This year, the Short Film Competition received a record 2,949 submissions. We selected 40 films for the International Competition, 10 for the Japan Competition, 12 for the Student Competition, and 11 for the Music Animation Competition. As this year’s selection includes more films with shorter running times, the overall lineup features 11 more films than last year.

Our competitions value the new contexts that artists create on their own terms, and the creativity and experimentation that grow from them. Many wonderful films could not be included, and we discussed each work carefully throughout the selection process. We paid close attention to how each work, even when it began from something deeply personal, connected with the world in its own way. We selected works that we strongly wanted to share through our festival, including some that may open up wide-ranging discussion.

This year, we saw a significant increase in submissions made using generative AI, which prompted us to reflect more deeply on aspects of our selection process. Amid these changes, we believe it is more important than ever to remain attentive to the perspective behind each work and the deeply personal necessity that may have driven its creation, while continuing to ask ourselves: “Why express this through animation?”

For the Digital Signage Competition, we selected eight works that explore the experimental possibilities unique to the ultra-short format. We believe this category will continue to grow as an initiative that unlocks the full potential of New Chitose Airport’s digital signage. Next year, all eight works will also be projected onto the exterior wall of the Shiryokan in Sapporo, Hokkaido, throughout Sapporo International Art Festival 2027.

We look forward to the discoveries and conversations that emerge from encountering these films—and to seeing you at NEW CHITOSE 2026.

New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival
ONO Tomoko, the chief director