Manchester Animation Festival

Yes. We are still finalising the details but we will run several online info sessions before 16 August. For updates, please subscribe to the Manchester Animation Festival Newsletter (bottom of the page) or follow our Social Media accounts. We will also update this FAQ accordingly.

Yes, as long as your film is capable of being certified as British upon completion (via the Cultural Test, an official UK bilateral co-production treaty, or the European Convention on Co-production).

You must be available in person for the following activities and dates.

• Residency 1 : Mon 28 Sep – Fri 2 Oct 2026
• Manchester Animation Festival:  Mon 9 – Thu 12 Nov 2026
• Residency 2: Mon 11 – Fri 15 Jan 2027
• International Industry Event: Tue 2 – Thu 4 Mar 2027
• Final Showcase: Thu 25 Mar 2027

Please note, you will also have a less intensive  programme of online activities in between the residencies.

No – we will assign a mentor to you based on our assessment of your application and project needs.

Animation Featured will cover the following costs

• Residencies and final showcase – travel, accommodation, subsistence
• Industry events – travel, accommodation, accreditation, subsistence

Participants will also receive a participation fee of £13.45 per hour for the time spent on the programme (more details on total payment amount and schedule will be published early August)

The participation agreement will confirm what we commit to commit to deliver to you and state that:

• You give us and the BFI permission to publicise your involvement in the programme,  including the publication of your name, brief biography, and Project name.
• If the Project is made or produced, you will provide an end roller credit to the scheme (detail will be in the agreement)
• You will adhere to our anti-bullying, harassment and racism policies and will behave in a respectful, responsible and reasonable way towards everybody.
• You may be required to participate in follow-up surveys conducted by the BFI and provide consent for us to share your data with the BFI for that purpose.

It will also contain the following Minimum Participation Agreement, as required by the BFI

The Participant should warrant that:

1. the Project is an original work (except to the extent it is in the public domain) or that the necessary rights have been optioned, licensed or acquired from the rights owners;
2. it owns the Project free from all charges, claims, liens or other encumbrances save in respect of those disclosed at application stage (such as in relation to any development financier’s interest through prior funding);
3. the Project does not infringe the copyright or, so far as the Participant is reasonably aware having undertaken due and diligent enquiry, any other personal or proprietary right of any person, firm or company or any statutory obligation;
4. to the best of its knowledge and belief having made due and diligent enquiry, the Project is not defamatory or obscene and does not contain any matter constituting a breach of confidence;
5. the Participant will remain fully and solely responsible for the content for the Project;
6. it agrees that all scripts and other creative materials created by the Awardee or other participants in the Activity and used or shared in conjunction with the Activity (Third Party Content) are confidential and shall not use, disclose, display, publish, transmit or otherwise make available such Third Party Content in whole or in part to any person or entity or copy, duplicate, replicate, transform or reproduce Third Party Content without the prior written consent of the Awardee and, where applicable, any other contributor to that Third Party Content.

Please submit one application only per producer or organisation. If you have several projects on the go, choose the project you most want to develop with Animation Featured or feel meets the objectives of the programme best.

You can get in touch with the Animation Featured programme manager Isabelle Croissant at isabelle@manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk. If a video call or phone call is better for you, just let us know by email and we will sort it out.

We will add all questions and answers we think might be useful for other applicants to this section as we get them.