Anination Competition for Short Animation Films

For the first time in the festival! Short animation films nominated for the AniNation Award. This competition program reflects on the complexities of contemporary Israeli society and its constantly shifting reality. These animated shorts embrace a wide range of cinematic approaches, from the fantastical, narrative to documentary, each offering a distinctive personal voice and a unique perspective on the world around us.

Let's Solve This Once and for All | Shalev Ben Elya, Michael Jacob Buchstav | 2026 | 8 min

Young Arabs and Jews are asked: “How would you solve it?” Their answers are translated into moves in a chess game. Each move provokes a counter-move, linking the interviews into an increasingly abstract match in search of a winning solution.

HA'EDA | Shay Adiel | 2026 | 6 min

Hoping to find true love, Shay sets out to meet his girlfriend’s mother for the first time. Drawn into a strange world where the line between reality and imagination blurs, he must ultimately choose between pleasing others and remaining true to himself.

When Swans Fly Away | Maya Livshits | 2026 | 6 min

When couples separate, the breakup is not only from their partner, but also from the life they built and dreamed of building together. Through a journey between symbols, the film explores the main character’s acceptance of being alone and the possibility of growing through separation.

And Then Who Are You | Natalie Rissin | 2026 | 5 min

An animated documentary about a woman who becomes a flight attendant at 56, exploring feminism, invisible labor and the paradox of finding freedom through acts of service at home and in the air.

Trophy Son | Uri Lotan, Eli Rabinovich, Maor Fridman | 2026 | 4 min

A clumsy heist ends in an awkward family reunion when a burglar is unmasked as the target’s failed son, turning a moment of heartfelt reconciliation into a slapstick house wreck.

WideSpread | Paz Bernstein | 2026 | 9 min

A woman’s visit to the gynecologist awakens collective trauma while revealing a timeless feminine bond.

FASTER | Tomer Kat |2026 | 6 min

An experimental animated film bringing together a stone man and a moth. Through their emerging relationship, the work explores the grind of daily life and the difficulty of moving together in a world running too fast.

Without Fanfare | Yuval Nitzan | 2026 | 10 min

Yuval gets the news: his father is dying, and soon. How can that be? The day his father dies should be special, yet this day was so ordinary. It can’t be the day his father dies. It’s only a game.