Animation Festivals Directory

The Festival Biennial of Animation Bratislava (BAB) is without a doubt the historically longest festival of animated films in Slovakia. It was founded in 1985 as a part of BIB (The Biennial of Illustration Bratislava) and in 1991 it received an international film festival status, and not only for children and youth, but also for adult viewers. The festival has been closely cooperating with the UNICEF organization since its origin and it has been a part of the ECFA (European Children’s Film Association) organization since 2018.

The festival’s mission is to present animated creations while also educating its viewers about this art, be it through a discussion platform – The International BAB Forum – or through content which we are creating with the help of animators from Slovakia. This is one of the ways we make it possible for our viewers to look behind the curtain of animated film creation.

We’ve been a competing festival since 2003. Over 1800 films from all around the world entered last year and we picked over 100 of the best ones for the competition. The jury, consisting of experienced and respected animation personalities, makes decisions about the competing films and awards them in numerous categories. The best film wins the award of Viktor Kubal, the father of Slovak animation. Many famous animators such Frédéric Back, Michael Dudok de Wit, Garri Bardin, Caroline Leaf, Co Hoedeman, Piotr Dumala, Michel Ocelot or Jan Švankmajer were guests of our festival in the past and we also hosted prominent jury members such as Gene Deitch, Aurel Klimt, Sayoko Kinoshita, Jean-Luc Slock or Géza M. Tóth.

Year established: 1991

Is this festival exclusively animation?: Yes - this is exclusively an animation festival

Is there a marketplace at this festival?: No

Physical event or online?: Physical & Online Festival