ANSEA Awards

(I) Rules & Terms of OPEN CATEGORY
1. Eligibility
• The ANSEA Animation Open Category Award is open to citizens and permanent residents of the following ASEAN member states: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• Applicants must provide a copy of their passport, national identity card, or other government-issued identification as proof of citizenship or residency upon request.
• Team submissions of up to three nominated directors are accepted; however, all team members must meet the eligibility criteria. For the avoidance of doubt, where a Winner of the Prize is a group submission, no modifications will be made to the Prize and it will be for the applicants to decide amongst themselves how to share the Prize(s).
• Animated films of any theme are welcome, including, but not limited to, short films, student films and music videos. Commercial advertising films are not allowed.
• Films must have been completed after January 1, 2025. The year of production must be in the year 2025/26.
• There is no premiere status requirement for submissions.
• Films with prior screening history (such as screenings at other festivals) are eligible, unless otherwise stated. Films that are available for free on online platforms are not eligible.

2. Technical Specifications
• Film duration: The acceptable duration ranges from a minimum of 1 minute to a maximum length of 40 minutes (including credits).
• Audio: Stereo or 5.1 surround sound.
• Format: 1920x1080, 2K or 4K and with a frame rate of 24fps or 25 fps. ProRes, H.264 and H.265 are all acceptable codecs.
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 preferred (scope is permitted as well).
• Subtitles: English subtitles are required for films with dialogue not in English.
3. Awards and Prize
• The Open Prize Category winner will receive:
o A cash prize of USD$1000

(III) Additional Terms and Conditions relevant for Open Category.

7. Submission Process
• Submissions must be made online through the official ANSEA Animation Awards FilmFreeway page.
• The submission period opens on 2 July, 2026 at 11:59 pm (GMT +8 Singapore time) and closes on 15 September, 2026 at 11:59pm (GMT +8 Singapore time).
• A non-refundable submission fee of USD$20 applies to each entry.
• Required submission materials:
o Online screener of the film
o Film synopsis (in English)
o Director's biography and filmography (in English)
o At least one high-resolution still from the film
• Accepted file formats for online screeners: MP4 (H.264 codec preferred).
• All animation techniques are accepted except motion capture, AI and real-time puppetry.
• Under no circumstances will AI generated animation be accepted.

8. Selection and Judging
• Submitted films will undergo a pre-selection process by a festival committee.
• Pre-selected films will be reviewed by an international jury of renowned animators, filmmakers, and industry experts.
• Judging criteria include:
o Storytelling and originality
o Animation quality and technique
o Artistic merit and visual style
o Sound design and music
o Overall impact and audience engagement
• Finalists will be notified via email.
• The jury's decisions are final and non-negotiable.
• The jury members are impartial and have no direct relationships with the participants.

9. Rights and Permissions
• Filmmakers retain full copyright ownership of their submitted films.
• By submitting a film, filmmakers:
o (i) consent to Animation Nation and its partners using all or part of their film submissions (“Films”) (whether visual or audio) for promotional purposes on any and all media including without limitation television, radio, Animation Nation’s website, promotional reels, and social media platforms;
o (ii) acknowledge and agree that Animation Nation and its partners shall have the worldwide right to use any images/clips from Films and also of the winners of either category, in each case in and in connection with this competition, the Ceremony and the advertising, publicity, exhibition and/or other exploitation thereof in any manner and by any means including in connection with the promotion of the Festival and the Ceremony;
o (iii) grant full screening rights and permissions to DreamWorks and Animation Nation to screen films during the Festival, and to screen the winning and runner up films together as a traveling film festival package. Permission must also be granted up to and including 31 December 2027, to allow the Festival to tour the Films. Animation Nation will notify the filmmakers of which festivals or screening events the Films will participate in. Animation Nation reserves the right to withdraw any further screenings after the Festival; and
o (iv) confirm that Animation Nation and its partners shall have the right to exploit the Film in perpetuity in all media and formats and by all other manner and means throughout the world without restrictions or limitations or payments and that Animation Nation and its partners shall have the right to adapt, edit, transpose or in any other way alter the Films. Filmmakers undertake and covenant to do such further acts and execute all such further documents and instruments as Animation Nation or its partners may from time to time require to vest in or further assure to Animation Nation and its partners the rights granted to it under these terms and for the protection and enforcement of such rights; and
o (v) confirm that all authors of any copyright works included in the Films irrevocably and unconditionally, subject to applicable law, give all necessary waivers including, without limitation, a waiver of all so-called “moral rights” which they may have in respect of such copyright works.
• Filmmakers will be credited appropriately whenever their work is used.
• Winning filmmakers may be required to sign a written statement confirming the rights set out in this section 9.

10. Disclaimers and Liability
• Due to the high volume of submissions, the Festival is not able to provide any feedback.
• The Festival reserves the right to disqualify any Films at any stage if, in the festival’s reasonable opinion, they are unsuitable, do not meet the submissions criteria, they violate any applicable law or the provisions of these terms and conditions. Under no circumstances will any monetary refunds be made for any disqualified submissions or withdrawal of submissions.
• In the event of a dispute, the Festival reserves the right to have final say over such matters.
• The Festival reserves the right to make any or subsequent changes to the Rules and Terms at any time on FilmFreeway or the Festival website or other communications.
• The Festival reserves the right to cancel or modify the event due to unforeseen circumstances.
• Filmmakers are solely responsible for ensuring they have all necessary rights and permissions for any copyrighted material used in their films.
• The Festival reserves the right to disqualify and cease screening any submission that violates the rules and terms, contains offensive or inappropriate content or otherwise brings Animation Nation or its partners into disrepute. This includes films that feature hate speech, discrimination, violence, or other inappropriate themes.
• The Festival is not liable for any technical issues that may arise during submission or screening.

11. Contact Information
The organiser of the Awards and the Festival is the Singapore Film Society a society registered in Singapore, with its registered office at 3 Temasek Boulevard, #03-373 Suntec City Mall, Singapore 038983 with registration number S63SS0017C. For any inquiries, please contact the ANSEA Animation Awards team at: info@animation-nation.co

By submitting a film to the ANSEA Animation Awards, filmmakers acknowledge and agree to abide by these rules and terms.

We wish all participating filmmakers the best of luck!