Debuting in 1969, the ASIFA-East Animation Festival is one of the longest running festivals of its kind.  Our festival is a unique showcase for the most groundbreaking independent and commercial animation being produced in the industry today. 

Every year, entries are submitted and judged during jury screenings by the members of our organization. The votes are tallied and announced at an awards ceremony in the Spring.  The exciting evening continues with a lively reception, where award winners, members of the industry, and lovers of animation can meet one another, network, and enjoy a few refreshments.

Deadlines and Submission

Submissions Open: December 15th, 2023

Submit by February 9th, 2024 to save on festival fees!

Final Deadline is February 29th, 2024.

*Films produced before July 1, 2022 are not eligible.

Attention Members: check your email inboxes for an exclusive discount code!

Judging & Awards

There are categories of Independent Film, Commissioned Work, Student Film, Experimental Film and Music Videos, with First through Third prizes.*

There are Craft awards for Writing, Animation, Soundtrack, and Design (with one prize in each).  Our “Best in Show” (highest rated) winner receives the coveted Peggy Award statuette (Student Films not eligible).* 

Due to popular demand, we now offer a new way for students to submit their films if their schools want to reimburse their entry fees.  Please email asifaeastfestival@gmail.com to learn more!

*The final decision for all awards will be made by the Festival Committee, based on the results of judging by the membership of ASIFA-East. In some circumstances, including overall quantity and/or quality of submissions, awards may tie, and/or greater or fewer prizes may be issued.) 

Check out our past winners!

2023 | 2022 | 2021/2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 …

Rules & Terms

ELIGIBILITY: Film must have been produced after July 1, 2022, and must be received no later than Feb. 20th, 2024, accompanied by a completed entry form and all entry fees. Film must not have been entered in previous ASIFA-East festivals. Films must be received by the deadline to be considered. At this time, we are only accepting entries from the United States of America, as our festival focuses on the Northeast of our country.

FORMAT: Please provide a link to the downloadable video. Videos must use the H.264 codec and follow the compression guidelines at Vimeo Help . We have a 1GB file size cap per entry [file size can exceed limit if film is over 10 minutes, on a case by case basis]. Entries that do not follow these guidelines will be disqualified.  Please Email us if you need advice.

Please Be Advised

• We are only accepting entries from the United States of America, as our festival focuses on the Northeast of our country.
• Films longer than 22 minutes will be asked to provide an excerpt 5-10 minutes.
• Student Film Submissions: Due to the high volume of student films, we advise schools submitting on behalf of their students to limit their entries to their best, brightest and finished, and suggest capping it at 10 films per department. This will allow for collegiate diversity in the student film category. The Student Film category may be capped out at a maximum program screening duration, and submissions accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis (if this happens, rules and members will be updated) Thank you!
• We now offer a new way for students to submit their films if their schools want to reimburse their entry fees.  Please email asifaeastfestival@gmail.com to learn more!
• Categories may be merged if turnout is too low for a separate program (for example: Music Video submissions may be asked to re-classify as another category for competition)
• Women In Animation will present a special award for your consideration (stay tooned).
• VIRTUAL SCREENINGS: As New York City is reopening under new rules for screening venues, stay tooned for any information about future in-person screenings.

RIGHTS: Work(s) submitted to, and selected for, the ASIFA East Animation Festival is/are intended for public exhibition by ASIFA at the ASIFA East Animation Festival, including its juried screenings and awards ceremony, and/or partner ASIFA National Groups strictly in the context of not-for-profit, ASIFA-curated events intended primarily for active ASIFA members and at which no admission shall be charged, income realized, consideration provided, or attribution provided beyond that which appears in the Work(s). Screening lists may be published. ASIFA East warrants that it shall not otherwise exhibit, sell, or distribute any submitted Work(s) without express written agreement with the rights-holder. By submitting Work(s) to the ASIFA East Animation festival you permit and warrant that you are fully authorized to permit such exhibition of the Work(s) as provided above. ASIFA East will not be responsible for infringements of rights of entries accepted for screening by the jury.

Jury Screenings

The ASIFA-East Animation Festival holds jury screenings for our judges (the ASIFA-East members) and a presentation of the winning films. There will be virtual jury screenings for the public (stay tooned for news about in-person screenings for our members!).  Video streams will only be publicly available for two weeks. Digital ballots will be provided for all, and paper ballots provided as an option for in-person screenings.  The votes are tallied and announced at an awards ceremony in the Spring. 

Join or renew your membership here to be eligible to vote on films!

2023 Jury Screenings LAST YEAR!

Independent Film Night – Thursday, April 27th, 7 PM (video expires 5/11/23)

Commercial, Experimental, & Music Video Night – Tuesday, April 25th, 7 PM (video expires 5/09/23)

Student Film Night #1 – Tuesday, April 18th, 7 PM (video expires 5/02/23)

Student Film Night #2 – Thursday, April 20th, 7 PM (video expires 5/04/23)

2023 Program List

Awards Ceremony

Save the date in May for our awards ceremony at the Museum of Moving Image!