Fredrikstad Animation Festival Unveils 60-Film Short Competition Lineup

Fredrikstad Animation Festival has unveiled the short film competition lineup for its 2026 edition, selecting 60 films from 32 countries.

The films will screen across six competition programs, bringing together work by first-time filmmakers and established directors using techniques ranging from traditional hand-drawn animation to CGI.

The festival’s Nordic-Baltic focus remains central to this year’s program, with five dedicated competition strands featuring work from every country in the region and, notably, more than half of the selected films feature women directors.

The competition screenings will take place at Fredrikstad Kino in Norway during the festival in October. The full selection follows:

The full program schedule and jury announcements will be released soon.

2026 Fredrikstad Competition Programs

Global Short Film Competition

Two programs featuring 13 films from around the world explore powerful themes and innovative styles, offering a truly global perspective on contemporary animation.

• God Is Shy, Jocelyn Charles (France)
• Hind, Stanley Miller (United Kingdom)
• Hotel Oblique, Merlin Fluegel (Germany)
• Eri, Honami Yano (France, Japan)
• Pajarito, Pilar Garcia-Fernandezsesma (Spain, United States)
• All This Death, Fadi Syriani (Lebanon, Denmark, Poland, Qatar, Germany)
• Cartoon Physics, Ru Kuwahata, Max Porter (France, Netherlands, Switzerland)
• Making It Fit, Mariana Leal (United Kingdom)
• POOB, Aj Jefferies (United Kingdom)
• A Dog’s Life, Sophie Olga de Jong, Sytske Kok (Netherlands)
• My Brother, My Brother, Abdelrahman Dnewar, Saad Dnewar (Egypt, Germany, France)
• Merrimundi, Niles Atallah (Chile)
• The Flesh Dress, Joachim Hérissé (France)

Nordic-Baltic Competition

A cornerstone of the festival, the Nordic-Baltic competition highlights the talent of the region across five distinct programs:

Nordic-Baltic Short Film

• The End, Niki Lindroth von Bahr (Sweden, France, Denmark)
• KYIV CAKE, Mykyta Lyskov (Estonia, Ukraine)
• Just Wanna Tell Somebody, Tobias Rud (Denmark)
• Summer At The Office, Liisi Grünberg (Estonia)
• ÅTERSÅDD, Emanu Garnheim (Sweden)
• Penguin, Kaspar Jancis (Estonia)
• Blessed, Birute Sodeikaite (Canada)
• Ivar, Markus Tangre (Norway)
• Uka-uka, Henri Veermäe (Estonia)
• Black Box, Anton Dyakov (Norway, France)
• Dollhouse Elephant, Jenny Jokela (Finland)
• Birdwatching, Lova Moqvist Nygren (Norway)
• Mushroom Picking, Juho Maurinen (Finland)
• Family Album, Emilija Juzeliūnaitė (Lithuania)
• Please, Anna Mantzaris (Sweden, Czech Republic, Norway, Finland)
• Mindfullmess, Niina Suominen (Finland)
• 9 Million Colors, Bára Anna (Germany, Norway, Czech Republic)

Nordic-Baltic Student Film

• This Feminine Side, Alice Siniscalchi (Belgium, Finland, Portugal)
• Crane and Crone, Kadi Sink (Estonia)
• The Crack, Viktoria Shmidt (Estonia)
• Eye Swap, Jenni Koljonen (Finland)
• Still Life, Lara Jaydha (Belgium)
• ˌaɪs ˈkriːm, aɪ skriːm, Nataliia Domini (Estonia)
• The Sea Spirit, Edwin Ivemark Kihlström (Sweden)
• Interspace, Jesse Lähilehto (Finland)
• Things That I Was Gathering, Ekaterina Zhuzhleva (Belgium, Finland, Portugal)
• Jump Zoo, Lukas Winter (Estonia)
• Little Wings, Dajana Jefremova (Latvia)
• Stone Growth, Jokūbas Rimkus (Germany)

Nordic-Baltic Commissioned Film

• Great Minds – Virginia Woolf, Sverre Fredriksen (Norway)
• Slomosa – Dune (Official Music Video), Andreas Emil Lund (Norway)
• The Seeds Of Change, Cosimo Miorelli (Denmark)
• Sustainable Green Businesses – In the Context of Climate Change, Mette Ilene Holmriis (Denmark)
• WOLVES IN SCANDINAVIA, Roberto Lo Monaco (Sweden)
• Jay & Bee, David Kellner (Austria, Estonia, USA)
• WTF?! – 16th Anibar Animation Festival Trailer, Joni Männistö (Finland, Kosovo)
• Spirits, Marja Viitahuhta (Finland)
• Ormhildur The Brave: Sheepish Trails, Thorey Mjallhvit H. Omarsdottir (Iceland)
• Little Wings, Dajana Jefremova (Latvia)

Nordic-Baltic Children’s Film

• Wollen Sock, Katariina Haukka (Finland)
• Homemouse, Chia-Hui Lei (Estonia)
• Tubin’s Palette, Martinus Daane Klemet (Estonia)
• Nora’s Ark, Endre Lund Eriksen, Isak Gjertsen (Croatia, Norway)
• Jump Zoo, Lukas Winter (Estonia)
• Little Wings, Dajana Jefremova (Latvia)

Nordic-Baltic Young Audience

• Ormhildur The Brave: Sheepish Trails, Thorey Mjallhvit H. Omarsdottir (Iceland)
• Stone Growth, Jokūbas Rimkus (Germany)
• The Wolf Has Come, Brian Christopher Hawkins (Norway, USA)
• CONDUCTOR, Antanas Skučas (Lithuania)
• Backstreet Birds, Gertrūda Nemčauskaitė (Lithuania)
• No Care Caravan, Rasmus Yde (Denmark)
• 9 Million Colors, Bára Anna (Germany, Norway, Czech Republic)