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SCAD AnimationFest is introducing an inaugural competition for animated shorts of five minutes or less as the Atlanta event celebrates its 10th edition from 23–25 September 2026.
SCAD AnimationFest is expanding its short-form programming in 2026 with the launch of its first Animated Shorts Competition, creating a dedicated competitive showcase for emerging animators at the festival’s 10th anniversary edition.
The Savannah College of Art and Design announced the addition on 3 September 2026 as part of the full programme for SCAD AnimationFest, which runs from 23 to 25 September at the SCADshow theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
The inaugural competition will open the festival on 23 September and feature animated work running five minutes or less, with the programme designed to spotlight emerging creators and new voices in animation.
Unlike a conventional open festival call, SCAD has not announced a public submission window alongside the programme reveal. The competition should therefore be viewed as a newly launched festival showcase rather than a current opportunity for filmmakers to enter work.
Animated shorts get a new competitive platform at SCAD
The Animated Shorts Competition is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 23 September on the Main Stage at SCADshow.
SCAD describes the inaugural programme as a showcase of short-form animated storytelling and artistic experimentation from rising animators.
The addition is significant because AnimationFest has traditionally centred on studio presentations, industry discussions, premieres and showcases of work from SCAD students and alumni.
Turning short animation into a dedicated competition adds a more formal discovery platform for emerging filmmakers within an event that regularly brings major animation studios and industry professionals to Atlanta.
For readers exploring more work in the format, Indie Shorts Mag’s guide to animated short films highlights independent animation and the creative possibilities of short-form storytelling.
SCAD AnimationFest celebrates its 10th edition
The new competition arrives as AnimationFest marks a decade of programming around animation, visual effects, motion media and digital entertainment.
This year’s festival will bring creatives and executives from companies including Pixar Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Disney Television Animation, LAIKA, Marvel Animation, Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, Prime Video, Titmouse, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros. Animation and Walt Disney Imagineering to Atlanta.
The three-day programme combines screenings, previews, conversations and presentations with events involving SCAD students and alumni.
SCAD says the festival is intended to give emerging creatives direct access to professionals working across contemporary animation and related areas of digital production.
Variety’s 10 Animators to Watch also moves to SCAD
The shorts competition is not the only new addition to the anniversary edition.
Variety’s 10 Animators to Watch will make its SCAD AnimationFest debut this year after the programme was first launched in 2015.
Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis will host the presentation, which focuses on artists and storytellers emerging across the animation industry.
SCAD AnimationFest director Mollie Brock described the new shorts competition and the arrival of the Variety programme as two of the key additions marking the festival’s 10th year.
Together, they strengthen the emerging-talent component of an event whose broader schedule also includes presentations from major studios and established filmmakers.
The Proud Family creators and Joel Crawford to be honoured
The festival will also recognise several established animation figures.
Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar, the creative team behind The Proud Family, will receive the Animation Trailblazer Award as the series marks its 25th anniversary.
Director and writer Joel Crawford will receive the Variety Creative Impact in Animation Award.
Crawford’s upcoming DreamWorks Animation film Forgotten Island will receive a special closing-night premiere screening, followed by a conversation about the filmmaker’s work and career.
LAIKA, Pixar, Crunchyroll and other studios join the programme
AnimationFest’s wider programme includes presentations and screenings across theatrical animation, television and anime.
LAIKA will offer a preview of its upcoming stop-motion feature Wildwood, including a discussion with head of animation Brad Schiff and animator Tilly Fidler about the film’s production process.
Crunchyroll will present the North American premiere of the hand-drawn anime Sekiro: No Defeat, directed by Kenichi Kutsuna at Qzil.la following its world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Other programming includes presentations connected with The Cat in the Hat, Toy Story 5, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, X-Men ’97, Batman: Knightfall — Part 1, Helluva Boss and Universal Basic Guys.
For emerging short filmmakers, however, the most noteworthy addition remains the festival’s decision to establish a competitive space specifically for short-form animation.
SCAD AnimationFest 2026 key details
- Festival: SCAD AnimationFest 2026
- Edition: 10th anniversary
- Dates: 23–25 September 2026
- Location: SCADshow, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- New competition: Animated Shorts Competition
- Competition date: 23 September 2026
- Competition time: 9:30 a.m.
- Maximum showcased runtime: Five minutes
- Focus: Emerging animators
- Festival passes: On sale now
- Individual event tickets: On sale from 18 September
SCAD has not announced a public submission process for the inaugural competition, so filmmakers should not treat the programme announcement as an open call.
The larger development is instead the creation of a new competitive platform for very short animation within an established industry-facing animation event. How SCAD develops the competition in future editions — particularly whether it eventually becomes open to external submissions — will be worth watching.
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