NEWS
NEW CHITOSE is proud to announce the 13th edition: November 20-24, 2026.New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival is an animation festival dedicated to animated films held at the terminal building of New Chitose Airport (Hokkaido, Japan), which connects Hokkaido with the rest of the world as an entertainment airport. We are excited to announce the 13th edition of the festival: November 20-24, 2026.
Submissions Open April 20!The submission for all the competitions starts on April 20th.
The competition includes a Short Film (under 30 minutes, including student works) and a Feature Film (30 minutes and over), along with the newly established “NEW CHITOSE Digital Signage”.
Selected films in “NEW CHITOSE Digital Signage” category will be broadcast for a designated period on digital signage throughout the airport, including the 295-inch video display screen on the second floor of the domestic terminal—one of Japan’s busiest air hubs, serving approximately 22 million passengers annually.
Furthermore in this category, through an official collaboration with the Sapporo International Art Festival 2027, selected works will be presented as part of an outdoor projection program at the Shiryokan (Former Sapporo Court of Appeals). Alongside moving image works created by the official artists of SIAF2027, these projections will illuminate the museum throughout the Sapporo Snow Festival.
The submission deadlines are July 10 for the Short and Feature Film, and July 31 for the Digital Signage.
What is SIAF?
The Sapporo International Art Festival (SIAF)–Usa Mosir un Askay utar Sapporo otta Uekarpa in Ainu–is an initiative that introduces opportunities for discovery, learning, and participation by exhibiting artworks and new forms of expression from around the world in Sapporo. Centered around the triennial art festival, SIAF also collaborates continuously with schools, local communities, and businesses to cultivate a creative environment within the city.
Director’s Message
Chitose City, home to New Chitose Airport, will mark the 100th anniversary of the airport’s opening on October 22, 2026.
The story goes back to when a railway station was first built in what was then Chitose Village. This new connection inspired Otaru Shimbun (now Hokkaido Shimbun) to organize a trip to the village. In return for the villagers’ help in preparing food and hospitality, the newspaper arranged for flyers to be scattered from an airplane they owned. Eager to catch a glimpse of this aircraft up close, the villagers came together and, in just two days, carved out a simple landing strip in the open fields. This moment is remembered as the origin of the airport.
What makes this story compelling is not only the collective effort behind it. It’s the sense of curiosity—the desire to encounter something unknown, something beyond the world they knew. When we look back at the people of a century ago through that lens, their impulse feels strikingly familiar, and deeply human.
The New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival began without prior experience in running a film festival. Since then, we have continued step by step, learning as we go. By continually rethinking existing frameworks and embracing the diverse perspectives in the works presented here, we have shaped this platform into what it is today.
At its core is a sense of excitement—the belief that there are still forms of animation in the world we have yet to encounter. Even in a time marked by division and conflict, we believe in a space where different voices and viewpoints can naturally meet and intersect.
This year, in the festival’s competition program, the “NEW CHITOSE Digital Signage Category” will officially collaborate with Sapporo International Art Festival 2027. We hope to see selected works extend beyond the festival itself, creating new connections that move between the film festival and the art festival.
A festival that looks at the present and shapes what comes next begins again this year.
We look forward to welcoming you this early winter at the 13th edition of the festival.
ONO Tomoko (Chief Director)
