This year’s 17th edition of the VAFI & RAFI – International Children and Youth Animation Film Festival will, for the third time, be held in four towns across Varaždin County — Varaždin, Novi Marof, Ivanec and Ludbreg — and in a slightly earlier time slot than before, from May 18 to 22, 2026.
A large number of animated films from around the world were submitted to this year’s festival, and the organizers selected 155 films for the official program. This year’s partner country is South Korea. Alongside the organizer, the VANIMA Film and Creative Studio Association from Varaždin, the festival is realized with the support of co-organizers and partners including POU Varaždin and Cinema GAJ, the “Dragutin Novak” Centre for Culture and Information Ludbreg, POU Novi Marof, POU “Đuro Arnold” Ivanec, the P4 Youth and Independent Culture Center, Varaždin Concert Office, ASIFA Croatia, and the Croatian Film Association.
Within the VAFI section, where animated films created by children and young people compete in three age groups (MINI, MIDI and MAXI), the selection committee chose 95 films to be screened in the competition program in Varaždin. This year’s VAFI selectors were Tea Bošnjak, former VANIMA member and graduate student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, specializing in animated film and new media and Gabriela Butković, academic sculptor and painter, and leader of VANIMA’s visual experimental groups.
On the other hand, within the RAFI section, where professional animated films intended for children and youth compete in four categories (0–6, 7–10, 11–14, and 15–18), 60 films were selected for the competition program. In addition to Varaždin, the films will also be screened in Ludbreg, Ivanec, and Novi Marof, while the winners will be chosen by the attending audience — children and young people themselves. For the past several years, selectors in this section have been Dubravka Kalinić Lebinec, long-time media educator, founder and leader of VANIMA, and film critic Boško Picula.
The VAFI winners will be decided by Croatian animator and Assistant Professor of Arts Jelena Oroz, representative of the partner country Eunyoung Choi from South Korea, and Finnish animator Oona Tiirakari.
The Festival also has an educational component, once again recognized by the UNICEF Office for Croatia and the media literacy portal medijskapismenost.hr. Their representatives — Marina Knežević Barišić, Ana Kirin, and Melita Horvatek Forjan — form the jury for the Blue VAFI Award. The Blue VAFI is presented to young authors in the VAFI section whose films promote children’s rights.
The Festival is organized by the VANIMA Film and Creative Studio with the support of the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the City of Varaždin, and Varaždin County.