‘To The Woods,’ ‘My Good Boy,’ ‘Paradaïz’ Score Top Honors At Anibar 2026

To the Woods, directed by Agnès Patron, won the international competition at last week’s 17th Anibar International Animation Festival, which wrapped on Saturday in Peja, Kosovo.

This year’s festival screened 217 films across 11 categories, including six competitive sections. The event also featured workshops, masterclasses, exhibitions, presentations, and filmmaker discussions.

Patron’s To the Woods follows a brother and sister through a mysterious nocturnal forest. The international jury – comprised of Heta Jäälinoja, Maarten van Gageldonk, Edmunds Jansons, Sara Gunnarsdóttir, and Joni Männistö – praised the short’s handling of the siblings’ relationship, mystical atmosphere, and use of music and sound design.

Levi Stoops’ Klonter received a special mention in the international competition. According to the jury, the film moves from the psychological and physiological to the cosmological while delivering an experience that is both humorous and intensely physical.

Sara Priorelli’s My Good Boy took the student competition prize, with a student special mention going to Mihaela Mîndru’s Children of the Black Sea. And in the Balkan competition, the jury awarded its top prize to Matea Radi’s Paradaïz, while the festival’s audience award went to Mirjana Balogh’s Wish You Were Ear.

Anibar also hosted the latest edition of Pitch It, its development competition for emerging animation filmmakers. Durim Klaiqi’s Crow Funeral won first prize, followed by Jeta Sokoli’s Through the Cracks in second place and Hana Kasemi’s Gjith Ktu in third.

2026 Anibar Winners

International Competition

Winner: To the Woods, Agnès Patron
Special Mention: Klonter, Levi Stoops

Student Competition

Winner: My Good Boy, Sara Priorelli
Special Mention: Children of the Black Sea, Mihaela Mîndru

Balkan Competition

Winner: Paradaïz, Matea Radic

Animated Music Video Competition

Winner: Jay & Bee, David Kellner
Special Mention: No Disco, Angèle Chiodo
Special Mention: Larzan Karné, Bastien Dupriez

Human Rights Animation Competition

Winner: At Night, Pooya Afzali
Special Mention: That Night, Hoda Sobhani

Young Audience Competition

Winner: The Great Dreamscape, Rémi Durin
Special Mention: Into the Forest, Antonin Niclass

Audience Award

Wish You Were Ear, Mirjana Balogh

Pitch It

First Prize: Crow Funeral, Durim Klaiqi
Second Prize: Through the Cracks, Jeta Sokoli
Third Prize: Gjith Ktu, Hana Kasemi