENGTH: 10 SECONDS - 120 MINUTES

GIFS: Please send to - Contact@OpenWorldAnimation.com

ELIGIBILITY: Only films made after December 31, 2024 are eligible to compete for awards.

LANGUAGE: ANY (Please include English subtitles if not in English.)

STYLE: Any style that is considered animation, including but not limited to: Stop Motion, Digital & Computer, Film Cel, 3D, Claymation, Rotoscope, Mixed Live Action/Animation, Music Videos, Video Game Cutscenes, Virtual Reality & GIF.

ASPECT RATIO: ANY. We are open to unique framing methods. Please note if there are any special instructions for screening your film.

You may ONLY submit work which you own or have licensing for.

Films MUST be viewable in their entirety to be eligible.

If accepted, you will be contacted with additional information. Please note that due to high number of submissions & requests, we may not be able to respond to every inquiry.

Best Student Film

Short and Feature Films

Fee

-8%

PRO 33%

Early 10$ 9.2$ 6.7$ 28 Feb 26

Standard 15$ 13.8$ 10.05$ 31 May 26

Late 20$ 18.4$ 13.4$ 31 Aug 26

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
31 Aug 26

Save up
3.3$

Submit

Theoretically, a student could win every single category of this festival. But just incase, we wanted to have one dedicated to the students out there to help ease the financial burden of suffering through school. You got this!

Best Music Video

Short and Feature Films

Fee

-8%

PRO 33%

Early 10$ 9.2$ 6.7$ 28 Feb 26

Standard 15$ 13.8$ 10.05$ 31 May 26

Late 20$ 18.4$ 13.4$ 31 Aug 26

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
31 Aug 26

Save up
3.3$

Submit

Some of our favorite submissions of all time have been music videos. Something about the format really lends itself to endless creativity. This award is for our absolute favorite!

The Immersive Award (VR)

Short and Feature Films 120'<

Fee

-8%

PRO 33%

Early 10$ 9.2$ 6.7$ 28 Feb 26

Standard 15$ 13.8$ 10.05$ 31 May 26

Late 20$ 18.4$ 13.4$ 31 Aug 26

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
31 Aug 26

Save up
3.3$

Submit

VR offers the chance to step into another reality, and animation can be utilized in that space in such incredible ways. This award will be given to the VR film that we feel most immerses the viewer.

Best Animated Short

Short Films 30'<

Fee

-8%

PRO 33%

Early 10$ 9.2$ 6.7$ 28 Feb 26

Standard 15$ 13.8$ 10.05$ 31 May 26

Late 20$ 18.4$ 13.4$ 31 Aug 26

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
31 Aug 26

Save up
3.3$

Submit

Animated films come in all styles & lengths. This award will be given to the Best Animated Short under 30 minutes.

The Voyager Award (Best In Show)

Short and Feature Films 120'< (2024+)

Fee

-8%

PRO 33%

Early 10$ 9.2$ 6.7$ 28 Feb 26

Standard 15$ 13.8$ 10.05$ 31 May 26

Late 20$ 18.4$ 13.4$ 31 Aug 26

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
31 Aug 26

Save up
3.3$

Submit

The Voyager Award is given to the film Best In Show. This creator is considered a navigator of the Open World who has proven their ability to explore, conquer & create. Top prize gets $2,000 plus an Open World Animation Fest awards package.

Best Sound Design

Short and Feature Films

Fee

-8%

PRO 33%

Early 10$ 9.2$ 6.7$ 28 Feb 26

Standard 15$ 13.8$ 10.05$ 31 May 26

Late 20$ 18.4$ 13.4$ 31 Aug 26

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
31 Aug 26

Save up
3.3$

Submit

Best Comedy Short

Short Films 30'<

Fee

-8%

PRO 33%

Early 10$ 9.2$ 6.7$ 28 Feb 26

Standard 15$ 13.8$ 10.05$ 31 May 26

Late 20$ 18.4$ 13.4$ 31 Aug 26

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
31 Aug 26

Save up
3.3$

Submit

Best Screenplay

Text Project

Fee

-8%

PRO 33%

Early 10$ 9.2$ 6.7$ 28 Feb 26

Standard 15$ 13.8$ 10.05$ 31 May 26

Late 20$ 18.4$ 13.4$ 31 Aug 26

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
31 Aug 26

Save up
3.3$

Submit

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