In 2025 Hungary is the guest of honour at the Annecy Festival, the world’s biggest animation event. The Hungarian animation industry brings many exciting programmes to the festival, including the very first DOME at Annecy, paying tribute to the rich heritage of Hungarian animation, highlighting the successes of the present and inviting the audience to an everlasting experience.

The history of Hungarian animation, which is 111 years old this year, began with István Kató-Kiszly’s paper-cut film Ödön Zsirb, released in 1914. The golden era was the 1980s, when Pannónia Film Studio was considered as one of the top five animation studios in the world (alongside Disney and Sojuzmultfilm), and Hungary won its very first Oscar for The Fly by Ferenc Rófusz. After 1989, the fall of communism, the industry faced difficulties for years, but since the 2010s Hungarian animation has been booming again, with success after success – like the Oscar shortlisted Symphony no. 42, the Palme d’Or winner 27, or the Annie-nominated White Plastic Sky and Four Souls of Coyote.

“When we embarked on organizing the guest of honor program, we set out on an ambitious journey: to present the rich past, vibrant present, and promising future of Hungarian animation to an international audience — in a way that would leave a lasting impression and have a long-term impact on our already world-renowned animation industry” highlights Dr. Ildikó Takács, Director of the Hungary Guest of Honor Program at Annecy.

Nearly 80 Hungarian animations is screened at the festival: the competition programme includes Péter Vácz’s latest animation Dog Ear (Kutyafül) and Gábor Ulrich’s Capriccio, Anna Tőkés’ Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design MA graduation film The Last Drop, and Mikori Tama’s children’s film Kippkopp and Tipptopp. The international premiere of The Quest (Csongor és Tünde), based on the idea of the legendary Hungarian director Attila Dargay, also takes place here, out of competition, sold internationally by NFI World Sales. Furthermore, 61 Hungarian animation films will showcase the past and present of Hungarian animation in the Retrospectives programme curated by Anna Ida Orosz, film historian and animation specialist of the National Film Archive. Audiences can watch the Jury Award winner Four Souls of Coyote by Áron Gauder in an open-air event, as well as Ruben Brandt, collector at a midnight screening.

Several exciting professional programmes worth the time: director Milorad Krstić and producer Radmila Rockow give an insight into the production process of the visually stunning Ruben Brandt, collector, while director-screenwriter Anita Doron and producer József Berger present Fairyheart (Tündér Lala, the book was published in English under the title The Gift of the Wondrous Fig Tree), an adaptation of the well-loved Magda Szabó’s children’s book, which is currently in production.

MIFA, which is 40 years old this year, has a large Hungarian booth where there are a variety of professional talks, pitches and networking opportunities. Among the Hungarian studios represented are Boddah (co-production studio of the Palme d’Or winner 27), Cinemon Entertainment (Annie-nominee Four Souls of Coyote), CUB Animation (famous for its original short films like The Garden of Heart by Olivér Hegyi, NUBE by Christian Arredondo Narváez and Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada), Derengő Animation (focusing on 3D animation and original stories), DIGIC Pictures (production company of Love, Death & Robots’ Annie-winner episode The Secret War), Ionart Studios (a full-service VFX and animation studio), KEDD (home of many fan-favorite children’s series), Kecskemétfilm (inventor of the Hungarian Folk Tales and producer of many Oscar-nominated international animations), KGB (which made the VFX works of Oscar-winning Anora and the Academy Award-nominee On Body and Soul). For more, studios like the young company called Piros Animation (working on MOME graduation films, video clips and commercials), Salto Films (White Plastic Sky, Symbiosis by Nadja Andrasev), and Umatik Entertainment (producer of Manieggs which premiered in Annecy in 2014, and the co-producers of Macedonia’s first full-length animation John Vardar vs the Galaxy).

The fair will include an industry panel, discussing the possibilities of the Hungarian animation industry, funding, co-productions and education (“Production Power, Global Vision: Futureproofing the Hungarian Animation”). The Partner Pitch will showcase 5 new Hungarian projects, which were selected from the first Hungarian Animation Pitch Forum.

Áron Gauder will be Patron of Le Campus Mifa, an event for future professionals, and give a  masterclass to the young animators. The role of Artificial Intelligence in education will be discussed as well, while the Talent Panel (“Prestige vs Paycheck”) will focus on career opportunities and talent management, and the future of animation education.

Audiences will get to know the Hungarian animation outside the cinema: an installation and street art exhibition called Hunimation Hits the Streets will populate the streets, hotels and restaurants of Annecy. Dreamed up by animation director Dániel Huszár, the exhibition turns the city and park into a living storyboard, where characters from beloved films pop up and playfully interact with the surrounding architecture. 

Further exhibitions will expand the Hungarian presence: the science fiction-ecocritical animation through the works of Sándor Reisenbüchler, and painting animation through József Gémes‘ Annecy-winner film ‘Heroic Times’ (Daliás idők).

A special feature of the festival will be the Annecy Hungarian Dome, for the very first time, where audiences can enjoy classic animated films in a new, immersive form. These programs aim to highlight the innovative spirit and artistic richness of Hungarian audiovisual culture. In addition to showcasing Hungarian works, the festival also selects international films created specifically for this immersive format, fostering cross-cultural dialogue and experimentation.