BAB (Biennial of Animation Bratislava) is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious international festivals dedicated to animated films for children and young audiences. Founded in 1985 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

BAB celebrates creativity, storytelling, and artistic excellence in animation from around the globe while connecting cultures through film and nurturing young viewers’ imagination and visual literacy.

The Biennial marks 35 years of its current status with the Prix Klingsor, a lifetime achievement award, and has welcomed over 52 world-renowned laureates, including Oscar winners and leading figures such as M. Dudok de Wit, P. Driessen, G. Deitch, M. Ocelot, J. P. Laguionie, Co Hoedeman, K. Yamamura, J. Coates, and G. Bendazzi.
Films compete for prestigious awards including Best Picture (Viktor Kubal Award), the UNICEF Award, Best Picture from the V4 countries (St. Vojtech’s Prize), the ECFA Award, and the Children’s Choice Award. The festival is guided by an Official Selection Committee, an Executive Committee, and an International Jury of distinguished animation professionals.

Organized by the International House of Art for Children, BAB is created primarily for children and because of them. Its core mission is to positively influence the next generation, while also focusing on legacy, knowledge-sharing by accomplished leaders, and the impact of new technologies through activities such as international leadership forums, animation workshops, and educational programs.

Awards & Prizes

Under current bylaws of the Biennial of Animation Bratislava (BAB) its Executive Committee gives the following awards and prizes:

PRIX KLINGSOR – given to a distinguished personality whose life-long work united artistic and filmmaking qualities focused on production for children. The award comprises a diploma and a statue.

ALBÍN BRUNOVSKÝ Honorary Medal – given in the memory of BAB founder for outstanding contribution to the field of animation. The award comprises a diploma and a medal.

The International Jury gives the following awards and prizes:

Best Picture (VIKTOR KUBAL Prize) – given to the creators of the best animated film which meets the highest quality criteria of artistic, animation and conceptual unity in relation to the the children’s audience. The prize comprises a diploma and a bronze statue.

UNICEF Award – given to the makers of animation, which is focused on the issue of the protection of children’s rights. The award comprises a diploma and a commemorative object.

Best Picture from V4 (St. VOJTECH’S Prize) – given to a film director from a V4 country for production of outstanding quality in the competition section. This prize aims to support high-quality animation for children in all V4 countries (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland).

The International Jury has the right not to give any of the aforementioned awards or prizes. It can award a Special Mention.

Non-statutory awards include the Literary Fund Premium – a financial prize for the best Slovak animated film awarded by the Slovak Literary Fund

ECFA Jury gives a distinct award:

ECFA Award – given to the director of animated film for the best European short film which will be selected into the final ECFA voting for the Best European Children ́s Film of the Year. The award comprises a diploma.

Other Awards

CHILDREN ́S CHOICE Award – given to the director of the film chosen on the basis of the results of a survey among children participating in festival screenings. The prize comprises a diploma and a commemorative object.

Our planet Award – given to an animated film for children which, through its artistic quality and storytelling, promotes environmental protection, sustainability, and a positive relationship to nature.

Rules & Terms

The Biennial of Animation Bratislava—BAB 2026 (hereinafter “Festival”) is an international festival of animated films for children and youth organized by BIBIANA—The International House of Art for Children. The Biennial of Animation Bratislava (https://www.bienaleanimaciebratislava.sk) is held under the auspices and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.

1. Submission of the completed application form and the film constitutes the applicant’s binding agreement with the Festival rules. Registration takes place via the FilmFreeway platform.

2. Only animated films or films that contain animated parts will be included in the competition program of the Festival. The maximum length of films in the category of short films is up to 30 minutes, and they cannot be older than two years. In the competition category of feature films, the minimum accepted length is 65 minutes, and the films cannot be older than two years. Only authors under the age of 15 can apply for the junior film competition, and their films cannot be older than two years. Films that were part of the competition in previous years will not be accepted.

3. The applicant is required to supply a brief synopsis and a still image from the film for the Festival catalog. Films submitted after the deadline cannot be accepted. The Festival reserves the right to grant an exception.

4. Films selected for competitive and non-competitive sections will be screened without entitlement to a fee.

5. By submitting the application form and the film, the applicant bindingly agrees that, in case of receiving an award or special recognition, the film will be used for non-commercial and educational purposes within the “Best of BAB” program, which can make the winning films available in cultural centers, schools, and other partner organizations in Slovakia, but also abroad. The applicant of the film can grant permission for the film to also be screened within the non-competitive sections intended for non-commercial and educational presentations in partner organizations.

6. The applicant of the film can grant permission to include the film in the television broadcast and use it on an online platform only in the territory of the Slovak Republic for the duration of the Festival.

7. By submitting the application form, the applicant grants the organizer the right to use a short clip of the film, with a maximum length of 30 seconds, to promote the Festival in any medium. The organizer reserves the right to use images from the film in promotional materials (festival magazine, leaflets, posters, website, social networks, or multimedia presentations) and provide them to the media to promote the Festival.

8. In the event of the official selection of the film for the competition, the applicant cannot subsequently withdraw the submitted film.

9. The applicant grants the organizer permission to archive the submitted film in the BAB archives.

10. Other conditions of the Festival are listed in the Festival’s statute on webpage https://www.bienaleanimaciebratislava.sk.

11. The applicant declares that he has been informed about the processing of his personal data by the organizer as the operator, while the processing of the applicant’s personal data as a data subject is carried out under the Regulations of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the protection of personal data no. 2016/679 (GDPR), as well as with the Act no. 18/2018 Coll. on the protection of personal data, namely on the legal basis of personal data processing due to participation in the Festival and the competition.
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  • Carolyn Gair

    I'm so honored to have my stopmotion short FORAGE selected and screened for school children for Bibiana's Festival in beautiful Bratislava, as well as presenting a Masterclass to the enthusiastic high-school future filmmakers! And the opportunity to meet so many stellar international film and animation personalities was a great way to network. I hope to come back again with my next film!

    October 2024
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  • Joe Chang

    Fantastic Festival with excellent programming! My animated short film Moonlit Night of Spring River was selected and screened this year! Thank you very much!

    October 2024
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  • Ulf Grenzer

    Filmmakers of animated Children's film AND family audience are really welcome and taken care of at BAB.
    Thank you so much for making it all possible this year!
    In case of any changings in the program or concerning the accomodation due to unexpected technical reasons the team always found a solution in time.
    It was a great pleasure to attend the exhibitions and the special events at the FTF VSMU. My personal favourites were lectures of Koji Yamamura and Yuichi Ito, both of them wellknown directors from Japan. At Galéria Umelka we visitors and the Children could admire the characters and backgrounds of Martin Smetana and get a glimpse of what's going on in animators minds at the great exhibition "Pics from Questions". I can highly recommend to attend the festival!

    October 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you very much, Ulf! It was a pleasure to meet you in Bratislava. See you soon :)

  • Jade Dandan Evangelista

    Thank you for featuring Wetsitales : The Flood Story. Your festival branding and designs are so beautiful!

    October 2022
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  • Gisela Chicolino

    A festival on this topic is really a necessary one. Please keep working on generating this exquisite programming for the audiences.

    October 2022
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