20ª Summit, Conference and International Film
Festival of Animation, Visual Effects and Video Games
Animayo G.C. 2024
Trailer Animayo Gran Canaria 2025
Animayo debuts in New York with the world premiere of its Official Awards List 2025 • 17-06-2025Following the resounding success of Animayo Gran Canaria 2025, whose in-person phase took place in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria this past May, the celebrations for its 20th Anniversary moved to the iconic city of skyscrapers with the world premiere of its Official Awards List.
A new milestone for Animayo took place last Friday, June 13, about which Damián Perea, filmmaker, director, and producer of the festival, stated: “It brings me immense joy to have been in New York with Animayo for the first time. Thanks to the School of Visual Arts (SVA), sponsor of this event, for making it possible. Returning to this city after nearly 17 years holds very special emotional value. Back then, I was teaching at Pratt Institute and screening my films. Today, we return with the best of the 20th edition of Animayo Gran Canaria and with the renewed energy of our new creative generations.”
The event, directed and produced by Animayo and Damián Perea Producciones, was presented at the SVA’s Graduate Theater by none other than Terrence Manson, a key figure in the visual effects of some of the most influential films in cinematic history and Chair of the MFA Computer Arts Department, whom Perea also thanked “for his involvement, as well as the ASIFA-East team, who enthusiastically supported the event. Having its president, Doug Vitarelli, attend was a true privilege and a source of pride for Animayo, as was welcoming exceptional guests such as the legendary director and animator Bill Plympton, directors Signe Baumane and Debra Solomon, and AI specialist and Associate Director of Innovation Technologies at MFA Computer Arts, Rochele Gloor. And of course, I must also thank all the New York animators who undoubtedly contributed to the great success of this event.”
It’s worth remembering that Animayo is the first and only animation festival in Spain designated as a “Qualifying Festival” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Oscars® in two categories: international animated short film for the “Animayo International Jury Grand Prize” (since 2018), and “Best Spanish-Speaking Nationality Short Film – Animación con Ñ,” for countries with Spanish as an official language (since 2022). The winning works in these two categories receive a direct pass to the coveted Oscar® preselection for Best Animated Short Film.
This is no trivial matter, considering Animayo’s unstoppable rise on the international scene over its 20 successful and uninterrupted editions. These awards pave the way to the Hollywood Academy Awards, as seen with the previous winner of the Animayo International Jury Grand Prize (2024), which went on to win Best Animated Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards®. Also, “Our Uniform,” the 2023 Jury Grand Prize winner, was nominated for Best Animated Short at the 2024 Oscars®, and “Late Afternoon” shared the same fortune in 2018. The short film “Kapaemahu,” after winning the 2020 Jury Grand Prize, made it to the 2021 Oscar® shortlist.
The premiere also featured appearances by Matteo Burani and Arianna Gheller along with the rest of the creative team behind the powerful “Playing God,” winner of the 2025 Grand Jury Prize. The winner of “Animación con Ñ,” the emotional “Nube” by Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada and Christian Arredondo Narváez, was also screened. In addition, the winning works from the various competition sections making up the current Animayo Gran Canaria Awards List were screened — a collection that highlights the festival’s inclusive and international spirit, giving visibility to both young independent talent and top animation schools.
In short, as mentioned before, this marks a new milestone in the two-decade history of the International Festival of Animation, Visual Effects, and Video Games, Animayo, which in its twentieth edition will extend its online programming until October of this year. Meanwhile, its “Animayo Itinerant” program, featuring the best of Animayo and its Official Awards List, will tour cities and countries around the world such as Los Angeles, Madrid, Barcelona, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Brussels, Chicago, Mumbai, Prague, Belgrade, and Mexico.
Driven by its commitment to artistic excellence and the promotion of new talent, and true to the competitiveness and quality that define it, this 20th Anniversary once again places Spain — and in particular, Gran Canaria and its capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria — on the global map as home to one of the most prestigious festivals of its kind in the world. And none of this would be possible without the strong support of its sponsors: the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, “The Island of My Life,” through the Presidency Department; the Society for the Promotion of the City of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands through Promotur; Turismo Gran Canaria; the Fundación de La Caja de Canarias; the Government of the Canary Islands; as well as the involvement of producers, studios, schools, and universities, along with numerous private companies that actively support the film industry and the effort to bring audiovisual and technological culture and education to all audiences.
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