Toronto International Short Animation Festival (TISAF) is a new festival dedicated to celebrating the art, imagination, and emotional power of short animation.

Launching its first edition in Toronto, TISAF aims to create a vibrant platform for Canadian and international animators, filmmakers, visual artists, and storytellers working across all forms of animation, including 2D, 3D, stop-motion, experimental, documentary, student, and hybrid animated works.

Toronto is home to a rich and growing community of artists, animators, filmmakers, designers, and cultural organizations. TISAF was created to help strengthen that ecosystem by bringing animation artists and audiences together through screenings, conversations, workshops, and networking opportunities.

Our festival is especially interested in bold visual storytelling, original artistic voices, emotionally resonant films, and works that push the boundaries of animation as a cinematic and artistic form. We welcome short films that are playful, poetic, strange, political, personal, experimental, narrative, or completely unexpected.

TISAF is more than a screening event. It is a growing cultural platform for discovery, connection, and creative exchange. Our goal is to support emerging and established animation artists, increase visibility for short animated films, and contribute to Toronto’s role as a dynamic hub for animation and independent cinema.

Selected films will be presented to Toronto audiences as part of a curated festival program designed to celebrate the diversity, craft, and future of animation.

Awards & Prizes

TISAF will present jury-selected awards for its first edition, recognizing outstanding achievement in short animation.

Award categories include:

Best Animated Short Film
Cash Prize: $700 CAD

Best Canadian Animated Short
Cash Prize: $700 CAD

Best Student Animated Short
Cash Prize: $500 CAD

Award winners will also receive official TISAF laurels and festival recognition through our website, social media, newsletter, and festival communications.

In addition to the cash awards, TISAF aims to support selected filmmakers through meaningful professional development opportunities, including industry consultation sessions with animation, film, and festival professionals.

TISAF will also offer five one-year Toon Boom Harmony licenses as part of its artist-support prizes. These licenses will be awarded to selected filmmakers or animation artists at the discretion of the festival jury and programming team.

Additional prizes, mentorship opportunities, software perks, equipment discounts, or partner-supported awards may be announced closer to the festival date.

Rules & Terms

Please read the following Rules & Terms carefully before submitting your film to the Toronto International Short Animation Festival, TISAF. By submitting your work, you acknowledge and agree to the following guidelines.

Eligibility:

TISAF accepts short animated films from Canadian and international filmmakers.

Submitted films may include, but are not limited to: 2D animation, 3D animation, stop-motion, experimental animation, documentary animation, student animation, music videos, hybrid animation, and other animation-based moving image works.

Films must be 30 minutes or less, including credits.

At least 50% of the submitted work must be animated. Hybrid works that combine animation with live action, archival material, documentary footage, or other visual forms are welcome, as long as animation is a central part of the work.

Films must have been completed after January 1, 2024.

Works-in-progress are not eligible. Films must be fully completed at the time of submission.

Films that are not in English must include English subtitles.

Student films must have been made while the director, producer, or key creative team member was enrolled in a school, college, university, or recognized educational program.

Submission Guidelines:

All films must be submitted through FilmFreeway.

Only online screeners will be accepted. Physical copies, DVDs, or downloadable files are not required at the submission stage.

Submitters are responsible for ensuring that the screener link and password remain active and accessible until the festival’s notification date.

Each film must be submitted separately with its own completed entry form and submission fee.

Submission fees are non-refundable.

TISAF reserves the right to determine the eligibility of each submission and to move a film into the most appropriate category if necessary.

Rights & Permissions:

By submitting to TISAF, the submitter confirms that they have the legal right to submit the film and that all necessary rights, clearances, and permissions have been obtained. This includes, but is not limited to, music, sound, images, animation, archival material, performers, and any other copyrighted or third-party materials included in the film.

The submitter agrees to take full responsibility for any claims, disputes, or legal issues that may arise from the submitted work.

By submitting, the filmmaker grants TISAF permission to screen the film if it is selected for the festival.

Selected films may be screened as part of TISAF’s in-person festival program or related festival events, depending on the final structure of the festival.

Promotional Use:

If selected, TISAF may use film stills, short clips, trailers, posters, filmmaker names, biographies, and submitted promotional materials for non-commercial festival promotion. This may include use on the TISAF website, social media, printed materials, press releases, newsletters, and festival communications.

TISAF will not make selected films publicly available outside of official festival programming without permission from the filmmaker or rights holder.

Selection & Awards:

All submissions will be reviewed by the TISAF programming team and/or jury.

Selected filmmakers will be notified through FilmFreeway.

Award decisions are made by the festival jury and/or programming team and are final.

Awards for the first edition include:

Best Animated Short Film
Best Canadian Animated Short
Best Student Animated Short

Each award category includes a cash prize, official TISAF laurels and festival recognition.

Additional prizes, including industry consultation opportunities and five one-year Toon Boom Harmony licenses, may be awarded to selected filmmakers or animation artists at the discretion of the festival jury and programming team.

Selected Films:

If a film is selected, the filmmaker may be asked to provide:

A high-resolution screening file
Film stills
Trailer
Director biography
Director photo
Short synopsis
Poster
Subtitle file
Press kit

Requested materials must be provided by the deadline given by the festival. Failure to provide required materials on time may affect the film’s inclusion in the final program.

Withdrawal Policy:

Once submitted, a film may not be withdrawn from consideration without written notice to the festival.

If a selected film is withdrawn after acceptance, submission fees will not be refunded.

Festival Changes

TISAF reserves the right to make changes to festival dates, venue, format, programming structure, award categories, or screening format if necessary.

By submitting to TISAF, the submitter confirms that they have read, understood, and agreed to these Rules & Terms.