European Animation Awards – The Emiles 2026
The Emiles – European Animation Awards Ceremony 2026 was held on Wednesday, 28 October 2026 in Małopolska Garden of Arts (Małopolski Ogród Sztuki), Krakow, Poland, hosted by the 33rd International Film Festival ETIUDA&ANIMA.
28 October marked a very significant day – the annual International Animation Day (IAD) proclaimed in 2002 by ASIFA – International Animated Film Association as the main global event to celebrate the art of animation!
Great animated films come from talented authors and skillful artists, and Europe can be proud of its diverse and fertile animation community. The Emile Awards celebrate and honor the talent and achievements in animation from independent animators to animation studios.
Find out the winners of Emile Awards 2026!
Short Film
Best Backgrounds & Character Design — Mother’s Child, dir. Naomi Noir (Netherlands 2024)
Best Sound Design — Earth Coal dir. Bastien Dupriez (France 2024)
Best Animation — Weeds, dir. Pola Kazak (Czech Republic 2024)
Best Experimental — On Weary Wings Go By, dir. Anu Laura Tuttelberg (Estonia, Lithuania 2024)
Best of the Best — Dog Alone, dir. Marta Reis Andrade (Portugal, France 2025)
Feature Film
Best Writing — Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, dir. Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han (France 2025)
Best Background Design & Character Design — Arco, dir. Ugo Bienvenu (France 2025)
Best Soundtrack — Arco, dir. Ugo Bienvenu (France 2025)
Best Animation — Savages, dir. Claude Barras
Best of the Best — Living Large, dir. Kristina Dufkovái (Czech Republic, Slovakia, France 2024)
Want to know more about EMILE AWARDS?
The rules and regulations for EMILE AWARDS Selection Procedure were created by the Emile Awards Board. To be eligible for the Emile Awards long list, a film must win the Grand Prix at an Emiles qualifying festival. The members of the entire board make a list of their three film choices among the long list in each category for Feature and Short Animated Films.
A 5 member jury of board members is selected to watch the chosen films from the previous year in May and the list is reduced to 5 nominees in the short film categories and 9 nominees in the feature film category.
The Emiles Awards appoints a Jury composed of Board members, but also invites recognized professionals from the field of animation to serve on the jury. Jury selects the winners in each category.
The winning films and Lifetime Achievement Award are presented at Emile Awards gala that takes place at a different animation festival each year. Festivals held in the Fall are eligible for consideration as an awards site.
If the awards ceremony takes place within the framework of a festival that is not an Emile Awards qualifying festival, the board reserves the right to include representatives of the hosting festival as well as the jury. On a special note the Emile Awards Association pays tribute to leading figures of European animated cinema by awarding the Lotte Reiniger Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2017, the European Animation Awards created the Lotte Reiniger Lifetime Achievement Award in order to recognize individuals for their lifetime contribution to the art of animation in either producing, directing, animating, design, writing, voice acting, sound and sound effects, technical work, music, professional teaching, or for other endeavors which exhibit an outstanding contribution to excellence in animation. The very first recipient of this award was Richard Williams, followed by Clare Kitson in
2018, Priit Pärn in 2024 and Vera Neubauer in 2025.
If you’re interested in more photos from the 2026 gala evening, check out the official photo album on EAA’s web page.
