Animation Dingle is back — and this year, it’s all about YOU. 💥
Our Animation Dingle 2026 theme is “Connected by Stories.”
So, for YAOTY (Young Animator of the Year) we wanna know:
What’s The Story?🤔
Your story. Their story. No story. Wild story. WHO KNOWS.
We’re hunting for bold, original, totally you animations that break the rules, make us laugh, cry, or just sit there like 😲.
Think big. Think weird. Think whatever lights your creative fire. 🔥
This is YOUR chance to show the world what the next wave of animation looks like — and trust us, we can’t wait to see what you’ve got. 💫
At our 2025 Festival, Orion Ross from Disney presented the YAOTY Award to Athish Srinivasan from St Oliver's Community College for his project 'Nothing'.
Taking the idea of the original YAOTY Award as a point of departure, the NEW Award is now also open to students in their first year of college.
Animation Dingle’s Young Animator of The Year, (YAOTY) runs annually with the support of our friends in Disney+
Are YOU, or is someone you know, the next Young Animator of the Year?
Each year, secondary school students and now also 1st year college students from all over the island of Ireland are invited to submit their short animated films to the national YAOTY Awards.
Set in magical Dingle, on the most westerly peninsula of Europe, Animation Dingle is a festival that was created for students and has been moulded by them over the years. We want to draw attention to the talented young people in Ireland and give them a spotlight in which to showcase their skills, so for many years, we’ve run the YAOTY awards which have done just that!
Listed as 'One of the top Not-To-Be-Missed events in the World' by Animation Magazine, Animation Dingle is attended by all the major animation colleges and studios within Ireland, along with delegates from Disney, Pixar, Amazon, Apple, Aardman Animations Nickelodeon, RTÉ, CBBC, CBeebies and many more.
Our festival prides itself on its ability to create a culture of interaction, sharing and support whereby top industry experts share with upcoming students in the relaxed setting of the Dingle Skelligs Hotel.
Exciting plans are underway for 2026!
To Enter YAOTY is FREE.
The closing date for student entries is Friday 13th of February 2026.
The YAOTY winner will be presented with their award at the opening of our Animation Dingle Festival on Friday 19th March, 2026 by Orion Ross, VP International Animation, Disney Branded Television!
PLUS the winner will be offered 1 nights’ accommodation in the Dingle Skellig Hotel.
The award will be presented at our Animation Dingle Conference 2026.
Over 750 animators gather together in Dingle town in the South West of Ireland and it’s stunning surroundings to realise the interconnected orbits of students and professionals.
Animation Dingle is committed to delivering the very best in Animation content from all around the globe through conference, workshops, screenings and awards and in the spirit of connecting, sharing and supporting.
