Winners of the Viborg Animation Festival 2026

On Friday, September 11th, 2026, it was Award Time at Viborg Animation Festival once again. See all the animation winners here:

Viborg Animation Festival (VAF) was held from September 7 to 13 and is the go-to event for Nordic animation. The festival combines professional screenings with talks, workshops, a pitching competition, exhibitions, and much more. It's the most important animation event in Denmark and the Nordics, not least due to its proximity and collaboration with the world-renowned animation school The Animation Workshop (by the Animation Career Review, 2026). The winners were announced at the award ceremony Friday night on September 11.

Audience Award

Please, Anna Mantzaris (Sweden, France, Czech Republic, Norway, Finland)

FVV Danish Talent Award

Nothing Will Die, Rasmus Sølvsten (Denmark)

Read the article about Rasmus Sølvsten and his film Nothing Will Die:

The National Film School of Denmark Animation Graduates: Rasmus Sølvsten and Nothing Will Die

We are sitting in a bird’s nest, the style is 2D animation in what appears very hand-drawn. You get a sense that the world is dangerous and ominous. Chicks fill the nest, and a big bird swoops down. You take in the world and begin to wonder what it’s all about.

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Best Graduation Film

Ball Face, Laurence Thérien (U.K., Canada)

Best Experimental Film

Venezia Diorama, Nicolas Piret (Belgium)

Best Short Film

God Is Shy, Jocelyn Charles (France)

Children’s Choice Award

The Epic of Enkidu, Mike A. Smith (U.S.)

Zeitgeist Award

Please, Anna Mantzaris (Sweden, France, Czech Republic, Norway, Finland)

VAF Talent Jam

The Religious Quest of Saint Kjeld & His Slightly Questionable Use of Coffins

Created by:

• Alex Weigelt Rasmussen, The Animation Workshop CG Arts
• Andreas Kamp Hansen, VIA University College – Software Engineering
• Marius Noah Jegbjerg, VIA University College – Software Engineering
• Max Dymaretska, VIA University College – Software Engineering
• Simon Jakobsen, VIA University College – Software Engineering

Cirkeline Award

Sponsored by The Danish Animation Society
Jannik Hastrup and Hanne Hastrup

Read the article with Jannik Hastrup:

Vital attitudes with Jannik Hastrup

Through a lifetime’s work, animator and director Jannik Hastrup has stood up for the weak and at risk, with his buildable, poetic, funny, and dramatic stories for children - from Circleen, Benny’s Bathtub and Samson and Sally, to War of the Birds, HC Andersen and The Long Shadow, and

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