DAF focuses on exhibiting and showcasing the best of global independent cinema, short films, conceptual artworks, which are made through animation techniques. The festival offers various support and funding opportunities to works that bring about new languages, methods, technologies and insights into aesthetics in exploration of international animation films, and works that broaden this field’s boundaries.

Instead of a mere film festival, DAF is an animation platform with links to rich resources. It will assemble animation directors, streaming media platforms, distributors, technical equipment suppliers and other professionals for discussion and communication, so as to promote the productivity and diversity of video art and the animation industry at large. It is also a chance to understand, excavate, rejuvenate and disseminate the history and cultural features of Dunhuang. Through DAF, we will speed up and improve the construction of a vibrant, free and open platform for cultural co-creation, with a hope to provide more exchanges, opportunities and possibilities.

Awards & Prizes

1. Dunhuang Award: 1 winner, 50,000 CNY
The works with the highest comprehensive evaluation in the main competition units created by Chinese creators
Specific award to support Chinese creators and promote the development of local animation films.
2. Dunhuang Nomination Award, 2 winners
No prize, no limit on international works, to commend works nominated for many times during the Dunhuang Award competition
3. Yardang China Award: 1 winner, 20,000 CNY
High score works in the main competition unit created by Chinese authors
4. Yardang International Award: 1 winner, 20,000 CNY
High score works in the main competition unit created by non-Chinese authors
5. Narrative Animation Award: 1 winner, 15,000 CNY
Works with obvious story structure, subjective narrative orientation and intention to shape character image
6. Non-narrative Animation Award: 1 winner, 15,000 yuan
Works without obvious narrative tendency, with unique attraction and innovative creation of focus and gaze possibility
7. Experimental Spirit Award: 1 winner, 15,000 CNY
Works that creatively use materials, media, concepts, or a wonderful combination of various artistic expressions
8. Student's Works Award: 1 winner, 15,000 CNY
Works completed by the author in school, (the author is 14 years old and above, and graduated from junior high school or above)
9. Children's Animation Award: 1 winner, 15,000 CNY
Works made for children and adolescents (2-14 years old) or suitable for this age group to watch
10. Music Animation Award
No prize, the best work in the MV category
11. Commissioned Works Award
No prize, the best work in educational, scientific or corporate films, advertising or promotional films
12. Digital Experience Award
No prize, original and aesthetic game animation, the best VR experience work
13. Special Nomination Award for Judges: 5 winners (Trophy+Certificate)
A work selected by the judges of each award’s jury according to their subjective intentions
The winners of the above awards are determined by the award jury (professional jury). Except for the Dunhuang Nomination Award, other awards for each work shortlisted in the competition unit cannot be won repeatedly. According to the decision of the jury, there may be vacancy of awards which though is discouraged as a premise.
Award criteria: open to the creators of all shortlisted works in the competition program, especially excellent works with cinema viewing effect that put forward new languages, methods, technologies and aesthetics for exploration in various fields, and broaden the boundaries of technology and cognition.
14. Audience Award: 2 winners
No prize, award for most popular works
The works with the highest number of votes voted by adult audience after watching the main competition unit
15. Children's Favorite Works Award:1 winner
No prize, the best children's animation works in the whole family unit voted by the whole family audience

Rules & Terms

Qualification for Entries:

A The following qualifications are required for entry works in the Festival.
1. The entries need to be including production made of "frame by frame”. There is no restriction on subject matter, genre and theme. The animated moving-image works generated in any technical form are acceptable, including student's work, experimental & conceptual works, children's animation, game animation, virtual reality projects, and commissioned works and so on.
2. The works shall be lasting a maximum of 40 minutes.
The submission time of the works is from November 15, 2022 to February 14, 2023. Only online applications are accepted, and offline submission will be rejected. Please submit through the official website of DAF or the channels indicated in the official publicity.
The deadline for the online registration of the works is 24:00 on February 14, 2023. Unless otherwise notified, no submission beyond this date will be accepted.

The entries shall be completed after January 1, 2020. Works which have already been awarded prizes at other festivals are eligible. In this case, a listing of all awards and prizes received must be fully indicated on the entry form. Please indicate the following information for the submitted work when registering: whether it is a world premiere, an Asian premiere, or a Chinese premiere, whether it is the author's first work or a student's work, and whether it is a commissioned work.

All works can only be submitted from the author, and multiple works from the same author are acceptable. One entry form is required for each work. No submission of any unfinished works will be accepted.

All the submitted works will compete to enter the competition program or out-of competition program, and the festival organizer will notify the author of the result by email. At that time, the screening digital files and relevant materials of the shortlisted works that meet the screening conditions shall be provided on time. Otherwise, it will be deemed as invalid submission or automatic withdrawal.

Without the consent of the copyright owner, the copyrighted materials, e.g., characters, scripts and music, shall not be used in the works. Failure to obtain such agreement will result in disqualification of the work.

7. No registration fee is required for the submission of works.

B Categories Definitions
1. Student's work: works completed in school, including the primary school, junior high school, senior high school, vocational high school, university, postgraduate, doctoral and other academic periods.
2. Experimental & conceptual works: including experimental shorts from filmmakers, video works from contemporary artists, and independent animator's works realized through various materials and media with brilliant ideas.
3. Children's animation: animation works produced for children and adolescents (under 14 years old) or suitable for this group to watch. Works produced by authors of this age group are also included in this category. In this case, guardians or teachers over 18 years old are required to accompany them to complete the registration and participate in relevant activities.
4. Game animation: including short films with complete plots, such as interlude animation and publicity animation. Experimental or narrative works based on game operation process screen recording are not included in this category and will be classified as experimental film/animation and artist video/film/animation.
5. VR project: short films with complete presentation or plot that can show VR technology through VR technology. Including but not limited to narrative short film experience, devices, time-based works, interactive works and non-linear narrative or non-narrative works. All submitted works shall be controlled within 40 minutes.
6. Commissioned works: including MV (Music Video), educational, scientific or corporate films, advertising or promotional films.

Please indicate or check the relevant classification (multiple choices are allowed) for each online submitted work. The right of classification interpretation and the right of classification of the shortlisted works belong to the DAF organizing committee.

Submit publicity materials
1. 2 photos of the director (H640 pixels x W480 pixels, JPEG), please set the file name of director's photos to the director's name.
2. Please provide the author's profile of 300 words or less, the work introduction of 300 words or less, and the author's resume of 500 words or less. (Please provide relevant English version if any).
3. Three still pictures of the work (the standard print resolution is 300dpi), and the file name of the still pictures should be the Chinese or English title of the work. The pictures will be officially authorized by default to be used for promotional purposes.
4. 1-3 posters of the work (the standard print resolution is 300dpi), and the file name of still pictures should be "Poster: Chinese or English title of the work".
5. Trailer of the work (not required, in MOV or MP4 format). A link to download the trailer should be provided. The trailer will be officially authorized by default to be used for promotional non-profit purposes.