The Hungarian Animation Producers Association (HAPA), with the support of the National Film Institute and the Creative Europe Program, is launching a new professional initiative running until the end of 2027. The long-term goal of the program is to increase the international presence of Hungarian animation and expand opportunities for coproduction. The initiative aims to ensure that Hungarian studios and creators present themselves in a unified way at Europe’s leading industry forums, thereby strengthening the position of Hungarian animation on the international market.

Hungarian animation is currently experiencing a striking period of growth: rapid and transformative technological development is creating new opportunities while also posing serious challenges for the sector. In response, the National Film Institute launched an action plan in 2024 to support the development of Hungarian animation, with the goal of strengthening the sector’s economic and cultural performance and ensuring its long-term competitiveness. As part of this program, Hungary appeared as Guest Country at the world’s leading animation festival and professional forum in Annecy, France, earlier this summer.

“These professional initiatives are an organic part of the national animation strategy and represent the continuation of the successful programs launched during Hungary’s Guest Country focus at the Annecy Animation Festival. The aim is to ensure that the Hungarian animation industry can build on these achievements in a lasting and long-term way,” said Ákos Pesti, Senior Government Adviser for the Motion Picture Industry.

“One of the key goals of HAPA’s international strategy is to ensure that Hungarian animation creators and producers become stable, visible, and competitive players in the European animation professional environment. To this end, the organization has developed close cooperation with CEE Animation — the regional network that unites the animation sectors of Central and Eastern Europe and operates platforms where projects, professionals, and coproduction opportunities from the region can connect with actors of the European market.
The aim of this cooperation is to link creators, studios, and institutions, and to strengthen the European animation ecosystem, with particular attention to developing regions,” added producer Réka Temple, President of HAPA.

Hungary’s Guest Country appearance at Annecy in 2025 marked a significant professional breakthrough: Hungarian creators and their works attracted substantial attention, the programs were fully booked, and Hungary’s presence in the European animation landscape visibly strengthened. This success clearly demonstrated that the sector is stable, export-ready, and internationally competitive.

As part of the strategy, the Hunimation – Hungarian Animation Professional and Pitch Forum, held for the second time in Budapest in spring 2026, will showcase 10–12 new projects, five of which may be selected to participate in the Partner Pitches of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. This will be followed in summer 2026 by a one-week, Budapest-based flagship session of the CEE Animation Workshop, providing an intensive professional development program and an international forum to facilitate new coproductions.

The partnership also includes the use of AHUB (Animation Hub), a European online platform offering continuous visibility for Hungarian works. Through interviews, professional materials, and a networking database, the platform increases exposure, supports international professional integration, and helps promote both works in progress and completed productions on the global market.

Hungary’s international presence is further strengthened by Hunimation.com, an English-language animation platform created in connection with the 2025 Annecy Guest Country program, offering a comprehensive and up-to-date professional presentation of the Hungarian animation industry.

During the implementation of this two-year program, HAPA will work in close collaboration with the National Film Institute’s Training Directorate and the country’s main animation education institutions, including Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design and Budapest Metropolitan University.