Manchester Animation Festival Launches U.K.’s First Feature Animation Market Accelerator

Manchester Animation Festival (MAF) has launched Animation Featured, a new seven-month development accelerator that will help six U.K. animated feature projects prepare for the international financing market.

Running from September 28, 2026, through March 2027, the program is aimed at emerging producers with feature-length projects in early-to-mid development. It will combine two in-person residencies, online workshops and mentoring, attendance at MAF, a trip to an international industry event, and a final showcase.

The initiative is being spearheaded by MAF with support from the BFI National Lottery Creative Challenge Fund, Screen Scotland, and Northern Ireland Screen.

Animation Featured is an exceptional proposition not only for its scope but also because participants will be paid for their time. Producers will receive £13.45 ($18.10) per hour for approximately 115 hours of taught activity, while travel and accommodation for the residencies and industry events will also be covered. Each producer may bring an additional core member of their creative team to selected sessions, with that person also receiving payment and covered expenses.

Over the course of the program, participants will develop their scripts and visual materials, refine their pitches, and assemble packages capable of attracting international financing. Sessions will address themes including co-production, budgeting, legal matters, animation production management, marketing, festival strategy, distribution, and negotiation.

The announced mentors include Lupus Films producer and joint managing director Ruth Fielding, whose credits include Kensuke’s Kingdom, Ethel & Ernest, and The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland, and Richard Beek, producer of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Early Man, and the upcoming Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.

Animation Featured addresses a recurring problem in the U.K. animation sector. The region has a deep pool of singularly talented artists working on animated shorts, television, and commercial production, but comparatively few pathways for independent producers attempting to make the leap into features. Developing an animated film to the point where it can attract financiers, distributors, and co-production partners can take years of unpaid work, frequently locking less established producers out of the process.

According to MAF director Dr. Steve Henderson:

The UK has no shortage of animation talent and with so many pitching events around the globe, we need a way to get our world-renown ideas ready for investment. Animation Featured does just that – plugging a gap to get UK animated feature films to market and onto the screen. We can’t wait to work with the filmmakers to change the shape of the global animation feature film industry.

Animation Featured won’t eliminate those historic obstacles, and the producers won’t get rich through the program, but its combination of sustained project development, marketplace access, experienced feature mentors, and direct payment makes it a meaningful intervention that promises to make a significant mark on the selected projects.

Applicants must be U.K. residents over 18 who are not currently full-time students. They may have experience producing shorts or television but cannot have produced more than three features. Submitted projects must be standalone animated films of at least 70 minutes, be capable of qualifying as British productions, and ultimately qualify for a BBFC rating of 18 or below.

Applications are open through Sunday, August 16, at 11:59 p.m. Details and eligibility requirements are available on the Animation Featured website.