Entry Fee Waivers:
Sea Slug is dedicated to eliminating entry fees from artists as a common form of film festival income. Our 2026 entry fees are priced at $5 to reduce thoughtless spamming. However, any and all interested artists are welcome to simply contact seasluganimation@gmail.com to receive a waiver code for your entry fee—guaranteed. Our goal is to receive no money from you! We recommend reaching out well before the final submission deadline (November 3, 2025) to allow our team adequate time to respond to your request. Generally, entry fees received incidentally won't be reimbursed. Please reach out if you have a concern about your entry fee. (Updated September 2, 2025)
Screening Fees:
In an effort to value the labor of artists and increase the sustainability of art as a career, Sea Slug will pay all short films accepted to the 2026 Sea Slug Animation Festival program a standard $75 USD screening fee.
ELIGIBILITY REGULATIONS
Defining Animated Short:
The 2026 festival is accepting submissions for completed animated short films only: narrative, documentary, experimental, or student films or music videos that are 40 minutes or less in length. All entries must be fully animated or strongly feature animation as its medium. Only original, human-made artwork will be considered; films made with or through AI are not eligible. The 2026 festival is not accepting submissions for primarily live-action films, mid-length or feature-length films (over 40 minutes), or works in progress.
Completion/Premiere Date:
Films must have been completed on or after January 1, 2024.
Prior Screenings:
We will consider films that have been screened in-person or online as part of other festivals worldwide. Films with previous commercial, theatrical, video on demand, or television play are eligible for the 2026 festival.
Regional Preference:
As a Pacific Northwest festival, Sea Slug will give special preference to films made by filmmakers residing in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, or parts of Northern California.
SUBMISSION REGULATIONS
Final Deadline:
Entries must be submitted by the final deadline of November 3, 2025. Deadlines close at 11:59pm, PST.
Format:
If submitted via password protected link, passwords must be active for the duration of the submission process.
Language:
Films not in English must be submitted with the original language soundtrack and English subtitles.
Issues:
If there is anything wrong with your submission, we will contact you. Errors must be corrected by the requested deadline in order to be viewed by our programming committee.
ACCEPTANCE DETAILS
Notification:
Submitters will receive a status update on the acceptance or rejection of their film by January 20, 2026, via FilmFreeway and/or email.
Exhibition:
All accepted films will screen once in-person at the SIFF Cinema Uptown in Seattle, WA. All films with dialogue will be exhibited with English subtitles or open captions. There will be no online screenings for the 2026 festival.
Materials:
All accepted films will be required to submit basic film information and materials, including premiere status, 2-4 stills, and an optional trailer by a deadline. DCPs are the preferred film file type, but not required; our team can create a DCP for our festival’s exhibition free of charge. To ensure accessibility to more audiences, all accepted films with dialogue must include English subtitles or open captions, or provide a separate English subtitle or caption file.
TRANSPARENCY
Audience:
Our festival audience typically includes fans of independent and experimental animation for adults across a broad range of ages and genders. Our audience is not primarily children.
Programming Process:
13 pre-screeners and programmers comprised of experienced festival curators and animators will evaluate the 2026 shorts submissions. Their names are published on our website. Each submission will be considered by multiple programmers to ensure fair evaluation.
Demographic Information:
Our submission form includes two additional demographic questions regarding region and identity. This self-reported demographic information is collected to track and address the underrepresentation of historically marginalized artists in our programming. Specific demographic information of applicants will not be shared outside of the festival.
Privacy:
Entrant's personal data and links to online content are treated in strictest confidence by the programming staff. Submitted films links or copies will never be shared or duplicated outside of adjudication, including with donors, sponsors or for personal or fundraising purposes, unless specific permission is obtained from the filmmaker or submitting entity.
Contact Information:
Please contact seasluganimation@gmail.com with any questions or concerns regarding the submission process.
