Ottawa International Animation Festival
24 September - 28 September 2025
Contact: Kelly Neall
E-mail: kelly@animationfestival.ca
Phone: 613-232-8769
Address:
2 Daly Avenue, Suite 120
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 6E2
Canada
- About
- Submission Info
Founded in 1976 by the Canadian Film Institute, the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OlAF) is the largest competitive animated film festival in North America and is among the most respected forums for animated art in the world. Each autumn, for five busy days and nights, the OlAF provides an engaging array of first-class screenings, exhibits, talks and special events, to highlight the talents of artists from Canada and beyond, and allow audiences the chance to discover the art of animation in all its diversity.
Total attendance to the OlAF averages 30,000 – including over 1,500 delegates from the animation world who visit Ottawa specifically for this event. In fact, the In 2017, the OlAF presented 29 talks, 64 screenings and 13 networking events over 5 days. It receives over 2000 submissions that are considered for 150 screening spots. Over 80 featured filmmakers were in attendance.
The OlAF is on the prestigious qualifying festivals list of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which allows the OlAF Grand Prize winner to bypass the usual qualification process for the Oscars.
Year established: 2018
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 Festival
Submission deadline:
31 May 2025
Entry fee:
FREE! There is no charge for this festival
Categories:
- Best Animated Short
- Best Animated Short (for Children)
- Animated Feature
- Narrative Animated Short
- Non-Narrative Animated Short
- Student Animation
- Commissioned Animation (series
- commercials
- music videos)
- Young Audiences – Preschool
- Ages 6-12
- VR Animation
Submission methods:
- Click For Festivals
- Online Link (& Password)
Requirements:
What You Need to Know
Entry Form opens March 1st, 2023, at 12:01AM Eastern Time
Entry deadline: Sunday, June 4th at 7:00PM Eastern Time
Only animated works completed after May 31, 2022 are eligible.
It’s free to submit, there are no entry or registration fees.
We only accept entries submitted via the official Entry Form on the OIAF 2023 Eventival Visitor Page.
Each entry may only be submitted to one (1) category.
Films must be submitted as a link to an online screener. The link must remain accessible until the end of July 2023. Films submitted as files, downloads, or dead links will be disqualified.
All entries are reviewed as they come in, so there’s no need to leave submitting your film to the last minute!
Entries must include at least 3 stills from the film (300 dpi, jpg or png), a director’s photo (72 dpi, jpg or png), and a director’s biography.
If your film has dialogue that is not in English, it must have English subtitles, otherwise it may be disqualified.
If any entries are discovered to be copies of pre-existing films, the entrant(s) will be disqualified and banned from the OIAF.
While we are not opposed to AI-assisted works, submissions should at least show some sign of the artists’ hand.
Festival recognised by: (what does this mean?)
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
- ASIFA
Link to Submit
