Animated film festival in Banjaluka begins on Friday, opened by Oscar winner Michael Dudok Jr.

The animated film festival in Banjaluka begins on Friday, opened by Oscar winner Michael Dudok de Wit The 18th edition of the International Animated Film Festival "Banjaluka 2026", organized by the Association for Visual Arts "Phoenix Art", brings a rich program this year with world authors, premieres, and numerous accompanying content. Admission to all festival events is free. Special guest and opening: Oscar winner Michael Dudok de Wit The renowned Dutch animator and Oscar winner Michael Dudok de Wit will solemnly open the festival and receive the Life Achievement Award in Banjaluka. The first day of the 18th International Animated Film Festival "Banjaluka 2026" brings two key events that officially start this year's edition: 5:00 PM – Opening of the exhibition "Veterans of Serbian Animation" (Milanović House) The festival program in the premises of the Milanović House opens with an exhibition dedicated to the history and creativity of Serbian animators. 7:00 PM – Ceremonial opening of the festival and the Grand Competition Program 1 (Cineplexx Palace) The ceremonial opening ceremony of the Festival will be held at the Palas cinema. The award-winning short film "Father and Daughter" (2001) of this year's guest Michael Dudok de Wit will be shown at the opening, followed by a screening of films from the Grand Competition Program 1. World quality: More than 690 submitted films More than 690 films from 61 countries from all continents have entered this year's competition. The largest number of entries comes from France, the USA, Spain, Russia, Poland, and Croatia, and a significant part of the selection consists of films from A-category festivals such as Ansi, Otave, Hiroshima, and Varna. As stated by the Festival Director Goran Dujaković, the main goal is to bring the festival to the world level and connect the domestic audience with top-tier authorial animation. Rich competition programs and 11 film works The selection committee has chosen a total of 115 films through 11 different programs (8 competition and 3 panorama): Main (Grand) Competition Program: 41 films of top professional production. Student Competition Program: 24 films from leading centers of animation (Poland, France, Canada, Croatia, etc.). Children's Competition Program: 13 films divided into two age categories. Panorama: A total of 37 films (26 in the Big Panorama and 11 in the Student Panorama). Domestic authors and focus on the domestic scene This year's festival marks a positive progress in terms of domestic cinema. Three films from Bosnia and Herzegovina have entered. In the official student competition program, the graduation film Lane Čolić "Exhaust Vent" from the Academy of Arts of the University of Banjaluka (in production by the Academy and "ART SCENE") will be shown, and the remaining two films come from Sarajevo. Retrospectives, gaming, comics and accompanying content The accompanying program of the Festival, which will be held in the Milanović House, SKC, and Cineplexx Palace, offers diverse content. Among others, we highlight: The Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit, the Oscar winner, will hold a masterclass on Monday, October 26, 2026, at 10:00 AM at the Student Cultural Center (SKC). Retrospective of Vuka Jevremović: An author's overview of the work of a recognized animator, with a masterclass dedicated to the combination of different animation techniques. Exhibition and program "Veterans of Serbian Animation": Overview of the work from 1993 to 2018. Masterclass dedicated to the Serbian gaming scene through the screening of the 10 most important domestic video games. Special guests and programs: Presentation of the renowned Polish school of animation through the festival program "O!PLA", selection from the competition program of the Novi Sad Film Festival, and the retrospective program "1958" dedicated to Zagreb cinema. Feature children's film: The Banjaluka premiere of the ecological animated film "Sibelina Adventures" by Sarajevan directors Admira Đulančić and Alan Savić. Publishing: Promotion of the Bonelli comic book from the Banjaluka publishing house "Colosseum". Expert jury The expert jury will decide the festival awards, consisting of: Andrijana Ružić Margit Antauer Nemanja Vučenović Dajla Alibegović Tijana Šipka Anja Milenković Decentralization of programs: Screenings in Han Pijesak and Drinica This year, the festival will continue the tradition of a "traveling" program outside Banjaluka: Petrovac – Drinica (October 22): The day before the official opening of the Festival, children's competition programs will be shown in cooperation with the Tourist Organization during the morning hours. Han Pijesak (October 27): Children's Competition Programs 1 and 2 will be shown in the morning hours, and the competition program for adults is scheduled for 7:00 PM.