Open World Animation Festival (6)

Festival start: 11 July 2024      Festival end: 14 July 2024

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 2024 Festival we are partnering with the Emmaus Theatre as our official screening location! This 450-seat venue is one of only 600 surviving independent theaters in the Nation. The Emmaus Theatre is equipped with DLP Cinema for a state of the art cinematic experience!

http://www.emmaustheatre.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.

THE VOYAGER AWARD (BEST IN SHOW)

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 ANIMATED SHORT - $2,000

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

THE IMMERSIVE AWARD (VR) - $250

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 MUSIC VIDEO - $250

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!

BEST STUDENT FILM - $250

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!

FILM LENGTH: 10 SECONDS - 120 MINUTES

GIFS: Please send to - Contact@OpenWorldAnimation.com

ELIGIBILITY: Only films made after December 31, 2020 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.